Palo Alto, Calif.-based Light Crafts Inc. on Tuesday announced LightZone for Mac OS X v10.4. LightZone is a digital photo editing and image processing tool that focuses on light and objects instead of pixels — the software was designed to appeal specifically to photographers, according to the developer.
Features in Lightzone include StudioFinder, an image viewer and file browser that lets you view, organize, print and publisher your work using a digital negative format. StudioFinder integrates a RAW image converter for various digital cameras. ZoneFinder analyzes images, recognizes and segments digital negatives, then displays the shape, light and color values in the image. ZoneMapper controls and adjusts light and tonal values of an image to help manage color correction, contrast correction and to set up optimal points for highlights and shadows. RegionMapper selects areas and shapes in an image, automatically blending transformations with the rest of the image.
LightZone treats the original image as a digital negative, so it makes transformations separately, doing non-destructive editing. It works in a linear color space instead of a gamma-corrected one to help produce more consistent and predictable results.
No pricing or release schedule was announced for LightZone. The software was publicly previewed for the first time at DEMOfall 2005, an annual conference dedicated to new technology innovations.