Adobe has released the Public Beta version of Lightroom 5. A beta version is still a work in progress and is released to be used, free of charge, by the public who can report any bugs or issues directly to Adobe who may address them before the final version of the software is released.

Terry White is a Worlwide Design Evangelist for Adobe. He has created the video below where he demonstrates his five favourite features in the beta release.

You can download the free Lightroom 5 beta here. To learn about more technical updates to this release, visit the Lightroom Journal blog. You can submit your thoughts and ideas to this feedback page.

Adobe says that if you already have Lightroom, they will not update your existing catalogues when you download the beta. Rather, a new catalogue will be created where you can import your images. They also recommend that you only use copies of your images in the beta as this is not a finished product and is still a work in progress. Therefore, you should not use your original images with it.