It's interesting to see how AI-driven sky swapping has taken off – it's not just Skylum Luminar AI (opens in new tab) that can do this any more.
New features include NoNoise built in (previously sold separately), which handles noise reduction well and applies fantastic sharpening results, Sky Swap AI, which makes light work of swapping skies, and a new ability to run Photoshop Actions within the software with ease.
Not to mention, this latest version of Photo Raw is packed with a host of new features that make it a great upgrade option for existing users, as well as an extremely attractive proposition to new users. It sounds as if it's designed specifically for raw processing but, in fact, this is an all-in-one tool that includes image cataloguing and browsing, raw processing (just one aspect of its use), detailed image adjustments and masking and a larger library of effects filters and effects presets.Įverything you need to process your images with excellent results is available including standard adjustments, local adjustments, distortion correction and much more. Its biggest problem might actually be its name. The more you explore the software, the more you discover how ON1 Photo Raw 2022 packs in some incredible features not available in the aforementioned software features such as the ability to create time-lapses, for instance, that you normally require plugins or additional software to achieve, and the way it can incorporate layered, composite images in its non-destructive workflow.īut getting back to basics, ON1 Photo Raw 2022 provides all the controls photographers need to make their raw, and many other file types.
ON1 Photo RAW 2018 is available now for download as a free trial and a purchase price of $119, the same cost as getting the Adobe Photographer’s Plan for a year. You will dramatically increase the size of your image archives on your hard-drive, too. They’ll no longer be adjustable, but at least you won’t lose the work. One solution is to export your images from Lightroom as 16-bit TIFF files. Of course, this is a problem when switching to any software, not just ON1. But if you have years of adjustments in your library, and you’ve spent months of your life perfecting your images in Lightroom, you will probably be hesitant to throw that work away.
Adjustments with both programs are non-destructive, so you can always re-process images that you want to use again. If you’re just getting started, this is no big deal. Whether ON1 Photo RAW 2018 meets all of your needs as a photographer, there’s still a looming drawback to making the software switch: you’ll lose all of your years of Lightroom adjustments.
The Elephant in the Room Matthew Gore | Light And Matter While Adobe users have been languishing in front of their monitors while Lightroom loads previews or spends your lunch hour switching to the develop module (both issues addressed in Lightroom CC to some extent), ON1 Photo RAW has been a zippy fast file browser and editor, loading thumbnail images almost instantly and switching to the RAW module in just moments. ON1 has been a player in this game for a year already, and has made significant progress. Luminar (left) and ACDSee (right) are also competing for the DAM market that Adobe continues to abuse. ACDSee is now promoting a professional quality DAM and RAW editor as well. Skylum Luminar 2018 (formerly Macphun) announced that in early November that their 2018 version will be a complete, RAW processing engine with lens correction and look-up-table (LUT) support for color grading, with an emphasis going forward on asset management.
Replacing Lightroom has been a popular theme recently, especially after Adobe’s announcement that they’ll discontinue support for non-CC versions of the software, making perpetual periodic payments to Adobe the only option.