Brian C in Az Posted November 7, 2018 Share #1 Posted November 7, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anyone tried Luminar software? https://skylum.com/luminar?clickid=WYnX0py4jUH%3AVKMTBwwg30gOUkg3pCwXNxowQ80&irpid=212913&utm_content=TEXT_LINK&utm_source=Photo 360 Ltd&utm_campaign=mediapartner_cpa&utm_medium=cpa&aclid=&platform=IR I want an easier and less expensive program than LR or PS and this is $59 I'm also open to suggestions for other options. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 7, 2018 Posted November 7, 2018 Hi Brian C in Az, Take a look here Luminar Software. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
carbon_dragon Posted November 7, 2018 Share #2 Posted November 7, 2018 I'd like to know the answer to this too. I don't want Adobe's subscription model and my Aperture is no longer supported, so there is a giant mound of work in my future converting over to something. Preferably something that has Aperture/LR's functionality with a little photoshop editing thrown in. Capture One is another possibility. I'm on a Mac too and at the moment I can't upgrade my OS because if I did, Apple's latest OS obsoletes my Photoshop CS3 copy and supposedly makes their own Aperture run unreliably. I've heard of Luminar as a plug in maker I think but this looks pretty good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted November 7, 2018 Share #3 Posted November 7, 2018 Have you considered Alien Skin Exposure? It looks to be a viable alternative to Lightroom and operates in a similar way. I have used other AS products and Exposure is on my shortlist should LR fail in the future. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted November 7, 2018 Share #4 Posted November 7, 2018 Also discussed in this LR alternative thread... Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted November 7, 2018 Share #5 Posted November 7, 2018 I have been using Dark Table a little bit. The pros are that it is free and seems to have most of the Lightroom functions and work flow. (I don't use Lightroom much, so I'm not the one to comment on similarity of functions.) The cons are it uses the "import" and "collection" jargon which I hate, and the terminology for functions is somewhat technical in many instances. (eg external drives are "volumes") At this point "long live Bridge, ACR, and Photoshop". Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 7, 2018 Share #6 Posted November 7, 2018 5 hours ago, Brian C in Az said: Has anyone tried Luminar software? https://skylum.com/luminar?clickid=WYnX0py4jUH%3AVKMTBwwg30gOUkg3pCwXNxowQ80&irpid=212913&utm_content=TEXT_LINK&utm_source=Photo 360 Ltd&utm_campaign=mediapartner_cpa&utm_medium=cpa&aclid=&platform=IR I want an easier and less expensive program than LR or PS and this is $59 I'm also open to suggestions for other options. I'm evaluating Luminar 2018 and Affinity Photo for the day when LR 6.14 stops working. Photoshop: I long ago stopped using it. Way more than I want or need... And I refuse to buy a software subscription. I started my evaluation with Affinity Photo because there are versions for both macOS and iOS. I have had the iOS version on my iPad Pro for a year, but only recently started using it. I'm very impressed so far: the raw conversions are excellent, and the photo rendering tools very nicely done (once you learn the terminology and the UI, which is a bit more comfortable on macOS than on iOS). I haven't used the more graphics functions very much yet, but overall it looks like a very nice app. I wish it had a bit more image/file management ... that's really Lightroom's forte. I only did the briefest of glimpses at Luminar so far and it, similarly, looks very good. I'll go further with in the coming weeks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
frame-it Posted November 7, 2018 Share #7 Posted November 7, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Luminar doesn't have a database system ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erudolph Posted November 7, 2018 Share #8 Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) I am an occasional user of both Luminar and Alien Skin. I find Luminar to be quick, capable and responsive. I also am a fan of Alien Skin Exposure, which was my go-to after initial import and correcting in Lightroom, but now there is a hiccup with it... the recently released version 4 is quite sluggish on my iMac Pro. This may have something to do with their attempt to be a LightRoom killer, introducing increased DAM, etc., though I'm not really sure of the whys and wherefores of the slowdown. Edited November 7, 2018 by erudolph Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian C in Az Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share #9 Posted November 8, 2018 8 hours ago, frame-it said: Luminar doesn't have a database system ? That is correct. For me that is a non issue. I keep all my files on an external 4TD SSD. I created my own file folder system. Since SSDs are so relatively cheap now, I can make duplicates as needed in various folders if need be. I downloaded the free 14 day trial. I also just received my SL today, so I charged the battery half full and went out as the sun was setting and shot 88 quick pics in bad light with the wrong settings because I forgot half of the manual and also forgot my reading glasses. All the controls were a blur.... I am impressed with the performance of the SL with 24-90 (seems to be the most common lens purchased with the camera). The exposures were MUCH better than I would have guessed. Even when shooting a few pictures using the street lights for the only source for portrait shots, the information in the file is astounding. I transferred the images to my 4TB WD passport. 5 GB in under a minute via Thunderport 3; impressive. I opened the street light portraits and I was amazed at how much info was there. I expected a bright light and all black and noisy shadows. The SL did a great job. Luminar was easy to use (I did watch the beginner's 40 minute intro video earlier today while waiting for UPS to deliver). In under 3 minutes I had a picture that I can actually print to 14" and it looks good. I showed my fiancé the raw/jpeg image and the "processed" image and she is impressed with the improvements and the quality. Luminar is not a destructive program. It uses layers. When you save a project, it saves all the layers and each and every step within each layer. You can go straight to the original at anytime or go to any point in the process. If you decide to change the look, you can save both copies and both contain the original file plus every step to finished product. On my 2017 MacBookPro, no rendering step took more than 3 seconds. It was quicker than me making my decisions as to what to do. I can only guess that as I watch the other free tutorials and webinars on Luminar, that my finished projects will get even better. For $59, it is a steal. Use promo code Photoblog for an extra $10 off. That is where I first learned of the program. It was a featured ad when I was reading their review for the SL lens. I think I may also get Aurora ($99), it has HDR and I really think that I would enjoy using that as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbon_dragon Posted November 8, 2018 Share #10 Posted November 8, 2018 I always saw this as a plus (non destructive modifications) and it is. But now I have this huge Aperture database and when I switch to something else, like this, I'll have to export the images (unmodified) and maybe the modified ones as jpegs? and do that for the 10s of thousands of images I have one by one, or at least project by project. There's no way to export the "non destructive" changes to another different program. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian C in Az Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share #11 Posted November 8, 2018 Are your processed images in jpeg already? or do you export/ save them in another format? Luminar allows the export of the processed image with the original data and the layers so LR and PS can peel off the layers (probably the wrong term). I read somewhere that can be used as a plug in. Why do you have to export unmodified images? Are they not stored in file folders outside of the program's filing system? The thing I really hate about the Mac OS Photos is when it imports pic files, it saves them in it's proprietary format, so each time I want to email or otherwise use an image, I have to first open Photos and export the unmodified image. Now I transfer the images from the cards to the hard drive by date and location. Then as I open and process, I save the final image in it's new location in any format or in multiple formats. I can reopen any processed image and I have the original file with every step and layer in the history menu. I can go back to any point in the process and alter the process. I can then either save the image with the old name or I can rename it and have 2 separate processed images. If I save with the old name, I still have the full history, so I can still go back to version 1 even if I didn't save it. If I save in multiple formats, I can rewrite over them as well or simply save the 2nd processed version with a new name. I keep it simple. I use names like "Susanne at the Lake 11 02 2018 v1" and "Susanne at the Lake 11 02 2018 v2" The Mac OS search allows me to quickly find any file with the name Susanne, Lake, or any date. Since my folders are very descriptive as well, it is very easy to keep the files well organized and easy to find. Since the newer OS (10.0 and later) allows folder names and files names to be 255 characters long, there is no reason to use short abbreviated names and terms that may be hard to distinguish when searching. After transferring from camera to hard drive, I review the images. I delete the junk and rename the keepers. If someone needs a relational* database to keep and organize their images, FileMaker Pro has the ability to do so. It is not difficult to set up and use and is an extremely powerful relational database. If you are a school portrait photographer, it can merge mailing list, orders, and final images to be emailed or snail mailed, track payments, costs, profits, etc, etc. I'm only on day 2 of my 14 day free trial. I found that the trial version is not the full version, there are a few advanced features omitted. I can see that it isn't a heavyweight like Photoshop, but it won't require the long learning curve of PS. It is far more intuitive than iPhoto or the newer Photo program. I really like the fact that they have so many tutorial videos. The results thus far are more than satisfactory for me, so I'm leaning towards purchasing it. *relational databases update connected/ related files when you change the data in one file. Simple databases do not, you have to manually update the data in each file. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
epand56 Posted November 12, 2018 Share #12 Posted November 12, 2018 On 11/7/2018 at 6:47 PM, ramarren said: I'm evaluating Luminar 2018 and Affinity Photo for the day when LR 6.14 stops working. Photoshop: I long ago stopped using it. Way more than I want or need... And I refuse to buy a software subscription. I started my evaluation with Affinity Photo because there are versions for both macOS and iOS. I have had the iOS version on my iPad Pro for a year, but only recently started using it. I'm very impressed so far: the raw conversions are excellent, and the photo rendering tools very nicely done (once you learn the terminology and the UI, which is a bit more comfortable on macOS than on iOS). I haven't used the more graphics functions very much yet, but overall it looks like a very nice app. I wish it had a bit more image/file management ... that's really Lightroom's forte. I only did the briefest of glimpses at Luminar so far and it, similarly, looks very good. I'll go further with in the coming weeks. Hello Ramarren, do you happen to know if in Affinity Photo exists some correction tool for the Italian flag like Lightroom's Flat Field ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 12, 2018 Share #13 Posted November 12, 2018 2 hours ago, epand56 said: Hello Ramarren, do you happen to know if in Affinity Photo exists some correction tool for the Italian flag like Lightroom's Flat Field ? I’m not sure. I have only one lens that will occasionally exhibit that effect; when I’m being critical with it, I use CornerFix to preprocess the DNG file. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted November 30, 2018 Share #14 Posted November 30, 2018 On 11/7/2018 at 6:53 PM, frame-it said: Luminar doesn't have a database system ? It is questionable whether that is an issue. In a way an integrated database system is a way of locking you into specific software - switch software and lose track of your files. Having separate file and processing systems will give you more freedom. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfleet Posted December 6, 2018 Share #15 Posted December 6, 2018 On 11/7/2018 at 12:53 PM, frame-it said: Luminar doesn't have a database system ? Luminar 3 with libraries will be released on Dec. 18. - https://skylum.com/luminar Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted December 6, 2018 Share #16 Posted December 6, 2018 28 minutes ago, wellfleet said: Luminar 3 with libraries will be released on Dec. 18. - https://skylum.com/luminar That will be an interesting addition. I have been slowly getting to grips with Luminar 2018 and the additions promised by Luminar 3 may well make me review my LR CC Classic subscription. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellfleet Posted December 7, 2018 Share #17 Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) 23 hours ago, wellfleet said: Luminar 3 with libraries will be released on Dec. 18. - https://skylum.com/luminar More info - https://www.dpreview.com/news/4945479035/skylum-s-luminar-3-adds-photo-libraries?ref_=pe_1674010_132618830 And a review - https://petapixel.com/2018/12/06/review-luminar-3-with-libraries-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/ Edited December 7, 2018 by wellfleet 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveNC Posted December 22, 2018 Share #18 Posted December 22, 2018 I used Adobe the past 15 years or so, moving from PS to LR when it came out and became workable. Now I use only Luminar. It is very easy to use and does nearly everything I need. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_w Posted April 1, 2019 Share #19 Posted April 1, 2019 I just downloaded Luminar 3 for evaluation, as part of my slow but determined move from LR. Does anyone know if it provides camera and lens profiles for Leica, as some competitor products do? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_w Posted April 2, 2019 Share #20 Posted April 2, 2019 Looks like I am the only one on the forum investigating Luminar at the moment. Will soldier on alone and come back and report in a few weeks. Thanks! Robert PS I do think it would be helpful to have a more organised discussion thread on the forum for alternatives to LR, since so many are doing it. Perhaps organise with pinned threads for each major alternative: Luminar, ON1, RAW Power, DXO Photolab ... That way experiences can be shared by multiple testers over time. Moderators -- what do you think? 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.