bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

I have been a Lightroom (subscription) user for a few years now. Lately I've been learning (through many videos) about the new Luminar 2018. My impression of it is quite favorable. I think it wouls suit my needs. But I'm not sure. And possible, down the line, it might mean abandoning Lightroom.

I'm looking for opinions from any of you who can, first hand, compare and weigh-in on my thinking.

I'll include a sample of my kind of work. (Unfortunately, after 17 years... Nicodemus is no longeer with us.)

Thanks... Barry

fotobyferg

I am in the process of switching myself over from LRCC to Luminar 2018. I’m on a Mac; those on Windows PC are less happy due to many software glitches still being worked out by Skylum.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

What about Lightroom is not meeting your needs? Too hard to use? Missing some edit action you need? Too expense at $10/month? What can Luminar 2018 do that you cannot do with the world's leading image editing software via a LR/PS subscription?

HOT Texas Loc: From the Heart of Texas

I have been using it for some time now and really like it, I abandon Lightroom long time ago.

Luminar has some amazing adjustments, way more than is needed, but fun to play with.

chevman Loc: Matthews, North Carolina

I would wait for just a little while. There is a DAM coming next year. There are a few bugs in the MAC version and lots of bugs in the Windows version. Skylum is new to Windows so hopefully they will get all worked out quickly. There are a lot of real nice features in the software.

sseeley52

I have used lightroom and photoshop for a little over 2 years now and I've watched hundreds of youtube videos on how to use those programs. Steep learning curves but worthwhile. I have Luminar 2018 and it has some interesting filters that enhance my photo editing process. It is quite capable in it's own right but also is an excellent plug-in when used with lightroom Classic or CC. Give it a try, there are lots of tutorials on youtube and you will be amazed at the ease of using the program. For the cost, well worth it. IMHO..

kevingun

I have the windows version. I think it has a lot of good things going for it. Once all the updates are done and the dam added it should be a good piece of software. As far as lightroom goes I never could get into it. I just use camera raw and photoshop and now luminar and aurora

tomcat

Wow dude. He might not be with you physically now, but with this portrait he will live on forever. This is without a doubt, one of the best dog portraits I have ever seen. It looks like a little blue tint was added to the image which makes it a perfect 100 effect. I really do like this and I wish that I was skilled enough to have done this..... Thanks for sharing with the group.

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

I bought Affinity Photo almost a year ago and really love it. However, it lacks the image management tool. I think it does a better job than Photoshop, especially certain tools. Someone here pointed me to ON1 Photo Raw because of the image management and I really like that. Enough pros are turning to ON1, that I'm going to evaluate it. But I am in love with Affinity's inpainting brush. It is almost magic.

ON1's resizing tool is easily the best on the market. It began as the old Genuine Fractals. I often used it to get great 20x30 and even a few 40x60 prints that looked almost as good as a view camera.

lwerthe1mer Loc: Birmingham, Alabama

I want to monitor the discussion.

CaptainEd

I have Luminar on a Windows machine. It's not quite ready for prime time. I like it, but am still using LR as my primary processing tool. I just renewed my CC membership for one more year, which will be my last if Luminar's asset manager is decent and everything is stable.

saintsrest44

Only second week using Luminar, but I'm sold. It's easy to use, just a VERY few glitches using on Mac, and wonderful support from Skylum. Please note I'm not a pro, had a not so good experience trying to learn LR/PS, and that is why I switched. The Tutorials from Luminar are good as are the Tutorials from Anthony Morganti. I'd check out Morganti's tutorials on his website before you buy. They were quite helpful in my decision making process.

poprock48

I use LR 6 and Elements. Not into subscription services. Tried Luminar, liked it and bought it. I'm a Windows user. This product for Windows was rushed to market, can you say cash flow. Still waiting, waiting and waiting for a reply from their support team. (they just started a support forum on Facebook) Can't save any work, they say update will be coming in January. Suggest all Windows users WAIT until they get their act together. The wait will be worth it for this excellent product. In the meantime I'll keep playing.

Vince68 Loc: Wappingers Falls, NY

First, sorry that Nicodemus is no longer with you after 17 years. Pets get to be a part of the family and many love and cherish them as such.

As far as Luminar 2018 goes, I have it and I am quite satisfied with it so far. I have read of problems with the Windows version (which I have), but I have not experienced any problems as of yet myself. There has been an update to it since I started using it, and as it is used more and more there will be more updates to fix other problems. They are also working on Digital Asset Management as well, which is scheduled to be added sometime in 2018. I still use Lightroom 6.13 and will continue to do so until it either no longer works, or if it does not support any newer camera or have profiles for newer lenses I may acquire. I have not encountered any problems with LR that others have complained about, but I am not a professional photographer processing hundreds, or thousands of photos at a time. I have been satisfied with LR, and have used it since version 4, but I have not used the Creative Cloud for Lightroom and don't plan on using it at this time. I also have been trying out Affinity software as well.

pmacc1

I also use Luminar in Windows 10 and have had no issues with it -- not a single glitch. It's a new PC with a clean Win10 install, so maybe that's why Luminar is operating so well for me.