Bike guy Loc: Atlanta

My IMac is dying or as died. I can't do any more upgrades to it. In fact, I have an external HD I use for booting it up. For now, I can't afford a new computer. I do have a pretty good Lenovo Win 10 with 8 gb ram that appears to do the job.
I had been using Luminar on my Mac, and I do have the Windows Beta, or whatever version set up on my PC. Recently I downloaded the 30 day trial of ON1 and I like the functions that I have tried so far. My other editing program is Photoshop Elements on the PC. And I use Adobe Bridge for 'cataloging' as well.

Luminar is pretty intuitive and cheap. I would have to purchase the PC version when it becomes available. They have great video training You Tube files and a manual. ON1 does not seem to have a manual (that I can find), but I have been going through their videos. I do like that they do have a cataloging function unlike Luminar.
I don't want to go the Adobe subscription route. I do own a Lightroom version on my Mac, but that does not help with the PC since it is not transferable.
Both Luminar and ON1 does have the layers that I believe LR does not, need Photoshop for that.

What I am doing now is testing the beta Luminar and the trial ON1 on my PC, judging processing power (how long does it take to do something) as well as all the image post processing choices. Luminar will cost me around $70, and ON1, I think $130???

My question(s) to all of you would be which program is better for taking RAW files into development, being able to edit files in a non-destructive mode, and of course have excellent tools for adjusting and printing my photos.

I appreciate hearing from all of you that have any experience with either program.
Thanks

Bill_de Loc: US

You need to learn Google. I like On1. There are a ton of free tutorials from a number of photographers and user guides.

https://on1help.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/206373527-ON1-USER-GUIDES

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WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

Have you looked at Affinity Photo. Great software, very comprehensive with a ton of training videos for $49.00.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Quote "ON1 does not seem to have a manual (that I can find), but I have been going through their videos."
With all respect, you must not be looking very hard. On1 Raw has a wide range of video courses available from pro photographers who represent various genres + YouTube videos + a very active support communty + developer tech support + online help. If you sign up for On1, you will be innundated with truckloads of educational and 'how to' material. But the choice of editor is entirely up to you. Absolutely your right as a citizen.

OregonCoaster

Affinity Photo and/or Luminar, both have terrific training videos.

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

There is a on1 raw manual, you need to look closer

HOT Texas Loc: From the Heart of Texas

I have both on my pc, I like Luminar just a bit better, still in the beta thou.

StaneeRae Loc: Lincroft, NJ USA

One of their emails included this download link for the On1 Raw manual.
http://ononesoft.cachefly.net/content/ON1-Photo-RAW-2017-User-Guide.zip

BTW, I downloaded their free On1 Effects a while ago. As a registered user, they sent an offer to buy On1 Raw at the upgrade price.

johneccles Loc: Leyland UK

I have just tried using Luminar for the first time today so I haven't tried any RAW photos yet.
My first impression is that the presets are quite good and the manual sliders are very comprehensive.
What did disappointed me was the time it took to export developed photographs which was around 25 seconds, this compares very poorly with my usual PP which takes around 5 seconds.

fourg1b2006 Loc: Long Island New York

I'm a big fan of ON1...It does everything i need it to do.

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

After playing with the 30 day trial, I recently bought ON1 at a slightly reduced price of $99.00. No doubt, I was impressed enough to spend the money.
There are ample videos and you tube tutorials to get through the learning curve.

Jerry G Loc: Waterford, Michigan and Florida

Since you are looking for new software you may want to check out Corel Paintshop Pro. It is on ale on Amazon for 49.99, it comes with both Windows and Mac discs. Corel has a downloadable 30 day free trial.

Wilderness Images Loc: Apache Junction, AZ.

I transitioned away from Lightroom when they went to the CC version and would not update my 5.7 any longer. I'm presently using On1 2017.5 and occasionally Affinity. Both programs seem to fill my requirements although I do admit to missing Lightrooms editing techniques.

I do have a problem with On1 as it has exceeded the abilities of my laptop and frequently crashes or just stops working. The program is very graphics intensive and requires a GPU that is not an integral part of the CPU so I'm in the process of selecting a new laptop that should meet the requirements for now and into the future. I've learned that all of the new photo editors should be run on a "gaming" rated computer that take advantage of the high speed dedicated graphics RAM.

cthahn

You need to decide what computer system you are going to use, and then decide on the software. There is nothing wrong with Adobe CC. You get everything you will ever need and continually updated.

Lazy J Loc: Pacific Northwest

One additional thing to consider is technical support after purchase. I do not have any first hand experience/knowledge with ON1, but Luminar, like many other start up software companies has no phone support. They only have email support which is very frustrating and most times, at least for me, results in no resolution to my issues. All I have ever received are partial/cryptic answers to my questions that require additional questions and more waiting time for a response, which is usually days in coming.

Case-in-point, I currently have a version of Luminar that does not display the "Apply/Save Changes" buttons needed to save your changes back to LR when using Luminar as a plugin. I was never able to rectify this issue with McPhun Support, so this program is virtually useless to me.

Regarding your comment, "I do own a Lightroom version on my Mac, but that does not help with the PC since it is not transferable.", you may want to check with Adobe on that as I do not believe that to be accurate. I believe you are able to download to several computers, and they do not all have to have the same operating system.

My two cents worth, keep the change!