f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Has anyone tried Luminar’s apparently new Flex program? Looking at the description on their website it looks like Luminar 2018, but perhaps they added some kind of machine learning functionality to it (since that’s all the rage these days). I might try the free download but is that the main difference - of course they don’t make the explanation as simple as that.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

It appears to boil down to simply this: Flex is designed to be used as a plug-in to other software.

The below link is to chapter 1 of a six-chapter (see right-hand side of the page) info section:
https://skylum.com/luminar-flex/user-guides

More info, including a video here

If others come along with real-life feedback, I'll delete my comments

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Well, thanks for that, but it really turns out it is both a plug in and a standalone program - some plans got cancelled so I decided to download it myself. It seems to be a bit of an advance over Luminar 2018, though similar in scope. I played around with a few raw images and have to admit to being pleased, given the small amount of time the edits took…

A couple of examples below - meanwhile, thanks for helping.

original Fuji raw file

(Download)

after Flex


original raw file

(Download)

after Flex

(Download)

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I have used Nik Collection for several years; it can be worked as stand-alone or plug-in also. Appreciate your posting the pics and your review. Hope it works out well for you.

newriverpaddler Loc: West Virginia

Luminar is a program that tried to compete with Lightroom with an integrated cataloging system. Apparently users did not wish to change their own systems or leave Lightroom. Skylum came out with flex for people that did not use the cataloging option. It is basically the same as 2018, but is back to being a plugin without said catalog.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Great plugin for Photoshop (or can be used as a standalone). Has the same functionality as Luminar minus the catalog function.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

In looking at the two examples, I would say that you could achieve the same results in LR and PS. If anything, the first is too saturated or contrasty for my taste. I am not sure what Luminar adds.

In this case, my workflow would have been to adjust exposure ever so slightly, clarity, tone curve, defog, and vignette in LR. PS's shake reduction would finish off the process.

Both pictures are very nice exposure-wise and artistically. Post-processing here is just icing on the cake. Thanks for posting.

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

True, I have little doubt that the same effects can be accomplished with the software you mention, as well as, no doubt, Affinity or Capture 1. The thing is, though, that for both of these images I clicked (literally) one button and adjusted one slider - I daresay saving 90%+ of the time that would be taken following the workflow you describe. Flex has all the individual slider controls for everything you might want as well, but I didn’t use any of them to get the posted results.

Meanwhile, thanks for your kind comments on the photos - I just wanted to use a couple of different things for demonstration purposes.

CanonTom Loc: Birmingham

Luminar Flex is basically Luminar III without the library. Luminar 2018 is very similar as it is almost the same as Luminar III, but without the library. Many folks wanted Luminar to replace the subscription to lightroom......Luminar is not, at least not yet, comparable to Lightroom in the Library module, and for those with many thousands of photos in Lightroom or some other program, it is most reasonable they might want to use Lightroom for Library but be able to use Luminar as well. Flex, a powerful plugin, is designed to do that. My own experience with Luminar 2018 was most positive, but like all editing programs, a little can go a long way. Many say Luminar takes it too far........just back off the slider some. The first Library issued with Luminar III was a disaster for many. Now that it has been improved I am enjoying using Luminar III.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Bob, you picked very nice demos. My issues with presets are that they discourage learning about the nuances of a photograph and do not work for local adjustments. Sure, you can adjust a preset but how many people do that? Or do they just shop around a myriad of them? If you are going to adjust a preset, why not just start out with the individual controls?

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

I submit that many folks aren’t ready or willing to spend hours on a single photo but would like to be able to enhance what the camera delivered - for me, if I need to do local adjustments of course I can go into PS etc., but for the bulk of my shots (including hundreds I take at a flat track roller derby game, for instance), that becomes infeasible. Skylum claims they have incorporated some kind of machine learning (A.I.) into Felx - perhaps that’s the difference between it and Luminar 2018 - I guess time will tell.

I remember fondly spending hours in a darkroom completely oblivious to time back in the day - but sitting in front of a computer (where there are still so many variables out of your control - like how well are other peoples’ monitors calibrated such that they might see something different, shade-wise, than you intended?) for hours on end tweaking a single image just doesn’t cut it for me. I’d rather go out and take more photos.

Thank you for your kind words about these shots - some day I will likely rotate them (or something similar) into my website, which I try to refresh every couple of months.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

Bob, I agree with your post. I am one of those people who will not spend hours taking or adjusting a picture. That is, in part, due to forty years of doing all my own printing. I have developed my own style and usually know where I am going with a picture. Today, I can finish off most of my pictures in under three minutes with a result better than I got in the darkroom. Once in a while, I go into PS but that is usually to apply shake reduction or the healing tool. I leave the more complicated adjustments to the pros.

I loved and miss the darkroom but not enough to go back to it. We could never have shot and printed as much film as we do today. With high speed capture, we are more likely to get the "decisive moment" and memorable shots. I can easily shoot three hundred pictures at a basketball game and wind up with twenty I really like.