Long-term Review of "Luminar Neo," a Perpetual License RAW Photo Editor (Windows & Mac Compatible)
I've been using Skylum's photo editing software 'Luminar Neo,' which supports RAW development, for 1.5 years, so I'm reviewing it.
I used 'Luminar 3' before, but when I replaced my camera, I found that it didn't support '.CR3' RAW data, so I switched to 'Luminar Neo'.
In addition to RAW development and basic retouching features, I'll introduce the convenient and frequently used functions!
It can also be purchased on Rakuten Ichiba and Yahoo! Shopping.
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(If this article was helpful, purchasing through the links here would be encouraging.)
Table of Contents
What is Luminar Neo
'Luminar Neo' is a photo editing and RAW development software developed by Skylum, a Ukrainian company.
In addition to general RAW development features found in Lightroom and Capture One, its strengths include AI-powered automatic correction and subject recognition.
It's characterized by intuitive operations that allow you to automatically replace skies or recognize people to refine their skin.
Since it's a perpetual license, it can be said to have a pricing structure suitable for Japanese people who prefer perpetual licenses (?).
If you aim for a good timing, I think you can buy it for a little over 10,000 yen.
I chose the "Perpetual License Desktop Version".
The price at the time of writing seems to be 15,980 yen.
There also appear to be plans available for iOS and Android.
Basic Interface and Editing Menus
This is the top screen that appears when you launch Luminar Neo.
Instead of importing photos one by one like in Photoshop, you manage them by linking them to folders.
Folders are displayed in the left sidebar menu, and you edit photos by folder.
Clicking the 'Edit' tab opens the editing screen.
The editing menu appears in the right sidebar.
Photos within the same folder are displayed at the bottom of the screen, allowing for horizontal scrolling.
You can also copy edits and paste them onto multiple selected photos at once.
This is convenient when you have multiple photos of the same scene; you only need to edit one and apply it to the others.
Here is a list of tools. There are many.
I don't use all of them, but the ones I use frequently are:
-
Crop
Allows for trimming and tilt correction.
- Develop
Basic retouching and RAW development features (described later) - Noiseless
Noise reduction (described later) - Erase
Removes unwanted elements that have appeared in the photo. A Magic Eraser-like function. (described later) - Color
Allows changing the hue, saturation, and lightness of specific colors (red, blue, aqua, etc.) (described later) -
Supercontrast
Allows for advanced contrast adjustment.
RAW Development and Basic Retouching
Here are the basic retouching features.
It includes basic items such as Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Warmth, Tint, Saturation, and Vibrance. (There is no 'Brightness' setting.)
You can also layer adjustments; for example, if maximizing shadows isn't enough, you can add another 'Develop' shadow adjustment.
About RAW Development
For RAW data, 'RAW' is displayed in blue under 'Develop'.
Here's a comparison between a regular JPG(left) and RAW data(right).
I maximized the shadows.
Here are the actual photos. Left: JPG Right: RAW
You can see that the RAW data on the right is significantly brighter. (Apologies for the poor photography and resulting noise...)
Applying 'Noiseless' too
Since 'Noiseless' also seems to be advantageous with RAW, let's compare a regular JPG(left) with RAW data(right).
I applied 'High Adjustment' to both.
Here are the actual photos. Left: JPG Right: RAW
Here too, the RAW data on the right looks cleaner.
I apologize for not having better samples, but it's clear that RAW development is working!
I'll take proper photos next time.
Frequently Used Features
Luminar Neo has many editing menus, but I'll introduce three features that I personally find convenient and use frequently.
Erase
This feature is similar to Photoshop's or Google Pixel's Magic Eraser.
Using the 'Erase' tool, paint the element you want to remove in red, then click 'Erase'.
This much was removed in one go.
There's a slight remnant of the tire (?), so another adjustment should make it perfect.
Color
In addition to the usual 'Saturation' and 'Vibrance,' you can use 'HSL' to change the saturation, hue, and lightness of specific colors.
Here's an example where the saturation of 'orange' was maximized.
Here's an example where the hue of 'orange' was minimized.
For example, in nature photos, you can skillfully adjust areas where increasing saturation might make trees too green.
Sky (Sky Replacement)
You can replace a cloudy sky with a clear sky.
The 'Sky' tool has an 'AI' mark, which indicates Luminar Neo's signature AI feature. There's no need to pre-select the sky area; the sky can be replaced with a single click.
(Here's the sky Before)
Well, doing this much makes you wonder 'What is photography?', so I don't overuse it...
Summary
I tried Luminar Neo, which supports RAW development.
While it has so many features that I honestly probably won't use all of them, the fact that it's a 'perpetual license' is a very welcome point.
It's also convenient for batch retouching large numbers of photos since you can copy and paste edits, making it a software I have no particular complaints about!
It can also be purchased on Rakuten Ichiba and Yahoo! Shopping.
(If this article was helpful, purchasing through the links here would be encouraging.)
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