Why you really need to check out Luminar 2018.

Digital Asset Management Interface

Right, let's get something straight right from the start. Macphun have announced the update of their answer to Photoshop and Lightroom, Luminar 2018. Now you may already know this but for those who don't, links to the pre-order page are what's called affiliate links. What that means is if you click on the link below and then decide to buy Luminar 2018, I get a small payment from Macphun (or Skylum as they are becoming). It's not a lot and it will barely pay for my internet service for a day, but I wanted to be straight with you.

So, now that is out of the way, why do you need to check Luminar 2018 out? Well, for starters there are some pre-order discounts and bonuses that won't apply once the software is released on the 16th November (12 days from now). Secondly, the new and improved features are something to take note of. 

Here are the highlights:

1. It's now going to be available on Windows! So you don't need a Mac to benefit from it anymore.
2. It has improved and faster RAW image processing.
3. It's mask performance is faster.
4. It has lots of new filters inc: 
1. Sun Rays filter 
2. LUT Mapping filter 
3. Dodge & Burn filter 
4. RAW Develop filter 
5. Hue Shift filter 
6. Matte Look filter 
7. Brilliance/Warmth filter 
8. Lens Correction filter 
9. Transform filter
5. As regards opening, exporting and sharing there are several new or improved features:
1. NEW - Supports 3rd party Photoshop plugins as plugins for Luminar (available for Mac, coming soon to PC) ○ Aurora HDR ○ And all other Creative Kit Applications (Mac only)
2. IMPROVED - Native RAW file support, including better DNG handling (available for Mac, coming soon to PC) 
3. IMPROVED - Sharpen on export (available for Mac, coming soon to PC)

These really are just the highlights. At the end of the post I will include a link to the full features. If you are curious, here are two screenshots of the interface. The first is the Mac version and the second one if the Windows one.

As you can see, the they are both screenshots of the Presets interface. Altogether, there are over 100 categorized built-in one-click presets, with large real-time preview.

There are also a variety (45+) of image processing filters for different looks (each filter has custom adjustments), each with a custom amount slider: 

○ Accent – AI Filter ○ Adjustable Gradient ○ Advanced Contrast ○ B&W Conversion ○ Bi-Color Toning ○ Brightness/Contrast ○ Brilliance/Warmth ○ Channel Mixer ○ Clarity ○ Color Balance ○ Color Contrast ○ Color Temperature ○ Cross Processing ○ Curves ○ Dehaze ○ Denoise ○ Details Enhance ○ Develop ○ Dodge & Burn ○ Dramatic ○ Exposure ○ Fog ○ Foliage Enhancer ○ Golden Hour ○ Grain ○ High Key ○ Highlights/Shadows ○ HSL ○ Hue Shift ○ Image Radiance ○ LUT Mapping ○ Matte Look ○ Microstructure ○ Orton Effect ○ Photo Filter ○ Polarizing Filter ○ Raw Develop ○ Remove Color Cast ○ Saturation/Vibrance ○ Sharpening ○ Soft Focus ○ Soft Glow ○ Split Color Warmth ○ Split Toning ○ Structure ○ Sun Rays ○ Texture Overlay ○ Tone ○ Top & Bottom Lighting ○ Vignette ○ Whites/Blacks

Now is probably a good time to mention the Digital Asset Management. This will be complete digital asset manager with support for Lightroom catalogs (coming in 2018). I understand that this will be a free upgrade. So not yet a possible replacement for Lightroom but in 2018 we will be able to decide then how it measures up in comparison to Adobe's recently updated Lightroom Classic.

It's also important to point out that there are some features not yet available in the Windows version but Macphun say these are coming soon. They include things like:

• Object removal and clone & stamp
• Default Workspaces (available for Mac, coming soon to PC)
• Quick & Awesome
• Essentials
• Aerial Photography
• B&W
• Landscape
• Portrait
• Street
• Batch processing
• Export/save/import custom workspaces
• Full Screen preview mode

Again, I understand that these will be a free upgrade to the Windows version.


So, if you have decided to check it out there is a trial version but remember the pre-order discounts and bonuses are unavailable once the software is released to the public.

You can pre-order now here. You can also upgrade from an earlier version (Mac users that's you) using the same link.

Here is a reminder of the pre-order costs and bonuses:

Pre-Order Pricing:

• Current users of Luminar may upgrade at a special pre-order price of $39 ($49 MSRP) 
• New users can purchase Luminar 2018 at a special pre-order price of $59 ($69 MSRP) 
• A collection of bonuses will also be included with every purchase. 
• Beta testers are eligible to receive and additional $10 discount 

Pre-Order Bonuses:

• A Pack of signature presets and textures fro pro photography Nicolesy 
• An Exclusive pack of LUTs 
• 1-year Power plan from SmugMug ($72 value). (For new accounts only) 

Oh, and if you want the link to the full list of features and system requirements it's available from the main menu on their site. Just use same link as before - here.