You had me ready to buy until the word subscription came out. I am not a fan of them. At $12/month... Definitely not reasonable to the casual photographer
There are free options that have gotten fairly competent. I've been using darktable for a while now when I can't be bothered to swap to Windows (my main OS is openSUSE, Windows is basically just for Adobe suite, Sigma Photo Pro, and the few games that proton doesn't like) and even then I have darktable setup with Affinity Photo 2 unless I really need Adobe tools. Darktable is getting easier to use over time, but there is still a fairly steep learning curve due to the depth of what's offered (lots of useful tooltips, at least). I don't know if an absolute beginner should get their first taste of raw processing with it. If they've watched guides for any other software and understand what different tools are (levels, curves, exposure, general tools/terms that apply everywhere), then it's worth installing just to play with, IMO. I'm not someone that pushes software like that, I'll never say GIMP can replace Photoshop for an efficient workflow like some delusional people. Darktable has come a long way and can actually function for my workflow.
I find Darktable's color and tone tools more powerful than the commercial options I've seen, but opposite to something like Luminar they require a deep understanding of how they work to get good results.
100% I've used LR, CaptureOnePro, and was hesitant to switch to Darktable, but so glad I did, and took a little time to learn it. I'd never use anything else!!
WOWZA! Great explanation of the app Luminar Neo and super hi props for mentioning the subscription model. I have watched many videos on this app and not one mentioned this. No surprise I ahed been a subscriber of your channel for years and it's because of choices like this by you. Thanks you. I am considering Luminar apps as Pixelmator has not impressed me and the mobile apps haven't seen much updates. 👍🏽
Would love to switch from LR but the catalogue with smart previews and my raw files on a NAS is just the best workflow for me. No other software offers this
I don’t like AI to be honest, I still appreciate the work of artists that they put time effort experience money and a lot more to get with a masterpiece
How often you find yourself using the generative ai and do you think after using it, it devalues the work ? Would like to hear your perspective. Big Fan of your videos.
Yes more advanced and slick than LR. I want to move away from needing cloud LR and classic LR, essentially having to rely on two versions of the same software as the overlap of functions is terrible.
the word AI is being overused and named anything these days. You could call AI pretty much any function from 10 years ago as well. just another marketing trick to make things sound "important". thank you
I have been using Luminar for some time, but I had to drop it as my main edit to as the basic interface and options are so lacking. One example you even member in tur video, but as a "cool" feature, namely the fact that often the edit end in another map. The problem I'd that you can't choose where it ends up. This requires so much more work when you edit, because things have to be moved around manually. I love many of tur functions, but only as a tool I use from time to tire on individual pictures. So the subscription I pay is on top of my standard editors. I'm sorry but I don't get these "reviews" that only see some pretorius sides, but never mnemonic the many limits. Every program has its limits. Tur biggest issue I found was trying to photo print from Luminar. No matter what I did, the colors didn't work well, so I had to give up and print (worth same printer settings) from another program. So Luminar can do some amazing things, but it's not mature as the main photo editor. Maybe Skylum one day will focus on basic functions before they develop more fancy but rarely used tools. That's just my experience.
I’ve been using Neo for awhile now… the novelty wears off after many, many edits. It’s fun to use at first but then we are in no rush to edit a photo again.
You should run NEO on a recent Win 11 PC If you have Windows). I've had NEO- non subs- for months, on a DELL XPS desktop that will be 8 yrs old this Spring (to be replaced). After uses of NEO, and I have browser with RU-vid and lots on windows open, moving around and renaming lots if files and more - things all freeze,. Can't even close 'apps'. PC works well otherwise but I do have very long shut down and start times (press the switch to kill power or and I need to let it be for over 15 min to be able to use).
I find Neo to be nowhere near as good as LR/Photoshop and Capture One. The Generative Ai functions are completly useless in comparison to Adobe's offering also.
Hi. First of all - congrats for your channel and all the knowledge share. A question: i shoot a lot film só i get jpg files. Do i loose any edit feature with Luminar Neo?
The AI is the reason I won't switch. When a company actively promotes that they can radically alter your photo and turn it into something that never existed, it's a moral degradation of the company, their customers, and the art. It's like people buying a 3D printer and claiming "I created this piece of art" when all they did was buy and download the schematic. I get that Lightroom has some "AI" features, but I don't use them. The workflow alone is worth the price of admission.
@@Tryptic2x In my case, I didn’t want to shell out a one time cost of hundreds and hundreds of dollars to “own” the software. To me, $9.95 a month seems like a tremendous bargain, and that small amount of money has zero impact on my life. So for me, it’s pro consumer.
