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Luminar January 2018 Update

Macphun (soon to be Skylum) has announced an update to their Luminar photo editing program. Here is a list of the Luminar January 2018 Update changes:

Windows Version

  • Language support: You can now enjoy Luminar in many more languages.
  • Brush Size: Use the left and right bracket keys ([ and ]) to adjust the size of your brush.  Add the shift key (Shift+ [ or ]) to adjust the Softness.  It’s now easier than ever to mask.
  • Curves: The Curves filter is  improved for better results.
  • Merge Layers: Permanently merge two or more layers with Merge layers feature.
  • Improved Sidebar: The sidebar controls are even easier to use and navigate.
  • Cropping improvements: The cropped state of an image is now correctly captured in the native Luminar file.
  • Adobe plug-in improvements: The plugins for Adobe products have been performance tuned.

Mac Version

  • Improved Raw Support: improved RAW Develop support and added Leica Monochrom .DNG , HEIC formats and improved support for Hasselblad and several other cameras.
  • Photos for Mac: Luminar works even better as an extension for Photos for Mac.
  • Adobe plug-in improvements: The plugins for Adobe products have been performance tuned.
  • Improved cross platform files: We’ve fixed issue with Dodge & Burn filter masks for documents created on Windows.

How to Update

If you already have Luminar 2018 these updates are free and very easy to install. In fact, when I launched Luminar on both my iMac and my Windows machine the software prompted that an update was available. If you don’t get the prompt, here is how to update your version:

  • Mac – Please, launch Luminar 2018, on the Top Menu Bar choose Luminar 2018 > Check for updates.
  • Windows  – Please, launch Luminar 2018, on the Top Toolbar choose Help > Check for updates.

I am currently testing Luminar in my quest for a replacement for Adobe Lightroom. As far as image editing goes, Luminar looks VERY promising as that replacement. They are currently working on a DAM (Digital Asset Manager) for organizing images. While it doesn’t quite have everything that Lightoom does (see comparison here), it has almost all and the few things it doesn’t are not the end of the world. You can download a free trial of Luminar and see if it works for you as well.

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