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Macphun announces Luminar 2018, takes on Adobe Lightroom

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Macphun, the California-based software developer today officially announced the new Luminar 2018 (available for Mac and PC).

This edition offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018 digital asset management platform.

New users will be able to purchase Luminar 2018 for $59, and current users of Luminar may upgrade at a special price of $39. Preorders start November 1 at www.macphun.com/luminar, and release date on November 16.

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.

Availability:

Pre-order for Luminar 2018 will run from November 1 until November 16.

Pre-order customers will receive a special price and value-add bonuses such as:

A pack of signature presets & textures from a Pro photographer Nicolesy. An exclusive pack of LUTs. 1-year Power plan from SmugMug ($72 value). For new accounts only.

Top 10 Luminar 2018 features:

  • Scalable, adaptive user interface with custom workspaces
  • Raw file conversion & non-destructive editing
  • Over 100 one-click presets
  • Over 40 image enhancement filters
  • Stackable layers with brushes and an advanced layer masking system
  • History panel with multiple undos and exportable history for resumable editing
  • Real-time noise reduction
  • Object removal and clone & stamp (available for Mac, coming soon to PC)
  • Operates as a standalone or plug-in
  • Complete digital asset manager with support for Lightroom catalogs (coming in 2018)

The new Luminar 2018 takes on Adobe Lightroom

Luminar 2018 offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018 digital asset management platform. Users will also benefit from the new intelligent Sun Rays filter, LUT support, and real-time noise removal. With adaptive workspaces that match styles of shooting, Luminar adapts to deliver a complete experience that avoids clutter and complexity.

Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts. Existing filters deliver richer colors and depth in less time. A brand new streamlined user interface speeds up working with presets, filters, and masks. With full support of pro options like layers, masks, and blending modes, complex repairs and photo composites can be easily accomplished.

And, importantly, Luminar works on both Mac- and Windows-based desktop computers*.

“We’ve taken the time to listen to photographers, and what they want is performance and quality. The less time photographers have to spend in front of computers, the more time they have for taking pictures,” said Alex Tsepko, CEO of Macphun. “Our mission is to get Luminar streamlined with just the tools and controls photographers need. The goal is simple: enable the best-looking images with the least amount of effort.”

Luminar offers a new RAW Engine that can handle high-quality images faster. Plus, it’s easy to solve image problems caused by camera lenses with Lens Correction features that resolve vignette, distortion, and color aberrations. If the photo has unwanted perspective problems, a new Transform tool can quickly solve them.

Instead of stuffing menus with boring effects and old technology, Luminar only puts in filters that photographers want and need. Luminar offers more than 40 filters to correct color, sharpen details, and release creativity. New filters include the ability to enhance color with Brilliance, selectively lighten or darken specific areas of an image with Dodge & Burn, as well as the ability to change the lighting in a photo with Sun Rays.

Want a whole new way to stylize images? Try the new Lookup Table adjustments, known as LUTs**. Creative color, perfect black and white conversions, and even digital films stocks are just a click away. Lightroom users who rely on custom presets created for Lightroom can also easily convert those presets into LUTs (with a free 3rd party tool) and use them inside of Luminar 2018.

Luminar 2018 will become available in November 2017, and in 2018 a free update will provide a new image browser/digital asset manager to help photographers manage their image libraries.

Photographers will be able to sort, rate, organize, and backup their photos at great speed. The new digital asset management platform in Luminar will work without subscription and will work with any storage (cloud or local). It will also bring a number of unique features, that the current Lightroom library can’t boast.

To learn more about Luminar 2018, head over to the Macphun official website.