Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
Just downloaded Luminar for Windows beta from here: Luminar for Windows (beta) is live! Try it free today.

So far, I find it is pretty interesting.

With a couple of clicks, I was able to go from here:

G12 clouds 006.JPG
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

To this:

G12 clouds 006 B.jpg

The interface is a little like dealing with a mime -- little pictures and symbols indicate what things do, but so far, I'm liking it.

Cheers, Jock
 
I've had the Mac version for a while and really like it. Some processes are slower than LR, but you can get some very nice presets. I am also trying to replicate some of my favourite presets from LR and the Nik tools; it's a slow job though.
 
The Luminar 3.0.2 update, build 2186, is now globally available; it was delayed and was only released in a few markets originally.

Here's the update notes...

Luminar 3, ver. 3.0.2

New Features:

Take advantage of these new features.
  • SUBFOLDER MANAGEMENT. Subfolders make it easy to further organize your image library. These are folders nested inside other folders in your catalog and directly tie back to real folders on your hard drive.
  • Subfolder creation. You can create a new by right-clicking on an existing folder in your Library.
  • Subfolder deletion. It is possible to delete a subfolder as well by right-clicking on it in your library.
  • LOCATE FOLDER. Have you moved or copied media to a new location? You can right-click on an offline folder and choose Locate Folder to select and reconnect files.
  • ADDING FOLDER IMPROVEMENTS. Change your mind when adding a folder? Just click Cancel to stop the current task.
  • OFFLINE FILE ALERTS. See a visual alert indicating unavailable files and folders.
  • IMPROVED NAVIGATION. Quickly switch between Gallery and Single Image view with dedicated toolbar buttons.
  • SHORTCUT KEYS. Take advantage of new keyboard shortcuts for View, Looks Navigation, Masks, Tools, and Edit.
  • NEW LANGUAGES SUPPORTED. Use Luminar 3 in more languages with new localizations:
    • Chinese Simplified
    • Chinese Traditional
    • Korean
    • Portuguese
    • Russian
    • Italian
  • Performance ImprovementsGet additional speed and performance from the Luminar 3 update.
  • FASTER ADDING. You'll see much faster load times when adding new photos and folders to the Catalog.
  • FASTER LAUNCHING. When you return to Luminar 3, launch times are improved when reloading your Catalog.
  • STABILITY. Thanks to our users for reporting different issues. This version of Luminar offers general stability improvements.

New Cameras Added
The following new cameras are supported by this recent update:
  • NIKON
    • Nikon D3500
    • Nikon P1000
    • Nikon Z6
    • Nikon Z7
  • PANASONIC
    • Panasonic Lumix DC-LX100 II
  • FUJIFILM
    • Fujifilm GFX 50R
    • Fujifilm X-T3
  • SONY
    • Sony RX100VA
    • Sony RX100VI
    • Sony DSC-HX99
    • Sony DSC-HX95
  • LEICA
    • Leica M10-D
    • Leica M10-P
    • Leica D-Lux 7
 
TIPA gives award to Luminar 3 for 2019 best imaging software. TIPA is the abbreviation of the Technical Imaging Press Association and was founded in 1991 as an international organization of photo industry publications.


Simplicity in an image editor need not mean being limited to only basic effects and enhancements. Luminar 3 offers a raft of tools in an efficient workspace that offers numerous Looks (presets) as well as all that is needed by many photographers to get the best and most expressive results from their images. Users can choose from over 70 default styles crafted by professional photographers plus download dozens of Looks that extends their options: both paths can be customized with a wide range quick sliders. There are also sophisticated editing tools that allow advanced users to take a deeper dive into editing. The unique AI Sky Enhancer filter makes sky rendition a quick and easy operation.​

What catches my attention about their list is another prize winner, the Canon EOS RP, along with Luminar 3, has only been out for a short period of time. Combine that with the fact that we're only in April of 2019 and, at least to me, it would seem to be a bit early to be declaring 'best of 2019' type awards.
 
I just read about the Flex plug-in, should be interesting since I've had all sorts of delay, latency and false start problems exporting from LR to Lum3 (less so with Aurora HDR).
 
I just read about the Flex plug-in, should be interesting since I've had all sorts of delay, latency and false start problems exporting from LR to Lum3 (less so with Aurora HDR).
Once everybody gets their Flex license it'll be interesting to see the path Skylum takes because they've said that for now Luminar and Luminar Flex are at feature parity but that'll be changing in the future so somethings might show up in one product but not the other. Stuff like DAM is obvious but I wonder if they're planning on anything that'll give incentive to people switch to standalone Luminar or they'll end up pivoting to concentrating on Flex.
 
So far the launch performance for Flex from inside my LR installation is faster and more reliable than the full Luminar 3 installation. What's sort of disappointing is that they can't draw from the same Looks database - I'll have to find all the Looks I have installed in Lum3 and re-install them (I guess?) in Flex. Not quite sold yet on the Professional Looks (which seems to replace the Lum3 AI Default look).
 
So far the launch performance for Flex from inside my LR installation is faster and more reliable than the full Luminar 3 installation. What's sort of disappointing is that they can't draw from the same Looks database - I'll have to find all the Looks I have installed in Lum3 and re-install them (I guess?) in Flex. Not quite sold yet on the Professional Looks (which seems to replace the Lum3 AI Default look).
You just need to copy the stuff in your looks folder under L3 to the same folder under Flex. I agree, Flex seems quicker than L3.
 
Sadly I compared the Looks folders on both Lum3 and Flex and they're identical in size and number of files/folders - Lum3 has all the free Looks I downloaded from the Skylum site, so it's probably stored somewhere else in the installation path. I've had to find all the Looks archive files, expand and re-install inside Flex by using the File -> Install Looks menu. No big deal, but I'll suggest it to Skylum that this needs to be a better way. :)
 
Sadly I compared the Looks folders on both Lum3 and Flex and they're identical in size and number of files/folders - Lum3 has all the free Looks I downloaded from the Skylum site, so it's probably stored somewhere else in the installation path. I've had to find all the Looks archive files, expand and re-install inside Flex by using the File -> Install Looks menu. No big deal, but I'll suggest it to Skylum that this needs to be a better way. :)
Is this on Windows or Mac? On Mac there is a menu option to show the Looks folder (can't remember the exact command as I am typing this on my phone, enjoying the sunshine in the garden!!) In the Finder the L3 folder is adjacent to Flex so it's easy to copy over.
 
Is this on Windows or Mac? On Mac there is a menu option to show the Looks folder (can't remember the exact command as I am typing this on my phone, enjoying the sunshine in the garden!!) In the Finder the L3 folder is adjacent to Flex so it's easy to copy over.
For Windows users, it's the same... File => Show Luminar Looks Folder....

The default folder is then C:\Users\{USER}\AppData\Roaming\Luminar 3\Data\Looks\Users.
 
For Windows users, it's the same... File => Show Luminar Looks Folder....

The default folder is then C:\Users\{USER}\AppData\Roaming\Luminar 3\Data\Looks\Users.

That was it. It's actually in \Data\Extra - which is at the same level as Looks. I see all the Download mlumpacks. Thanks folks!
 
For those who haven't upgraded yet, the 3.1.x update should be available to everybody by now. The big thing they're emphasizing with this release is the "Accent AI 2.0" update but there's some nice little things in there like the RAW + JPG pairs and support for Photoshop Elements as a plugin.


Here's the release notes for the L3 3.1.0 update...
Luminar 3, ver. 3.1.0

The Windows version of Luminar receives several updates with version 3.1 We hope you enjoy this new release of Luminar and appreciate your feedback and reports.

New Features:

Take advantage of these new and improved features.
* ACCENT AI 2.0. An improved algorithm that makes this a go-to filer. New "human-aware" technology recognizes people in your photos and applies adjustments selectively for more realistic images.
* RAW + JPEG PAIRS. When you import Raw and JPEG pairs, you can decide which files to see. View just Raw or JPEG for a less cluttered library, or see both and use the JPEG file as a reference as you edit. Edits to each file are independent but can be easily synced. Use the View menu to control which images are shown for a clutter-free library.
* IMPORT IMAGES. You can now import images from a memory card or hard drive and copy them to a folder. You can also choose to include subfolders when importing
* SELECTIVE SYNC FOR SYNC ADJUSTMENTS. Once you've created the perfect style, apply it to all shots in your series with the improved Adjustment Sync. You can now select multiple photos and apply the same adjustments in just one click. Filters and Looks are transferred instantly, while image-specific changes like cloning and cropping are ignored.
* SMUGMUG SHARING. The ability to post images to SmugMug has now been added to Luminar for Windows.
* SHORTCUTS. Folders and user albums can be added to the Shortcuts list. Just right-click for a context menu or drag & drop them into the list.
* IMPROVED SELECTIONS. Want to choose a range of photos in the Gallery view? Try the Shift or Ctrl key to select a range or group of images. You can also deselect images from a multiselection by Ctrl+clicking on an image.
* BETTER SORTING. When you choose to sort your images using another method (such as File Type or Color Label) they are also sorted by Capture Day.
* ROTATE IN GALLERY. Images selected in the gallery can be quickly rotated left or right by 90ÌŠ increments with no need to switch to edit view. Just use the Image > Rotate menu or just right-click.
* PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS SUPPORT. We've added Photoshop Elements support to the Windows platform. Just choose the Install Plugins command if you want to load Luminar as a plugin. For future versions of Luminar, plugin users should switch to Luminar Flex.

Performance Improvements
Get additional speed and performance from the Luminar update.
* IMPROVED HISTORY. Undo a Sync/Copy/Paste adjustments with one step in the History list.
* HIDDEN FILES. Luminar does a better job of filtering hidden folders and photo. Additionally, unwanted items like Backups, History, Previews, and Caches won't be shown when opening Luminar Catalogs.
* STABILITY. Thanks to our users for reporting different issues. This version of Luminar offers general stability improvements.
 
So I'm a little disappointed with Skylum. :( Luminar 3, and now Luminar Flex, have been barely out and even though L3 was being promoted as having an extensive roadmap of stuff to come Skylum is now promoting a pre-release order of Luminar 4 which will not be a free upgrade for L3/Flex owners and they've been quietly scrubbing their site of some of the L3 roadmap lists. Considering that the L3 launch was a little rocky with some users still having performance issues and the DAM still not quite up to par with the competitors an L4 product seems a little premature at this point.
 
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