It would be fair to say that Adobe sits on the photo-editing software throne. Photoshop has become a generic trademark for photo retouching just as the brand Hoover did for vacuum cleaning. However, competition is always healthy for the consumer, so we’re eager to see what Macphun can bring to the table with its announcement of Luminar, an intuitive challenger to the photo manipulation marketplace.
Macphun’s strategy is very focused; with Luminar the company is launching an attack on the awful learning curves that plague the current player photo-editors. Though we would hardly call Photoshop’s insurmountable, to out-and-out noobs it can be can certainly be intimidating. This is why Luminar, like many a video game, offers a choice of skill level to work on a project with.
/Macphun
Each level toggled provides an increased selection of tools to the user:
Quick Fix displays naught but the most basic cut, crop, and rotation type tools to deal with a basic problem.
Presets works similar to any standard photo app on a phone, allowing the user to select a predetermined set of filter and lighting options to apply to an image based on type.
Filters and Controls is a step up in complexity and allows selection of different filters and lighting options but in this case allows the user to edit the details of how the effect is applied.
Advanced Editing is for the expert editor and gives the user complete control of their image including multi-layer use.
/Macphun
This set of increasing layers of complication isn’t present just to cater to the ability of users but to the needs of the project. It can be slightly irritating to muddle your way through the various menus and taskbars and confirmations in professional software when you just to do something ridiculously simple. This level system allows a quick jump to your needs for the task at hand.
Intuitive simplicity doesn’t mean it’s lacking in functionality however. Yes, in addition to layers and custom textures, Luminar has all the brush, masking, noise reduction, healing, and transformative tools standard you might expect in any pro editing package. As is the case with any editor worth its salt currently, in addition to the common image file types, Luminar also supports RAW files and has a RAW converter.
/Macphun
Luminar will also be downloadable as a plugin for Photoshop in addition to a standalone version. Curiously, Luminar is only planned to be a Mac exclusive with no intentions to release on PC. We get the company is called “Macphun” but it just seems strange that it’s cut itself off from that potential customer base entirely.
Luminar launches on 17 November 2016, with pre-orders starting two weeks in advance on 2 November. It’s retail price is US$59 but customers who already own any Macphun app for Mac, will be able to snag it for US$49.
What do you think? Does this young pup have what what it takes to challenge Adobe? Let us know on Facebook, on Twitter and in the comments below!
. digitalrev.com2016-10-19 03:00