Originally posted by wolfiegirl Is noiseless and snapheal part of luminar or seperate? I like those two can be plugged in to Lightroom. Not sure I need a new raw program -just want to try these two things out with Lightroom which I am still learning and have invested quite a bit of money into already.
Luminar is stand alone, right? Or does it incorporate all their seperate programs into one?
I am currently trying and comparing Luminar, Affinity, and Darktable. You can use the entire Creative Kit (SnapHeal, Noiseless, Tonality, etc.) through plugins in Luminar.
I find Luminar is rather intuitive to use and yields nice results. The latest version has incorporated a few new filters. They will be bringing out an asset management module in 2018, and it will be a no-charge upgrade.
If asset management is critical, you might look at Darktable which has a pretty nice asset management system. Right now I am using Mac’s Photos for organizing my images. Many find it less than ideal, but as I work with it I am learning that it has its own advantages.
Interestingly, if you are using a Mac, you can access all three of these programs - and more, including both Creative Kit and the Nik plugins - as plugins directly through the Photos edit module.
Both Luminar and Affinity have excellent video tutorials - and many of them. Right now I am editing the same photo in all three programs by watching a video and then going to the photo and using that particular tutorial to make changes. Darktable also has tutorials, but they are not from the seller (it is freeware) so their quality is a bit variable and there are not as many.
At the moment I am leaning strongly toward Luminar. It is more intuitive than Affinity for me, but this a personal thing. Darktable is similar to Lightroom (that’s not a bad thing), but I am having a small problem with the cursor not quite aligning properly on some menu lists. This may be fixed at any time as it is freeware which tends to be updated without a set schedule.
I still have Lightroom/PhotoShop subscription, but will probably be changing. Why? I am not really sure; sometimes I just need to try new things. It is really amazing how many post-processing programs there are from which to choose, but to me Affinity and Luminar seem to be the cutting edge.
I hope this helps.
Don