Luminar 4 vs Lightroom - BETTER in some ways, WORSE in others

Testing out Luminar 4 I found several aspects which make it a better choice than Lightroom and Photoshop, however some aspects I also found to be rather lacking.
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My Gear:

[palentier]

I prefer to own my software as opposed to endlessly renting it...

Just a tip: If you try to cancel your Lightroom subscription Adobe will try to offer you 3 months free of charge if you don't cancel. I tried that 2 times and it worked.

[DexterousGamings]

skylum take notes, this guy is perfect about my frustration with your software

[HughWalker]

Nice video, but it does not have to be a decision of one or the other. I use both, . LR is my main tool for the initial edits of the RAW file and I use Luminar as a plugin for specific creative editing. The best of both worlds

[vinnym]

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Luminar 4 is eventually gonna come out with a pull down tab where you can replace you’re whole image with something completely different. You’ll go from a shot of your driveway, to a desert sunset hahaha

[guslaursen]

I just started with Luminar and I have to say I'm impressed. I redid a few photos I had processed with Lightroom, and was able to achieve a more pleasing look with just a few edits.

My only complaint is that, like the video mentioned, it is a bit slower. However - once you have a look you like and save it as a preset, you can save a lot of time as you might only need a couple of tweaks between images. Still, I much prefer to buy once instead of paying a monthly fee, so the slower speed is something I can live with. But when Skylum finally improves that... Hoo boy, Adobe had better watch out!

[robdavey]

I am a Luminar 4 user and have been so for many years (from Luminar 2018 onwards). One thing that has always bugged me is the inability to change the DPI when exporting a JPEG. But from your video it looks at though you had the option... How did you get the option?? I see your video is a year old too so I must be missing something?

[derekcooper]

You still have to put your shoes on and go out with a camera though?

[sizzlemann]

I've been using Luminar for about a year and a half. Are there some issues, yes. Are they big enough to continue to pay Adobe every month? Nope! I am not a professional photographer but I have used the programs Luminar 3 and 4 for weddings shoots, portraits, landscapes and everything else. I've even got comments from a bride that she preferred my shots over the professionals shots that she had hired. With this program, my editing is much faster. I can get the results I want in a lot less time than LR or PS. Of course the more you know the program, the faster you can edit. A couple of things you missed are that they have excellent customer service. I had issues with Luminar 3 and they worked with me diligently until it was resolved. Also, if you are shooting a similar scene, you can batch edit to get all those shots close to where you want and then tweak each of them individually. That will save you a ton of time. Will I ever go back to LR and PS, nope! With each update, Luminar gets better and better. My 2 cents.

[CultureAgent]

Hi Dave, you could have mentioned the advanced options which pop up here and there in Luminar 4, these mainly involve masking, that way adjustments can be localised. It also works as a plugin, that's the way I fit it into my workflow. Fast Rawviewer then Affinity Photo, Luminar 4 and Topaz AI Clear/Denoise as plugins if required. All these programs are reasonably priced and over time works out much more competatively priced than Photoshop/Lightroom. As Affinity is my main program, I export from there so don't have that folder problem you mentioned. Like all tools you have to use them wisely. I find Luminar all too readily wants to run away with itself and go overboard very quickly, the sky enhancer for example absolutely shreds horizons if you take it too far. Less is definitely more with it.

[cdreel]

Hi, I work with both, Lightroom 6 and Luminar 4. I like the way Luminar works, but unfortunately there are some problems. For example, the lens correction (distortion, chromatic aberration) does not work with all RAW files. It works for a few, some incorrectly (compared to Lightroom), and for most, not at all. Also the white balance is not well implemented compared to Lightroom. It mostly looks artificial, too yellow/warm.

[cjking]

I've been using a combination of Photoshop Elements 2018 and Luminar 4 since Luminar can be used as a plugin or stand alone. Some pics I do more in Luminar, but some more with Photoshop. Luminar is a lot easier and faster for the things I do with it. PhotoshopElements is missing a lot of things but I get some of that back by using a ElementsPlus plugin which cost me $12. I can do a detail portrait edit in around 15 minutes as I have a workflow now. The first one takes the longest and the rest are shorter because I know what I want. I like the contrasting, sky, structure and other things in Luminar. For changing skin colors, blemish removal, dodge and burn and frequency separation, I go to Photoshop. Smoothing skin is a toss up depending on the picture. Anything that is not a portrait that needs blemish removal is almost all Luminar for me.

[standasebek]

I guess soon we will see much more photos out there...all with the same set of skies.

[HelloUser]

Continuing to enjoy the honesty of your reviews compared to the over the top excitement and praise of everything from other channels

[GeraldBertramPhotography]

I'm a real estate photog and have been a Lightroom user for ages. I picked up Luminar just to try the sky replacement and I'll keep using it just for the sky replacement. It has saved my so much time in just that one area. Like you said for most images, the replacement is pretty much flawless. Once they are able to address some of the performance issues I can easily see myself leaving Adobe.

[tonytfuntek]

I switched from LR5 to Luminar about a year ago and just recently to V4. For my purposes Luminar 4 does 99% of what I need, I just wish the print module was better. Like printing multiple images on one sheet of paper. But you can't beat it for the price.

[robkar]

Very much in line with my view of Luminar 4 I tend to just use as a plug in for Lightroom to much the same way i use some of the Topaz programmes .

[robinheider]

Luminar 4 is absolutely brilliant for ai structure vs clarity sharpening is divided into three. small, medium, and large, and has layers and brushes and blending modes and is mask centric. All effects can be partially or totally erased or painted on. It also can be a plug in to photoshop and light room. As pointed out it does not deal with memory well and is slow on export. It does operate very quickly within its own eco system. It does such an unbelievable job on sky replacement and object libraries that it can save a large number of landscape shots that would be otherwise rejects because of sky and tone . To me it is worth every penny. And has allowed to create in 15 minutes projects that left to light house and photoshop alone could take hours, The relight in feature alone is a remarkable intuitive tool.

[thats_Mr_B]

Question, if I bought Lumina4 and say they fixed some of those programs, does mine automatically update or would I have to rebuy it? Also does lumina have a hot spot from flash, shine/oily skin reducer ?

[bugatti]

I love not having to spend hours doing basic corrections so the AI was a big selling point for me. I agree the program is unacceptably slow, even on fast computers. This is most likely from sloppy programming so I really hope they fix this in a future update. The file handling is very frustrating. I'm used to using explorer style file handling so having Luminar's system in my face with no other options is very aggravating and time consuming. One plus or downside with Luminar, depending on your personal viewpoint, is that it makes it very easy to cross over that line from everyday photographic color corrections and enhancements to full blown digital art that in no way resembles reality.