Digital Camera World - UK (2022-02)

Kit

Zone

116 DIGITAL CAMERA^ FEBRUARY 2022 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

Group Test Photo-editing software

hoto Raw 2022 is a ‘do it all’

photo editor that covers

everything from photo

editing, through

non-destructive raw processing

and preset effects and right through

to multi-layer composites, all within

a non-destructive workflow. It

covers a lot of ground.

It’s hard to find any gaps in Photo

Raw’s features. This is probably the

most complete single program here; it

even has a library of effects presets to

rival those in Exposure X7. If it has a

weakness, it’s the interface, which

can be fussy to navigate, and does

have some crossover between its

Browse and Catalog tools and

Develop and Effects modes.

The results from Photo Raw 2022

are very good. Its presets are varied

and exciting; its raw processing is

at least as good as Adobe’s; and its

effects filters offer huge control. It

just lacks a little fluidity compared

with the best packages on test here.

uminar AI is not quite

the latest incarnation of

Skylum’s ever-changing

photo editor. The company

has been pushing and pre-selling its

Luminar Neo product for months,

though it’s now not scheduled

for release until February.

With Luminar AI, Skylum really

pushes the AI angle, with excellent

Sky Replacement and AI Portrait

enhancement, which can find and

enhance facial features quickly and

naturally, without turning people into

caricatures. The AI Composition tool

is less impressive; AI Structure doesn’t

seem to add much; and the promise

of automatically selected Looks

doesn’t really come off, largely because

Luminar AI’s supplied Looks (presets)

are actually on the dull side.

Other disappointments, after the

high of Luminar 4, are that layers

are no longer supported and the

catalog tools still don’t include

proper search tools or virtual copies.

P L

On1

Photo Raw 2022

£93.73/$99.99

Huge scope at a modest price

http://www.on1.com

Skylum

Luminar AI

£69/$79

Remarkable AI editing tools

http://www.skylum.com

Digital Camera verdict Digital Camera verdict

4.5 Outstanding 4.0 Excellent

Features Ease Results Value Features Results Value

of use

Ease

of use

An all-encompassing

program with huge

scope that can be

confusing, but is worth

the effort. There’s also

a Lightroom-style cloud

subscription option

with a mobile app.

Luminar AI is dumbed

down after the

preceding Luminar 4.

It’s still a great tool for

creating ‘enhanced’

reality, although Its

AI-driven template

selection is lacklustre.

System requirements

Windows

Intel Core i5, Xeon, or faster

processor; Windows 10 64-bit

macOS

Intel Core i5 or faster, or

Apple Silicon processor;

macOS 10.14 Mojave or later

8GB RAM (16GB+

recommended); 1.5GB

hard disk space

System requirements

Windows

Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5,

or faster processor; Windows

10 64-bit

macOS

Intel Core i5 or faster, or

Apple Silicon processor;

MacOS 10.13.6 High Sierra

or later

8GB RAM (16GB+

recommended);

10GB hard disk space

5.0 4.0 4.5 5.0 4.0 3.0 4.0 5.0