Jun 28, 2019 Aurora HDR opens Luminar and imports the edited image. Step 2: To remove the fence post and distractions, select the Erase tool from the Tools drop-down menu and paint over the areas you want to erase. Luminar examines the surrounding pixels and generates a new texture based on its awareness of what’s nearby in the photo. Neue AI - powered Tone-Mapping 3 years in development, Aurora HDR 19’s patent-pending Quantum HDR Engine™ automatically analyzes millions of pixels, and intelligently builds stunning photos. Luminar 4 & Aurora HDR - Humble Bundle For $25, I'm thinking about giving it a try. Photolemur 3 and a bunch of add-ons are included too but I'm not impressed with Photolemur (it's ok but not enough control). Skylum (formerly Macphun) is a software developing company based in Bellevue, Washington.It is most known for its photo editing software Aurora HDR and Luminar. Skylum is also the developer of Snapheal, Focus, Tonality, Intensify, Noiseless and FX Photo Studio.
Although writing about programs is my primary interest, I am fascinated with photography too. I love taking photographs of nature with my digital SLR camera.
Unfortunately, despite my best effects and the fact that digital cameras take away a lot of the guesswork and settings associated with their manual cousins, I always struggle to take the best quality photographs.
It would, no doubt, be amazing if I had access to software that provided me with the opportunity to retouch my photographs to improve their quality.
One of my friends suggested that I should try either Photolemur 2021 or Luminar 2021.
After having tried both the programs for some time, I decided to write this Photolemur vs Luminar 2021 review to help budding photographers understand the features of both of these photograph enhancement programs and determine which one suits their needs the most.
Before proceeding with this Photolemur versus Luminar review, I would like to point out that software developers are including “artificial intelligence” in their programs. These two programs are no exceptions, even though there is now a newer and more advanced release by the same vendor.
It is the same with these two photo retouching software, making them so simple to use that even those who have never used such programs before will feel at ease after using them for a couple of hours.
Photolemur vs. Luminar AI
I found out that both programs drastically cut down the learning curve typically associated with photo retouching programs. Let me now explain the features of both these software along with their prices, merits, and demerits.
Quickly Navigate to:
Photolemur
The index page of the vendor of this program states that Photolemur spares you the costs of purchasing an expensive program and the headache of spending hours with it to perfect your images. Thanks to its auto-editing feature.
It further states that the program uses artificial intelligence for the job and the user only has to drag and drop their images on the application and let technology complete the job of retouching your photographs.
Unlike other high-end programs that are mostly subscription-based, you can purchase Photolemur, available for both the Windows and Mac operating systems as a one-time, subscription-free purchase.
Pricing
The one-off subscription costs are $35 for a single license and $55 for a family license that allows five persons to use this program.
Add-On
You can also purchase three different add-ons (styles) including:
• Rich: Perfect for enhancing wedding photos, glamorous looks (I believe this means photographs of models), and fashion photography
• Fusion: Ideal for enhancing party photographs, nightlife shots, and street photographs
• Impress: Perfect for enhancing landscape photographs taken while traveling, early morning shots, as well as for sunset skies
I was impressed by the fact that the website of the vendor allows you to see how images look before and after being processed by Photolemur by sliding a vertical bar to the left and right respectively.
This program offers the following filters:
• Sky enhancement
• Color recovery
• Exposure compensation
• Foliage enhancement, and
• RAW processing
In addition, you can change the color, saturation, and hue of your photographs with the help of the following styles, similar to Instagram filters, and available in version 3 of the program:
• Apollo
• Evolve
• Fall
• Mono
• Noble, and
• Spirited
Who Can Use Photolemur?
On the one hand, this program is designed and targeted for novice photographers who lack the knowledge needed for making custom photo edits. On the other hand, professional photographers who hardly have the time to edit each photograph manually can also depend on it.
Batch Processing of Photos
This software supports batch processing and has the option for processing RAW (an unprocessed photograph captured by the digital camera's sensor, and saved in the proprietary format, specific to the manufacturer of the camera) formats too.
Luminar Aurora
During this Photolemur 3 vs Luminar review, I feel it is important to point out that the “artificial intelligence” (AI) incorporated with Photolemur, takes away the headache of manual editing as the software figures out all the decisions required and implements them to produce excellent quality photographs.
The Software Studies and Learns
Thanks to its “AI,” this program while processing different types of photographs, is able to understand the different types of images processed and distinguish between different objects in the images such as mountains, foliage, buildings, faces, and people so that it can edit them appropriately.
Stronger with Photolemur Version 3
The program has received several updates after Skylum purchased it. This made its artificial intelligence engine even more powerful.
Cloud-Based Processing
Version 3 includes a powerful cloud-based batch image editing feature. You do not need to worry if you do not have a fast computer, as all of the images are processed by the cloud servers of Skylum.
The additional features included in version 3 include:
• Automatic face enhancement
• Photolemur styles
• Export to SmugMug (available only on the Mac platform)
• Batch processing (allows you to apply facial retouch, styles, and boost to a batch of images)
• Improved performance… the vendor has implemented improvements to boost the stability and speed of the program along with its AI batch processing engine.
The new version of this software concentrates on portrait photo editing. This, combined with its batch image processing feature, which also allows you to include one of the different styles provided to a batch of images quickly and flawlessly, makes Photolemur stand apart from competitors such as Luminar.
Easy to Use
Using the program is extremely simple. Be prepared to be pleasantly surprised when you do not find a host of features in its interface. On launching the program, you will be presented with a small window that has a couple of options to load images.
Drag and Drop
On the one hand, you can load a new image on the program using the file browser, and on the other hand, you can drag and drop photographs on the screen.
Once the image loads, the interface expands to accommodate the image aspect ratio. However, the program does not have an option to zoom in or go full screen.
If you are using this program for the first time and do not have the image you want to process available in your computer's hard disk drive, select the “open sample image” option.
Version 3 of Photolemur supports .png, .tiff, .jpeg, and raw image formats of various sizes in pixels.
Where Are the Options?
You will find just a limited set of options for processing photographs. This is because its AI engine handles all the tasks automatically. Wait for some time to see the final edited version of your image. You will also see the vertical before/after slider, mentioned above, which you can use to compare the original photograph with the processed one.
Click on the “export” button if you are satisfied with the results.
Luminar Aurora Review
Alternatively, you have the option to click on the “brush” icon to adjust the intensity of the processed effect. The included “style” feature consists of Instagram-like filters you can apply to your images once the AI enhancement has done its work.
Photo editing and enhancement have been taken to a higher level with AI (Artificial Intelligence) as exhibited in this amazing software. This review sheds more light on Photolemur as a time saver for both the photo editing novice and expert. Put the pictures there and let it do the work for you.
Compare Photolemur and Luminar
Offered by the same vendor, Skylum, I expect Luminar to have nearly identical features like Photolemur. Therefore, I was not surprised by the vertical slider feature displayed on the home page of this program. However, I also noticed many other options in its menu, which allowed me to individually tweak settings as per my preference.
Luminar
The vendor has included the “libraries” function in version 4, which changes it from being a single image editor to a photo workflow application. Unlike the previous versions, in which you had to open an image, edit it, and save it after each major edit, you just have to click on an image to load it.
Automatic Saving as You Edit
The software saves your work automatically as you keep on editing it. This means that you can focus all your attention on the editing aspect.
Easily Browse Through the Thumbnails Created
The implementation of the current library consists of a combination of database and file browser. You can add folders to the library, and the software will scan it and create thumbnails for browsing.
As the folders are synced with your computer's hard disk drive, Luminar reflects updates when you make changes in the Windows Explorer or Finder (for Macintosh-based computers). The software does not regenerate thumbnails from RAW files. Your sole option to bypass this issue is to load the RAW files by switching to the edit tab.
Photolemur or Luminar
While I found that .jpeg files loaded extremely fast in the edit interface of Luminar, it takes some time for RAW files to load. According to me, the program loads RAW images in different stages. Initially, it displays the embedded preview, followed by a cached, low-resolution preview, and finally the full resolution image.
You can start editing the image after the second stage. If you have applied filters such as “distortion correction” you can only edit the image after it loads fully.
Luminar has a somewhat basic view, which does not permit you to view the file type… you have to switch on the info panel for this. This can be frustrating if you are editing a combination of .jpeg and RAW images as they both appear beside each other in “catalog view” mode.
Available As Plugin
This program is available in a standalone version as well as plugins for “Adobe Photoshop,” “Adobe LR,” and “Apple Photos” extensions.
Supported on Windows and Mac
Like Photolemur, Luminar too is available for Windows and Macintosh-based operating system and is not subscription-based.
There is an option to choose between getting a license for 1 PC and 2 PCs with varying prices for each, respectively. As the developers are offering a 30 days money back warranty, you can uninstall it from your computer and request a full refund if you do not like it.
Amazing Features
This is the only photo enhancing software I have seen that provide you with different modules for enhancing different types of images such as:
• Aerial
• Professional
• Quick & Awesome
• Landscape, and
• Portrait
Each of these options has its individual preference. For example, the “Aerial” mode is the best for enhancing drone photographs.
The “Professional” mode contains all the essential tools that professional photographers need like RAW development, advanced contrast, dehaze, and much more.
Novice photography enthusiasts will love the “quick & awesome” feature, as it provides three sliders for changing the saturation and clarity of an image and also boasts of the unique Accent AI of Skylum. You can also use the power of artificial intelligence to:
Add realistic sunrays on your photograph
Change the sky in your images to make them look incredible
Automatically analyze your photographs and apply suitable enhancements
Good Photo Organization
I also loved the way Luminar organizes photographs by day, month and year, allowing you to quickly access and view any images in each category in the program's library.
Automatically Apply the Same Photo Enhancement to Other Photographs
Another amazing feature is the ability to apply a specific and personalized enhancement to different images. Enhance one image. Once satisfied, select other photographs you would like to add the same enhancement to. The software immediately adds that enhancement to all selected photographs. This is a great time saver.
Automatically Saves Edits
Like Photolemur, Luminar too saves edits automatically. This helps to save time as you edit.
I did not like the way the software added the “lens distortion” effect to RAW files whenever I opened them for editing. You can manually turn it off each time you do not want this feature to be applied, as there is no option to disable this feature from within the software settings.
Thumbnail Generation
Another bother is the inability to change the size of the thumbnails apart from the default small, medium, large, and largest presets. Thumbnail generation is too slow and takes roughly 10 seconds to complete the preview.
My Verdict — Which is Best?
Photographers often ask me about my views as to which photo enhancer is better based on my evaluation and comparison. I am sorry to dismay those who ask: “is Luminar better than Photolemur?”.
No doubt the former has some excellent options, but it all boils down to your needs in particular as they both have great features.
Both Luminar and Photolemur offer you the possibility of getting single or multiple licenses.
In this review on Photolemur compared to Luminar, I'd like to point out that Skylum, the company that owns both these photo enhancement programs, has done well by incorporating into Luminar great tools that also let it function as a plugin to other programs.
They have even taken everything a notch higher in their unveiled product that comes with faster and more efficient artificial intelligence.
Like Photolemur, Luminar can also batch process multiple images and folders quickly.
To sum it up, my answer for those who ask: “is Photolemur better than Luminar?” is that it depends on your needs and level of experience.
The Difference Between Photolemur and Luminar
Photolemur will be ideal for people who have no time or who are busy. It will use its artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically improve photos with very advanced algorithms while Luminar has more editing workflows for more advanced users in terms of editing and organization of photographs.
If you are looking for an easy-to-use photo enhancer or editor for some not-too-serious editing, you may use Photolemur. But if you care about the nitty-gritty, then you may opt for Luminar.
NOTE: If you need to use Luminar 4 as a plugin, you do not need Luminar Flex as this new version can already be used as a plugin itself. It has been developed to work with Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Apple Aperture, macOS photos, and Adobe LR.
Luminar is good, but if you do not have the time or money to invest, Photolemur will also make your pictures great automatically. All you need to do is just drag and drop your pictures and the software will do the rest with superior Artificial Intelligence. However, if you are a heavy user and into some serious photography work, then Luminar will do.
| Formerly | Macphun |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Genre | Photo editing |
| Founded | 2008, Ukraine |
| Headquarters | Bellevue, Washington |
| Dmitry Sytnik (Co-founder, Managing Partner), Paul Muzok (Co-founder, Managing Partner), Alex Tsepko (Managing Partner), Ivan Kutanin (Managing partner), Oksana Milczarek (COO) | |
Number of employees | 150 |
| Website | skylum.com |
Skylum (formerly Macphun) is a software developing company based in Bellevue, Washington. It is most known for its photo editing software Aurora HDR and Luminar.[1] Skylum is also the developer of Snapheal, Focus, Tonality, Intensify, Noiseless and FX Photo Studio.[2]
Founded as Macphun in 2008, the company decided to change its name to Skylum in 2017, following the decision to develop its Mac only software for Windows as well.[3]
History[edit]
Skylum was founded as Macphun in 2008 by two gaming developers and amateur photographers, Dmitry Sytnik and Paul Muzok. Initially the company developed applications for iOS. One of its first applications was Vintage Video Maker, which was later named Vintagio. In 2009, Apple named Vintagio among Best iPhone apps of the year.[4][5] Alex Tsepko, Ivan Kutanin & Oksana Milczarek joined the team few years later. In total, the company released over 60 applications in the first three years. However, it saw the greatest number of downloads in the photography applications. Skylum thus decided to develop the same photography applications for macOS.[6]
In early 2010, Skylum launched its first macOS application, FX Photo Studio Pro, which was earlier available for iOS only.[7] Several other applications were also developed for macOS including Snapheal.[8]
In order to tap the North Americas, the company moved its headquarters to San Diego, United States in 2013.[6] A great number of employees came from the Nik Collection, which was earlier acquired by Google.[9] Later that year, the company launched Intensify, a fully featured photo editing software, that was named among 2013 Best Mac App Store apps. In 2014, Skylum launched Tonality, a black-and-white photo editor software, that won Apple’s Editors’ Choice of the year.[10] The same year, Skylum hired a team in Europe to develop localized versions of its software and start European expansion.[6]
In 2015, Skylum released a new image noise reduction application called Noiseless.[11] Same year Skylum partnered with Trey Ratcliff to develop an HDR program. Through the collaboration Aurora HDR, a High Dynamic Range editing and processing tool, was released in November.[12] A year later, Skylum developed Luminar, an all-in-one photo editing software as an alternative to Adobe’s Lightroom. Both the software became the most known applications by the company. [13]
In 2017, the company released Aurora HDR and Luminar for Windows - software that previously was available for macOS only.[14] At the same time, it was also announced that Macphun would change its name to Skylum.[15]
Products[edit]
Skylum is most known for its photo editing software, Aurora HDR launched in 2015, and Luminar launched in 2016. Other notable software by the company include: Snapheal, Focus, Tonality, Intensify, Noiseless, FX Photo Studio, and Photolemur.
Luminar Vs Aurora
Skylum products have been recognized with multiple awards. In 2019, Skylum took home four gold awards at the Digital Camera Grand Prix. The company was honored for innovation in the photo editing sphere with its Luminar 4, Aurora HDR 2019, and Photolemur[16] editing software. Skylum also took home a technical award for its innovative approach. In 2017 Luminar and in 2019 Luminar Flex was named the Best Software Plugin in the Lucie Technical Awards.[17] In the same years, Luminar was awarded the Best Imaging Software by TIPA. In 2018, Luminar was named an Editor’s Pick by Outdoor Photographer.[18]
References[edit]
Luminar Vs Aurora
- ^Thurston, Anthony (June 16, 2017). 'Macphun brings AI tech to photo editing with Luminar Neptune Skylum'.
- ^Pierini, David (May 24, 2017). 'Macphun to offer software for Windows-based photogs'.
- ^Scoblete, Greg (November 2, 2017). 'MACPHUN IS NOW SKYLUM, SETS SIGHTS ON DISAFFECTED LIGHTROOM USERS WITH LUMINAR 2018'.
- ^'iPhoneで撮った動画を8ミリやサイレント映画風にする「Vintage Video Maker」'. November 19, 2009.
- ^'MacPhun LLC Company Profile'(PDF). Retrieved February 24, 2018.
- ^ abcLaurinavicius, Tomas (November 21, 2016). 'An In-Depth Look At The Future Of Digital Photography With Alex Tsepko Of Macphun'.
- ^'Review: FX Photo Studio Pro for Mac, fun photo editing done right'. May 20, 2011.
- ^Chang, Alexandra (December 16, 2011). 'Snapheal removes unwanted objects from photos, and more'.>
- ^Freeman, Mike (November 29, 2013). 'Photo software firm Macphun comes to San Diego'.
- ^Dove, Jackie (July 31, 2014). 'Review: Macphun's Tonality brings out your inner Ansel Adams'.
- ^Carlson, Jeff (October 9, 2015). 'Noiseless and Noiseless Pro review: Clean up your photos shot in low-light conditions'.
- ^Mathies, Daven (May 24, 2017). 'Macphun's highly lauded photo software are coming to Windows for the first time'.
- ^Lawton, Rod (November 17, 2016). 'Both products became the most known applications by the company. MacPhun Luminar 1.0 review'.
- ^Lestoc, Costea (June 10, 2017). 'Macphun's Luminar and Aurora HDR apps come to Windows 10 this fall'.
- ^Zhang, Michael (October 27, 2017). 'Macphun Renaming Itself Skylum as its Photo Apps Land on Windows'.
- ^'Luminar 4, Aurora HDR 2019, and Photolemur'.
- ^'Lucie Technical Awards'.
- ^'Outdoor Photographer'. December 12, 2018.
Luminar Aurora Hdr Review