Photo Software Luminar 3 In The Test: Rain Of Confetti For Pictures

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29

Luminar is easy to use thanks to presets. If you want to go into detail, you still get a variety of tools. Then you have to activate the tools individually in a preset - this is a bit cumbersome.

We cannot answer whether artificial intelligence is really necessary in the software. But the fact is: If you love color-intensive images, the AI filters will indeed impress. Many other programs make it difficult to host a similar rain of confetti.

The new media library approach is useful, but you can't get a workflow like Lightroom. Luminar is generally not designed to gently develop 500 pictures of a travel photographer in one go. In contrast, the application should take a look at who wants to pimp individual pictures for Instagram, Facebook or the analog pin board. Overall, an exciting software.

Luminar 3 test rating:

Functions: 80
Operation & speed: 80
Quality: 70 percent

Overall rating: 77 percent

Luminar 3 is available for 69 euros, with a 60-day money-back guarantee, directly from the developer Skylum for macOS and Windows. We tested the software on a Mac.

Luminar 3: Further information and download from the developer

Luminar 3 in the test: We liked that

You can quickly and easily put the desired effect on an image. The intensity of a preset is adjustable. You can also lay several on top of each other - thanks to levels.
Only the tools used are displayed for each preset. This means that processing remains clear, but additional tools can be added.
The number of effects and classic RAW tools is extensive and can be loaded via work areas:

Luminar brings out colors where previously almost no colors were guessed. This can save a picture, the composition of which is good, but the colors are poor. In the first place, the Accent AI filters and - especially for the sky - AI Sky Enhancer do this.
The user interface is clear and appealing.
Once an image is loaded, changes to the settings are quickly displayed.
Sun rays can be inserted manually - and this looks quite realistic:

We didn't like Luminar that much

If you want to build on a look, it can be cumbersome: Additional tools have to be added and sorted individually. If you load a work area, all previous settings fly out again. It would be practical to be able to add a predefined or user-defined work area.
A simple automatic development of RAW images - including automatic lens corrections - is not available. Rather, you have to manually correct the errors or at least check them. The quality rating is therefore somewhat lower.
Drastic interventions are sometimes a bit rough - for example, you can see a strong processing of the sky on the edges of objects that protrude into the sky. We also noticed individual misinterpretations of picture elements and the corresponding processing.
It takes time to load the image into the software with the calculation of preset previews.