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Macphun software has done it again!! A few months ago they announced a Free public beta release of their Luminar software on Windows with a view to releasing the final build in 2018.

But they have announced that their 2018 version of Luminar is now available before Christmas. Infact from 1st November, you can pre-order their newest version for Mac or Windows for US$ 59 for New Users and US$ 49 for existing users.

Top Features

These are some of my favourite top features that I can see being beneficial to all users:

  • Brand new Filters: Sun Rays, Dodge & Burn, Matte Look (like my Free LR Preset), Brilliance/Warmth, Lens Correction and Realtime Noise Reduction.
  • Stackable Layers with brushes and masking by filters
  • Object Removal and Clone stamp
  • Digital Asset Manager with support for Lightroom Catalog (this will come as update in 2018)
  • LUT Support – You can load and bring the looks that typically are used for Video editing into your Photography.
Zoom in to Patterns

FILTER: Sun Rays

Sun Rays

An awesome new feature that lets you add to your image sun rays or often known as god rays to your image. You can specify how many rays you want, intensity and spread while placing on the image the point of origin of these rays.

You can warm up these rays to match the warmth of the image. The most exciting feature though is the fact that you can mask out areas where you don’t want the rays to hit, giving you full control over your edit.

Zoom in to Patterns

FILTER: Matte Look

Matte Look

Seems that this look is trending everywhere now. Recently I published a post on how to create a Matte Look in Lightroom, you can even download the preset.

When I learned that Luminar 2018 was also coming out with such a Filter, I was super-duper excited to try it out and I have to say I am very pleased with the results that I’m getting with this filter.

Zoom in to Patterns

FILTER: LUT Mapping

LUT Mapping

LUT mapping is another cool way to apply Film like presets to your images. Now with Luminar 2018, you can do that very easily. You can apply any of the .CUBE files, simply load them in the Filter and adjust the amount of the effect, contrast, and saturation.

Performance

We’ve come to expect that newer software are faster than before. Something that, as a Lightroom user you tend to forget, let’s face it Lightroom is one software that gets slower with each new version. But let’s keep talking about Luminar 2018. It is amazingly fast, any slider adjustment instantly updates on image preview.

And I say this with confidence as I have only used Luminar 2018 on a 4 year old 2013 MacBook Pro. So imagine what would be your experience if you were using one of the latest computers.

Pre-Order Now to Save

Luminar 2018  is available now for pre-order from November 1-15, and released on November 16.

  • Current users of Luminar may upgrade at a special pre-order price of US$ 39 (US$ 49 MSRP)
  • New users can purchase Luminar 2018 at a special pre-order price of US$ 59 (US$ 69 MSRP)

Bonus Items with pre-order

  •  A Pack of signature presets and textures from pro photographer Nicolesy
  • An Exclusive pack of LUTs
  • 1-year Power plan from SmugMug ($72 value). For new accounts only

Conclusion

Another gem of a software, released just in time to purchase before the Holidays. You will surely love using this latest version. I also look keenly forward towards year 2018 when the Digital Asset Management update is released so I can move my Catalog over to Luminar from Lightroom.

In case you missed out on the pre-order, after the 16th November you can still save money by using the coupon code available for Luminar.

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