Two for One? Maphun Luminar will soon gain Lightroom-like manager

By Hillary K. Grigonis October 20, 2017

Short preview: new DAM module in Luminar

Hundreds of thousands of digital photographs require more than just a fancy file folder system — Macphun, the developers behind Luminar, will soon be launching its own digital asset manager to organize, then edit all those RAW images. The tool, designed to compete with Adobe Lightroom, will be integrated into Luminar sometime during 2018.

Macphun is teasing the added feature with a pre-release look at some of the features the new tool will offer, shared on Thursday, October 19. The update will give Luminar both a “browse” and a “develop” section, giving the photo editor management tools, too. The sneak peek shows an album organization, along with options for favorites and recently modified images.

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Integrating photo libraries into the existing Luminar RAW photo editor will give the software both organizing and editing tools. While Luminar is a Photoshop competitor, the change will also make the program a Lightroom competitor as well. Macphun says the assets manager will work on hard-drive stored photos, or with any cloud storage system, and, unlike Adobe’s option, is available for a one-time payment for $69 instead of a subscription.

The added organizational tool will be part of a free update launched next year, while access to some of the new features in Luminar 2018 Supernova begins in November. The updates include a new tool to add a control for artificial sun rays that, unlike just brushing them on, brightens the surrounding area as real sunlight does as well. Additional new filters include dodge and burn, hue shift, brilliance, and a matte option.

Macphun says that Look Up Tables Support will also launch with the new version, which will allow users to convert Lightroom presets for use in Luminar.

Luminar also works as a plug-in for Lightroom, mixing Adobe’s management system with new tools, including Luminar’s digital polarizing filter, golden hour filter and artificially intelligent “Accent A.I.” one-click edit. Adobe’s move to split Lightroom into two programs, however, affects plug-in programs — while plug-ins continue to remain compatible with Classic, they aren’t compatible with the new Lightroom CC.

Luminar 2018 also brings the Windows version out of beta testing and into public availability after several years of being a Mac-only program. Macphun says they will be releasing more details about the new digital asset manager soon, with more sneak peeks for guests at the Photo Plus expo in New York City next week.

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