Macphun Adds an All-In-One Editor to Its Mix of Apps

December 27, 2016

By Laura Brauer

Macphun just added its first all-in-one RAW processor and photo editor to its long list of applications. While Aurora HDR, Tonality, Noiseless and other plug-ins focus on a single solution, Macphun’s latest app, Luminar, covers a broad range of editing tasks contained in a user interface that can be customized to your workflow or experience level.

Thierry_Dehove_Editing_Panel

Image courtesy of Thierry Dehove and Macphun

At first glance, Luminar looks pretty basic with its slider adjustments and presets, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find a software application that offers some interesting options—from customizing and saving workspaces and presets, to applying filter masks and more. Filters, by the way, are a combination of adjustments and effects. Layers and blending modes are available, as is the ability to apply filters, with or without masks, to the base layer.

Although the software was just released in mid-November, Macphun has already added Touchbar support and, more recently with the release of Luminar Pluto, batch processing, a warming Golden Hour Filter, Dehaze and the ability to save textures within presets.

Batch Processing; photo courtesy of Macphun

Batch Processing. Photo courtesy of Macphun

Golden Hour filter; image courtesy of Macphun

Golden Hour filter. Photo courtesy of Macphun

Macphun promises updates every one to two months in 2017. What’s on tap? Perhaps most importantly, digital asset management, which has been requested by a number of customers. The company also promises a Windows version of this currently Mac-only software.

As always, Macphun provides lots of tutorials on its site where you can see its many features (including 300+ tools) in action. You can download Luminar 1.1 from the Apple Store or, if you want some hands-on experience before you buy it, check out the trial version here.

You can purchase Luminar for $59 (full price is $69) and you’ll get a lot of bonus extras, including additional presets. The software is fast, too, so you can quickly and easily make your edits with minimum time and effort.