Skylum Announces Luminar Neo - What Is This Thing?
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Luminar Neo Revealed
Skylum announced a new photo editing application today, Luminar Neo. I expect this will trigger a lot of confusion for photographers. Skylum’s track record has been a complete lift and shift with their photo applications, one application superseding the last, and not always with an upgrade path.
Update: In September 2021, Skylum added a Luminar AI to Luminar Neo migration tool to their roadmap.
Here is the description of this new product from Skylum:
“Luminar Neo is a creative image editor powered by AI technologies of the future, that enables creators to fulfill their wildest ideas. And enjoy it. Offering leading-edge AI technologies, a flexible workflow, and high-quality editing results, Luminar Neo is based on a new engine designed for accomplishing creative tasks with maximum performance and flexibility.”
Alright … that’s some marketing speak. I do my best to demystify that for you the video accompanying this article. Watch the video for my complete set of thoughts. A shorter summary follows.
What Is Luminar Neo Really?
There are some things we know, some things we don’t, and some things we can infer. Luminar Neo does have some interesting features including:
Automatic Background Replacement
Scene Relighting
Layers
Automatic Dust Removal
Automatically Remove Power Lines
And there are hints of a mobile app for more easily moving images between your smartphone and Luminar Neo.
We also know that Luminar Neo is a distinct and separate product from Luminar AI and Luminar 4. It will not remove or replace those applications on your computer. Also, catalogs from Luminar AI will not migrate or move forward to Luminar Neo (read Luminar AI Is Not Your DAM Asset Manager). However, things like textures, skies, and objects you’ve added to Luminar AI will move forward. Skylum has also stated they will provide tooling to migrate Luminar AI templates into Luminar Neo.
Pricing And Availability For Luminar Neo
So when can I get it and try it out? Luminar Neo is not available right now. The announcement from Skylum is just that - an announcement of a future product only. Skylum is running a pre-order special on Luminar Neo and with some very attractive pricing. This pricing is valid from September 9th, 2021 through September 19th, 2021 8am EST.
For new users:
$54 for 1-seat license for Luminar Neo
$59 for 2-seats license for Luminar Neo
$83 for 1-seat license for Luminar AI+Neo
$98 for 2-seats license for Luminar AI+Neo
For old Skylum app users:
$34 for 1-seat license for Luminar Neo
$49 for 2-seats license for Luminar Neo
$63 for 1-seat license for Luminar AI+Neo
$88 for 2-seats license for Luminar AI+Neo
Availability of Luminar Neo is “this winter”. That could be mid-December, or that could be in January 2022. At this stage, we just don’t know.
Should I Pre-Order Luminar Neo?
My recommendation to photographers and digital artists is two-fold.
First, if you currently use Luminar AI in your workflow as a point-solution for specific editing tasks, take a good, hard look at Luminar Neo. I think Luminar Neo is a great fit for a plug-in type workflow. And the Early Bird pricing is very attractive. A plug-in that’s as powerful as Luminar AI and will only deliver more for under US$40? That’s a bargain.
Second, measure the feature of Luminar Neo against your photographic needs. For example, the layers feature may not be interesting to you if you don’t work with layers, or you have a layers solution elsewhere. However, a rapid way to remove power lines from a landscape may be a killer feature for you. If you do a lot of portraits, swapping backgrounds with ease is a big deal. Let your needs drive your purchase decision.
A last thought … if you are still using a Luminar family product as your main asset manager, please rethink that. Skylum has a track record of each new product being distinct and separate. Luminar Neo is an island unto itself, just like Luminar AI was. Migrating catalogs year after year is not where you want to spend your time with photography. Manage your assets somewhere else. Leverage the editing features in Luminar Neo, speed up your post-processing workflow, and make time to create more images.
Update: In September 2021, Skylum added a Luminar AI to Luminar Neo migration tool to their roadmap.
