Since creating this video Luminar Neo has been updated and improved. You can get the newest version on sale here: bit.ly/NeoSale and maybe save more with coupon: ATNEO10 (sometimes Skylum de-activate the code if there's already a promotion running but worth giving a go!)
An excellent review and wrap up, Anthony. I've been with Luminar since it's launch into the PC world a number of years ago, and I really enjoy Neo (just waiting for stamped layers abiltiy hopefully). Nice to have you back!! Cheers! :)
Very nice summary and recap, Anthony! I also most appreciate the incremental improvements to usability and performance. It's those little things that make me happy. I'm glad Skylum is putting effort into these areas, rather than always chase the flashy new features like many other software companies. (Still waiting for the adjustable masks though...)
Thank you for your great work ! I've learned a lot from you, and it's helped me with my editing. I fly drones and have recently purchased the Canon r7. I love Neo and use it weekly. Please keep up the great work.
I'm just an amateur snapshot person. Not a pro photographer. I mostly take pictures of family and events with my phone. I struggled for years to find a photo editing app that allowed me to adjust things easily without being over-the-top. Most photo editing apps I encountered were either way too pro-focused (Photoshop) or too simplistic. Even "dumbed down" apps like Photoshop Elements were laid out so poorly in my mind that I never bothered to use them for more than a few minutes. Neo really hits that sweet spot for me where it allows me to do more complicated edits when I want, while still being easy enough to use when I just want to do quick adjustments. My biggest fear now is, if Neo keeps adding features, I'm worried it will grow beyond its current ease-of-use ability and become another bloated, over-complicated program. I guess they'll then split the program into two: Neo Professional and Neo Elements.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment Matthew. That's great feedback on the program. Yes it definitely strikes a nice balance with usability and quality results. 👌
I know that feeling! I got hold of Neo from (just about) Day 1 and I'm pleased I did. Easy lay-out, compared to most others and, OK, so I'm no great shakes, but I like the ability to experiment, without totally losing my way. Then, when I finally lose the plot - I turn to the AT video, to get me out of that particulat hole.... I do hope that any bloating will be kept to a minimum, although I am a little concerned about the signposted licencing, though.
Anthony, an excellent summary and will be very useful for me - like you I'd missed the significance of some of the changes. As a legacy life-time licence holder I don't think I have access to the generative AI tools. I can only hope that the Luminar team don't concentrate on AI and stop other improved functionality. An explanatory video from you on all the licensing models would be useful.
Hi Bill, thanks for the comment. Yes so they've made the licensing much more straight forward now. It's pretty much if you're on the subscription model you have access to the generative tools and the extensions as part of that. If not, you get Luminar with updates that exclude those tools. I'm sure the team's direction is to continue developing Neo across the board. Generative AI tools and the general functionality of the program. 😀
Oh, no. Not picking my favorite tool. I like ALL of them. :) I'm very glad they didn't dump NEO, like they did previous programs. This was their last chance with me, and they finally made a commitment to a program. NEO is very much a part of my workflow these days, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Thanks for the round up Antony, it was good to re live all the new options. (note - you thumbs up icon is missing and only thumbs down showing which I have never seen before)
@mfthedronepoet9745 haha. Totally misread your first message 😅 Anyway, that's weird. I see both thumbs up 👍 and thumbs down 👎 option when I load the vid.
The only thing that I miss terribly from LuminarAi, was the intensity slider at the bottom of the edit column. If I edited a photo and found the final edit a bit too much (edit)… I could easily just slide the intensity tab down and I’d be happy with my final edit. I have a habit of over editing my photos and having that slider would really help in the final look of the edit. I pray that Luminar Neo will finally incorporate that final edit slider into its software soon.
Yes, true Brett! There are a couple of little work arounds though. There's a few steps to be able to get the fade edit option but hopefully the developers will make it easier in the future.
What a great review! Thanks so much, Anthony. I'm a big fan of Neo but wasn't really aware of all the additions and improvements ... your review has made it all clear to me now! I'm also a big fan of you and your channel. Your tutorial videos are always so helpful and your presentation is spot on. Keep up the great work! 🥇
Anthony - have you heard anything at all about the possibility of Neo adding the ability to edit 360° photos? That's the one feature, or lack of, that makes me use another program to do some of my edits.
Hello Anthony, what are your thoughts on the pano abilities in Neo vs pano in Lightroom Classic? I believe in Lightroom the panos are created using raw files, whereas in Neo it's tiff?
Hi Terry. They're both very good at stitching a seamless pano. I do prefer working raw wherever possible and currently Lightroom Classic has the edge for this. If you preprocess the files for neo then it doesn't matter too much but the fact that you get a full raw pano from Lightroom gives it the edge for me :)
Thanks and I really appreciate and enjoy your videos and love Luminar Neo. But Luminar Neo needs to do more work on GenErase. Trying to remove a person, it added another person over and over again. Any ideas on how to get around this. Thanks.
Perhaps try genFill and specify what you want them to be replaced with that matches the background. Yeah, you gotta know the dark arts to get the most out of that finicky tool.
And yet, we still cannot go to the next image in "edit" mode. It is a pain to have to exit edit, go back in to catalog, select the next image and then bring back into edit. Every other version of Luminar I've used had that ability. I remember in the forums post after post complaining about this yet Skylum never addressed this issue. As a wedding photographer this pretty much make NEO worthless as it doesn't even have such a basic feature. And the main reason I am still using Luminar AI.
Great question. It IS still available as a one time purchase. You just have to dig a little to find it. If you go here: bit.ly/Luminar-NEO click on the "view plans" button and then on the page that loads with the 1,12 and 24 month options you just need to scroll the page down below the fold and you'll see "One-time purchase" as an option. PLEASE be aware that the one time purchase doesn't include the new generative tools. But if this isn't something you're after anyway then you're golden. 😀
BIG NEWS! Skylum has just launched a summer sale where you can save a massive 81% off Luminar Neo here bit.ly/NeoSale But the cool thing is in addition to that they've given me a coupon code to share with you so you get to save ANOTHER 20% (use code AFF-T5C1C0 ) I really hope that helps you out! It should work for both the perpetual licence and the subscription too. Enjoy😄 Best wishes, Anthony
Yes it has layers and different blend modes and masking for the layers. Perpetual is owning the core program for ever. The subscription gives you access to Neo while you're subscribed. You also get access to the generative AI tools either the subscription which you don't if you buy outright. Not a biggy if you don't tend to use AI to change parts of your photos.
Hmmm.... I'm not sure. As soon as you start adding text tools it's moving more towards a graphics editor. If it could be integrated in a minimalist way then sure, why not.
export to .jpg and then after downloading and installing freeware PhotoScape X 4 open the .jpg and go to Inset > Text and do all you might imagine with text on the .jpg. Then again, for those needing basic editing features, PSX works very well also. I can't match the IA features of NEO of course but having both works well/
Currently not the case with Neo's summer sale bit.ly/NeoSale you can pick up the full program at a fraction of the normal cost - and no subscription needed. All the extensions are now included.
Sorry, my experience is very different from yours, so maybe you can help me understand a few things. First and foremost, when I go to tweak adjustments, and the adjustment is lower in the list, I have to turn off all the adjustments above to make the changes. Obviously, somebody thought this was great, but I can't figure out why. I won't even get into the presets they include, and especially how they change the body shape. Yeah, that got into some trouble before I figured out that it was baked in. Oooof. I hear these glowing reviews, and would love to discover I'm just doing something wrong that I can change. As for what I'm actually paying for....Well, that is the history of this company, unfortunately. I buy something, they change rules, or develop something different. I'm thinking they may stick to Neo, but I've made that assumption before.
Hi Brian. That doesn't sound right about turning the adjustments off to access one lower in the edit stack. I'd reach out to the Skylum helpdesk for some trouble shooting on that. Body shape dynamics.... no. run for the hills. They've got some good portrait tools but that's not one of them. Steer clear. Will they stick with Neo. Time will tell, but as they're running 24 month subscriptions plus we've already seen 2 years of commitment I think we'll be at least 4 years deep at the minimum. Beyond that... who knows.
I love neo but really irritated with Gen erase and gen fill... Do you also face issues with Gen erase when nothing gets erased and Gen fill adds anything garbage.. now sure how to contact luminar team fo this issue
TBH they're probably well aware. The AI that drives those tools is very new in the scheme of things and it's something that will evolve and get better over time. I've had mixed experiences. Some times the results have been excellent. Sometimes frustrating and laughable as I've shown in a few review videos.
Can you bifurcate your output so that those of us hobbyists who cannot rationalize paying a monthly subscription fee but still want to get the best out of LN without touching on the subscription only add-ins?
It's possible. How are you thinking I'd do this? Seperate videos? A seperate channel or giving options for each case within each video? Curious. Thanks
@@AnthonyTurnhamHi. Really whatever method would be most convenient/expeditious for you would be great. Chapters and/or separate videos would be less difficult than maintaining another channel I would think. I just get frustrated when I see a video title that I want to be able to do and it turns out that it's only doable with a subscription plugin.
Cheers John, I appreciate the comment. But I have to differ on this. I mentioned it only because of how impressive it is to create something of value in such conditions. The war or politics where it's made is merely incidental. Neo success stands tall on its own merit. IMHO
Since creating this video Luminar Neo has been updated and improved. You can get the newest version on sale here: bit.ly/NeoSale and maybe save more with coupon: ATNEO10 (sometimes Skylum de-activate the code if there's already a promotion running but worth giving a go!)
Thanks for the support mate!
An excellent review and wrap up, Anthony. I've been with Luminar since it's launch into the PC world a number of years ago, and I really enjoy Neo (just waiting for stamped layers abiltiy hopefully). Nice to have you back!! Cheers! :)
Thanks Andrew. Yeah, here's hoping for that stamped layer option sooner rather than later 😀
Very nice summary and recap, Anthony! I also most appreciate the incremental improvements to usability and performance. It's those little things that make me happy. I'm glad Skylum is putting effort into these areas, rather than always chase the flashy new features like many other software companies. (Still waiting for the adjustable masks though...)
I'm pleased that you are posting again, cousin.
Thanks, it's good to be back!
Thank you for your great work ! I've learned a lot from you, and it's helped me with my editing. I fly drones and have recently purchased the Canon r7. I love Neo and use it weekly. Please keep up the great work.
Great to hear! Thanks Mark. What drones do you fly? I have the phantom 4 Pro but it hasn't taken flight in quite a few years unfortunately.
Great review - going to try the trial version that is buried deep on the website!
I'm just an amateur snapshot person. Not a pro photographer. I mostly take pictures of family and events with my phone. I struggled for years to find a photo editing app that allowed me to adjust things easily without being over-the-top. Most photo editing apps I encountered were either way too pro-focused (Photoshop) or too simplistic. Even "dumbed down" apps like Photoshop Elements were laid out so poorly in my mind that I never bothered to use them for more than a few minutes. Neo really hits that sweet spot for me where it allows me to do more complicated edits when I want, while still being easy enough to use when I just want to do quick adjustments. My biggest fear now is, if Neo keeps adding features, I'm worried it will grow beyond its current ease-of-use ability and become another bloated, over-complicated program. I guess they'll then split the program into two: Neo Professional and Neo Elements.
Thanks so much for the thoughtful comment Matthew. That's great feedback on the program. Yes it definitely strikes a nice balance with usability and quality results. 👌
I know that feeling! I got hold of Neo from (just about) Day 1 and I'm pleased I did. Easy lay-out, compared to most others and, OK, so I'm no great shakes, but I like the ability to experiment, without totally losing my way. Then, when I finally lose the plot - I turn to the AT video, to get me out of that particulat hole....
I do hope that any bloating will be kept to a minimum, although I am a little concerned about the signposted licencing, though.
I guess every software company must continue to add new features, to attract new customers and keep the existing subscription customers happy.
I love NEO, it's straight forward and very easy to use compared to the others!
yes it has and your tutorials are great ... thanks
Anthony, an excellent summary and will be very useful for me - like you I'd missed the significance of some of the changes. As a legacy life-time licence holder I don't think I have access to the generative AI tools. I can only hope that the Luminar team don't concentrate on AI and stop other improved functionality. An explanatory video from you on all the licensing models would be useful.
Hi Bill, thanks for the comment. Yes so they've made the licensing much more straight forward now. It's pretty much if you're on the subscription model you have access to the generative tools and the extensions as part of that. If not, you get Luminar with updates that exclude those tools. I'm sure the team's direction is to continue developing Neo across the board. Generative AI tools and the general functionality of the program. 😀
Oh, no. Not picking my favorite tool. I like ALL of them. :) I'm very glad they didn't dump NEO, like they did previous programs. This was their last chance with me, and they finally made a commitment to a program. NEO is very much a part of my workflow these days, and I don't see that changing any time soon.
Yeah I think they learnt from dropping their earlier releases and how a the customer base responded. It's good to see the commitment to Neo 😀
Thanks for the round up Antony, it was good to re live all the new options. (note - you thumbs up icon is missing and only thumbs down showing which I have never seen before)
Thanks. No thumbs down eh? Strange. Maybe youtube has ultimate faith in my videos 😅
No mate, there is only a thumbs down😅@@AnthonyTurnham
Ok, I have just gone back to the video to check and there is now a thumbs down and up @@AnthonyTurnham 👍
@mfthedronepoet9745 haha. Totally misread your first message 😅 Anyway, that's weird. I see both thumbs up 👍 and thumbs down 👎 option when I load the vid.
The only thing that I miss terribly from LuminarAi, was the intensity slider at the bottom of the edit column. If I edited a photo and found the final edit a bit too much (edit)… I could easily just slide the intensity tab down and I’d be happy with my final edit. I have a habit of over editing my photos and having that slider would really help in the final look of the edit. I pray that Luminar Neo will finally incorporate that final edit slider into its software soon.
Yes, true Brett! There are a couple of little work arounds though. There's a few steps to be able to get the fade edit option but hopefully the developers will make it easier in the future.
Cheers mate, used the code and saved an additional thirty quid. 👍.
Glad I could help
The current best deal for Luminar Neo can be found here bit.ly/Luminar-NEO. You can try code ATNEO10 for an additional discount.
What a great review! Thanks so much, Anthony. I'm a big fan of Neo but wasn't really aware of all the additions and improvements ... your review has made it all clear to me now! I'm also a big fan of you and your channel. Your tutorial videos are always so helpful and your presentation is spot on. Keep up the great work! 🥇
Thanks so much! 😃
Anthony - have you heard anything at all about the possibility of Neo adding the ability to edit 360° photos? That's the one feature, or lack of, that makes me use another program to do some of my edits.
No word of it in my ear I'm afraid Bob.
Hello Anthony, what are your thoughts on the pano abilities in Neo vs pano in Lightroom Classic? I believe in Lightroom the panos are created using raw files, whereas in Neo it's tiff?
Hi Terry. They're both very good at stitching a seamless pano. I do prefer working raw wherever possible and currently Lightroom Classic has the edge for this. If you preprocess the files for neo then it doesn't matter too much but the fact that you get a full raw pano from Lightroom gives it the edge for me :)
Thanks Anthony...
Hi Anthony, you hinted before Christmas you were upgrading your computer. What did you choose to go with?
Intel i9-14900K, 64gb ddr5 ram, 2gb m.2 HD, nVidia RTX 4070, water cooling and a few other bits n bobs. Overall I'm pleased with the upgrade.
Thanks and I really appreciate and enjoy your videos and love Luminar Neo. But Luminar Neo needs to do more work on GenErase. Trying to remove a person, it added another person over and over again. Any ideas on how to get around this. Thanks.
Perhaps try genFill and specify what you want them to be replaced with that matches the background. Yeah, you gotta know the dark arts to get the most out of that finicky tool.
Agree, they have added a lot to the program, however, the AI masking is far below other programs. They need to address this issue
I think it's only a matter of time before we see the masks improve further.
And yet, we still cannot go to the next image in "edit" mode. It is a pain to have to exit edit, go back in to catalog, select the next image and then bring back into edit. Every other version of Luminar I've used had that ability. I remember in the forums post after post complaining about this yet Skylum never addressed this issue. As a wedding photographer this pretty much make NEO worthless as it doesn't even have such a basic feature. And the main reason I am still using Luminar AI.
Is it really possible that Neo is no longer available as a one-time purchase? Or at least, Skylum no longer seems interested in promoting it?
Great question. It IS still available as a one time purchase. You just have to dig a little to find it. If you go here: bit.ly/Luminar-NEO click on the "view plans" button and then on the page that loads with the 1,12 and 24 month options you just need to scroll the page down below the fold and you'll see "One-time purchase" as an option. PLEASE be aware that the one time purchase doesn't include the new generative tools. But if this isn't something you're after anyway then you're golden. 😀
Fancy monitor you have! Which one is that?
This one: amzn.to/3UbFgVm it's really good. I had one before from Eizo which was several times more expensive - this one is better!
@@AnthonyTurnham thank you! That’s a really affordable one too.
BIG NEWS! Skylum has just launched a summer sale where you can save a massive 81% off Luminar Neo here bit.ly/NeoSale But the cool thing is in addition to that they've given me a coupon code to share with you so you get to save ANOTHER 20% (use code AFF-T5C1C0 ) I really hope that helps you out! It should work for both the perpetual licence and the subscription too. Enjoy😄 Best wishes, Anthony
Does Neo have layers? What's the difference between subscription and perpetual? Any difference in the AI tools?
Yes it has layers and different blend modes and masking for the layers. Perpetual is owning the core program for ever. The subscription gives you access to Neo while you're subscribed. You also get access to the generative AI tools either the subscription which you don't if you buy outright. Not a biggy if you don't tend to use AI to change parts of your photos.
I want to see TEXT options, that i can made Thumnails for YT, what u mean about that?
Hmmm.... I'm not sure. As soon as you start adding text tools it's moving more towards a graphics editor. If it could be integrated in a minimalist way then sure, why not.
export to .jpg and then after downloading and installing freeware PhotoScape X 4 open the .jpg and go to Inset > Text and do all you might imagine with text on the .jpg. Then again, for those needing basic editing features, PSX works very well also. I can't match the IA features of NEO of course but having both works well/
What's been your favourite addition to Luminar Neo since it first launched?
I move away from photoshop because of monthly fee.. but we need need to pay monthly fee for the extra features..
Currently not the case with Neo's summer sale bit.ly/NeoSale you can pick up the full program at a fraction of the normal cost - and no subscription needed. All the extensions are now included.
Do all these tools work on none RAW images .. ?
Yes. Neo works on raw, jpeg, tiff etc.
Another instant reply. Thank You 👍@@AnthonyTurnham
Sorry, my experience is very different from yours, so maybe you can help me understand a few things. First and foremost, when I go to tweak adjustments, and the adjustment is lower in the list, I have to turn off all the adjustments above to make the changes. Obviously, somebody thought this was great, but I can't figure out why. I won't even get into the presets they include, and especially how they change the body shape. Yeah, that got into some trouble before I figured out that it was baked in. Oooof. I hear these glowing reviews, and would love to discover I'm just doing something wrong that I can change.
As for what I'm actually paying for....Well, that is the history of this company, unfortunately. I buy something, they change rules, or develop something different. I'm thinking they may stick to Neo, but I've made that assumption before.
Hi Brian. That doesn't sound right about turning the adjustments off to access one lower in the edit stack. I'd reach out to the Skylum helpdesk for some trouble shooting on that.
Body shape dynamics.... no. run for the hills. They've got some good portrait tools but that's not one of them. Steer clear.
Will they stick with Neo. Time will tell, but as they're running 24 month subscriptions plus we've already seen 2 years of commitment I think we'll be at least 4 years deep at the minimum. Beyond that... who knows.
I love neo but really irritated with Gen erase and gen fill...
Do you also face issues with Gen erase when nothing gets erased and Gen fill adds anything garbage.. now sure how to contact luminar team fo this issue
TBH they're probably well aware. The AI that drives those tools is very new in the scheme of things and it's something that will evolve and get better over time. I've had mixed experiences. Some times the results have been excellent. Sometimes frustrating and laughable as I've shown in a few review videos.
Can you bifurcate your output so that those of us hobbyists who cannot rationalize paying a monthly subscription fee but still want to get the best out of LN without touching on the subscription only add-ins?
It's possible. How are you thinking I'd do this? Seperate videos? A seperate channel or giving options for each case within each video? Curious. Thanks
@@AnthonyTurnhamHi. Really whatever method would be most convenient/expeditious for you would be great. Chapters and/or separate videos would be less difficult than maintaining another channel I would think.
I just get frustrated when I see a video title that I want to be able to do and it turns out that it's only doable with a subscription plugin.
I use and love LN but politics does get involved. The war zone has a major impact on their win. But is is very good.
Cheers John, I appreciate the comment. But I have to differ on this. I mentioned it only because of how impressive it is to create something of value in such conditions. The war or politics where it's made is merely incidental. Neo success stands tall on its own merit. IMHO