AI-enabled image editors have streamlined post-processing. They automatically tweak and balance coloring components to give you the best possible outcome. Skylum Luminar 4 is one such image editor.
Then how is Luminar Neo so different?
In this Luminar Neo review, we will walk you through some of its new features and show you how you can preorder it this winter.
Luminar Neo Review: What to expect?
Luminar Neo is preceded by Luminar 4, an intelligent photo editor, and Luminar AI, an AI-enabled photo editor. Simply put, Luminar Neo ties the features of Luminar 4 and Luminar AI, and brings them in a single software package.
Apart from Neo’s creative image editing, it also features a redesigned image engine that optimizes your PC’s memory usage and results in elevated performance. Neo promises professional image editing capabilities, flexible workflow, and an efficient AI engine that performs all the heavy lifting.
Luminar Neo has the capability to independently adjust background and foreground exposure to control the lighting in a scene. You can also use it to remove dust or dirt smudges from your captures.
Luminar Neo has redesigned their image processing by training their AI to easily recognize various elements in your images. This way you can remove, mask elements and combine multiple images in layers and create your own unique artwork with ease.
In this Luminar Neo review, we will walk you through some of its core features.
But first, let’s look at its system specifications
Luminar Neo Review: System Specifications
Luminar Neo is supported on Mac and Windows platforms.
Here’s the recommended specification for both platforms –
| macOS | Windows | |
| Hardware | MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro, Mac mini, early 2010 or newer | Windows PC with mouse |
| Processor | CPU Intel Core i5 or better | CPU Intel Core i5 or better, AMD Ryzen 5 or better |
| OS Version | macOS 10.14.6 or higher | 10 version 1909 or higher (only 64-bit OS) |
| RAM | Memory 8 GB RAM or more (16+ GB RAM is recommended) | Memory 8 GB RAM or more (16+ GB RAM is recommended) |
| Disk Space | Hard disk 10 GB free space; SSD for best performance | Hard disk 10 GB free space; SSD for best performance |
| Display | 1280×768 size or better | 1280×768 size or better |
| Graphics Card | Open GL 3.3 or later compatible graphics card |
Even though Luminar Neo is one of the smartest image editors around, it does come with an exotic system requirement. You can use Neo on Mac and Windows desktops or laptops. Tablets, smartphones, or surface devices aren’t compatible.
Also, it is recommended to have over 16GB of RAM if you want a glitch-free experience and preferably SSD storage for even better performance.
Now, let’s start with the Luminar Neo review.
Luminar Neo Review: Feature Walkthrough
Earlier we reviewed the Luminar 4 and talked about its various AI replacement and enhancement tools.
Now let’s find out what unique features Luminar Neo has to offer
Relight AI
With the help of Relight AI, you can improve the lighting of your images with a few clicks.
Neo’s AI engine distinguishes foreground and background objects and allows you to change the lighting of the objects as if you were changing the exposure of your camera.
Using Relight AI controls you can control the amount of lighting and focus on the lighting of specific elements.
And guess what! Relight AI works perfectly in low-lighting as well as outdoor lighting conditions.
Portrait Background Removal
The days of masking and manual area selection are gone. With Lumar Neo’s Portrait background removal, you can easily remove and replace the background of your subject.
After you replace the background the editor automatically computes the color combination and RGB components in the background and lights the foreground subject so that the subject blends perfectly with the custom background.
That’s not all, with a few custom configurations you can also blur your background as you desire.
If your subject is holding an object the AI engine can distinguish it and meticulously remove the background leaving the foreground object unscathed.
Dust/ Spot Removal
Accidental dust or dirt accumulation on your camera’s lens or sensors can wreak havoc on your images. It’s extremely difficult to remove dirt or dust spots from your images during post-processing.
However, Luminar Neo can get rid of these unwanted smudges by using a simple spot remover eraser.
Select the image and erase the spots you want to get rid of. The editor will only remove the spots without compromising with the original image.
Spot removal works perfectly in warm and cold lighting conditions.
Line Removal
Most urban photographs are laden with power lines that can ruin a perfect skyspace.
If you are a creative designer, marketer, or social media content creator, such small tweaks on the urban landscape can set you apart from your competitors.
With Luminar Neo, you can remove powerlines at the click of a button. Neo’s AI engine automatically recognizes power lines and removes them without altering other elements.
Line removal works in bright lighting as well as in low lighting conditions.
Mask AI
The layer and mask AI recognizes the elements present in an image and provides you making options. You can select whichever element you want to mask and Luminar Neo will take care of the rest.
As you can see from this camping image, Neo was able to make out vegetation, sky, mountains, and other manmade entities. Then you can click on the element you want to mask. It’s that simple.
Layering
You can use Making AI along with Layering to create nuanced pieces for marketing or designing. Create composites from multiple images by masking elements and layering them on top of it.
Overlays
Luminar Neo has this overlaying feature where you can put a bokeh foreground element while keeping your original image in the background.
You can also choose from different frames and position it as you desire.
That’s not all Luminar is also coming up with a new mobile app that will allow you to easily transfer your photos between mobile device and computer.
You can add images captured on a mobile device to your library and edit them in Luminar Neo on a desktop or laptop to send back the final copy on your portable device.
This way you can easily edit your images and share them on various social media platforms.
Luminar Neo Pricing
Luminar Neo will be launching in winter 2021. You can order Luminar Neo at a discounted price of $72 for a single PC. This is a lifetime license and comes with 24/7 tech support.
You can also bundle it with Luminar AI to avail yourself of the most discount.
Our Verdict
Luminar Neo is a powerful AI-enabled image editor capable of professional post-processing results. It packs almost all the features of Luminar 4 and Luminar AI and comes with some neat features as we discussed in the Luminar Neo review above.
They are also coming up with an app that will allow you to share your images to your PC for post-processing and sharing them back on your device and publish them on a social media platform of choice. A Luminar Neo plugin is also on the way.
However, such exotic image editing capabilities do require a fair amount of computing power.
Be it a Mac or Windows system, you need an Intel Core i5 processor with over 16GB of RAM and 10GB of storage (preferably SSD), to make the most out of this editor.
So if you are a social media content creator or a marketer and want to perform professional post-processing without the learning curve, Luminar Neo is the right image editor for you.
