Skylum Luminar Neo review

Luminar Neo is the latest re-invention of Skylum’s AI-powered photo editor, and we're told it’s faster, better and more powerful

Skylum Luminar Neo
(Image: © Rod Lawton)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Luminar Neo is impressive and frustrating at the same time. Its AI image enhancement technologies veer between the spectacular and tepid, and its interface is clever and contrary at the same time. On top of that, it feels buggy and clunky and not quite finished. This could be a great program if it could just be ironed out properly.

Pros

  • +

    Amazing Sky Replacement

  • +

    Excellent Portrait AI tools

  • +

    AI power line and dust removal

  • +

    Now with layers (again)

Cons

  • -

    Operational glitches

  • -

    Heavy RAM usage

  • -

    Lackluster presets

  • -

    Some features via future update

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Luminar Neo is the latest incarnation of Skylum’s AI-driven photo editing software. Like every regeneration of Doctor Who, it looks very different but carries forward the same core values.

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Rod Lawton
Contributor

Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com