ON1 Photo RAW 2022.1 announced with Liquify tool, Smart Albums, Snapshots

ON1 Photo RAW 2022
(Image credit: ON1)

ON1 Photo RAW 2022 is an all-in-one photo organizer, editor and effects tool for Mac and PC that features regularly in our list of the best photo editing software. And while a the small increment in the version number for this release (2022.1 from 2022), the list of new features is impressive.

ON1 has actually been teasing the new features in this update for a little while, but right now is when the list becomes official and the launch date is announced. This is an update not a new version release, so existing users will be able to update their software at no charge.

ON1 Photo RAW 2022.1 new features

This new version introduces a non-destructive Liquify tool to push, bloat, and pinch areas of your photo. You can already do this in programs like Photoshop, but what’s new here is that like all of ON1 Photo RAW’s adjustments, it’s completely non-destructive, so you can easily adjust your work later.

The non-destructive editing theme continues with a new Snapshots feature for ‘freezing’ key points in your editing process so that you can go back to them later if you need too.

Also new is an Advanced Search dialog and the ability now to create Smart Albums. Good as it was in every other respect, ON1 Photo RAW’s search tools were not the strongest, but these new features bring it right back into the game against programs like Lightroom Classic.

ON1 Photo RAW 2022 introduced a new Sky Swap AI feature. (Image credit: ON1)

ON1 Photo RAW comes with a large collection of one-click preset effects. (Image credit: ON1)

Everyday workflow improvements include a new Visualise Dust option amongst the retouching tools to help find and blot out sensor spots, and it’s now possible to save and re-used custom crop presets. These are pretty standard on other photo editors, so it’s great to get them in ON1 Photo RAW too.

In the latest version, any presets you create or install are shared across other ON1 apps, such as ON1 Effects, and ON1 claims general performance improvements across the board.

Finally, RAW support for the Canon EOS R3, Sony A7 IV, Ricoh GR IIIx, and Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 II has been added, and a correction profile for the OLYMPUS M.Zuiko 12-45mm F4.0 lens.

How to get ON1 Photo RAW 2022.1

ON1 Photo RAW 2022.1 will be available from December 20. It’s a free update for existing ON1 Photo RAW 2022 users or subscribers. The price for new users is $99.99 (about £85.68/AU$139.93) and for those upgrading from an earlier version it’s $79.99 (about £60.57/AU$111.94). ON1 Photo RAW 2022.1 will also be available on a subscription from the ON1 website.

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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