The New On1 Photo Raw Software Looks Amazing

Image processing has always had very specific tools for very specific jobs. You have your raw processor for the basic editing of images, but for things such as layers and cloning, you had to jump to Photoshop. Then we have software such as Nik, On1, and Alien Skin that can be used for creative effects, film simulations, etc. But the new On1 raw processor is looking to combine all these elements into a single platform with no need to jump from program to program.   

While the software has not officially released, the above teaser video shows us a glimpse at what it can do. The key features that I took away from the teaser are lined out below.

  • The Browser – no import, fast loading (similar to photo mechanic I assume) that still allows you to rate, flag, and keyword images.
  • Develop – nondestructive editing, selective adjustments, content aware retouching tool (as opposed to copy/paste styled cloning in Lightroom)
  • FX – adjustable and stackable filters. Borders, textures, and lens blurs. You can add masks to filters to selectively apply them to certain areas of an image. Batch edit images by applying a set of filters across a group of images.
  • Layers – combine multiple images for sky replacements or face swapping. Has blend modes, layer opacity, and masking. Saves as a Photoshop file type for later processing.

 

Overall this looks amazing. Having the ability to use essentially four different programs under one roof can save a ton of time jumping around. The only thing that could hold back this software is the quality of the raw processor. Only time will tell if they were able to get this part right.

Also, if you are curious about the differences between On1 raw and On1 Photo 10.5, below is a quick video showing a performance comparison.  

Jason Vinson's picture

Jason Vinson is a wedding and portrait photographer for Vinson Images based out of Bentonville, Arkansas. Ranked one of the Top 100 Wedding photographers in the World, he has a passion for educating and sharing his craft.

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17 Comments

Video is down.

looks like they updated the video which changed the link. Should be fixed now.

I always wonder why every program goes for a super dark background for image editing, I know it makes things look nice but I've always prefered editing/shooting tethered to a clean white background(at least in Capture One) given most images end up on a white background for print/web/instagram these days.

The reason image editing software programs use dark grey backgrounds is it is a LOT better for your eyes if you have long retouching sessions. Think about how much strain you are putting on your eyes if you are blasting them with bright white light for hours at a time

But the default GUI of CaptureOne is also a very dark gray, like all the rest :)

I do agree the videos and information so far is impressive. And also that the quality of the RAW processor is going to make or break the product. I have been trying out On1 10 which is the predecessor of the new RAW platform, and in comparison with LR and C1 it is just not really "there" yet but seems more like a consumer platform. This would also explain On1's lack of presence in the pro world. Let's see if RAW can change that...

It is interesting to see that photo raw is presented on .Jpg files .... ;-)

Yep, noticed here and in "other" hdr software...

that is interesting... the second video showing process speed is done on a raw file though.

I've been keeping an eye on this with great interest. There is no way I'd order this sight-unseen via their current "pre-sale" but I'm very interested to try a demo version to see the quality. I was hoping this article signified a trial version was released. Looks like we still have a couple of days to wait. With Matt Kloskowski backing it, I have hopes it will be a contender.

I agree. I beta-tested Corel AfterShot Pro and it had the same claim to fame! They claimed fast RAW editing and it definitely was as-advertised -- Fast! However the results where sub-par: fair raw conversion (Nikon D700 at the time), poor noise reduction (unless you wanted to pay more for that), and you couldn't even do basic things like adding a vignette without buying a plugin for it! Needless to say, I stuck to my tried and true LR+Nik workflow!

I normally use LR-PS-Nik but I really like the masking tools. I bought the product for the portrait software and the masking. A lot of $ for just those features but I am holding out hope for the RAW converter that it will perform better than LR. And like Joe mentioned, with Matt Kloskowski in the mix, I am sure that it will not be junk.

According to the video, this will be available as a plugin to Photoshop and Light Room. I'm wondering if that's just the preset filters?

this is a stand alone program that can run independent of lightroom and photoshop, but it can also work with them in the same fashion as a plugin if you desire i think.

This looks like an interesting app. I wonder if the layer and compositing mode is still in RAW or rendering out data. If it's still in RAW this becomes a far more interesting app for me.

On release RAW has the same disk error message in PS CC 2017 as version 10. A set of images which takes around 30 seconds to load in Capture One, DxO Optics Pro and Lightroom took over an hour to load in the browse module of ON1 RAW. I have been using this software since V8 and it has got worse on each release as they try and reinvent Lightroom instead of focusing on the effects module. I am using a Windows 7 64 bit PC with i5 and 32gb RAM.

ON1 Photo Raw is bug ridden with over 50 issues. You can read the issues on their site. I've asked for a refund. V10 is a very good product. It is surprising they would release a product with this kind of instability. Download the 30 day Trial and see.