The name is the same, but despite the apparent similarities, these are two very different programs. So what are the key differences between Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC, and how do you choose which one to use?
Life after Photoshop software reviews
Choosing the right software isn't easy and you often have to try quite a few different applications to find the ones that suit you. We're all looking for different things, and quite often a single piece of software won't do everything that we need.
Some people simply want a Photoshop replacement without the subscription payments, some want an image cataloguing tool that can also carry out photo enhancements, some primarily want an image effects tool for crafting a very particular 'look'. Most of us want a bit of all of these things.
• Always download the trial version if there is one. My best guess at what photographers need is not necessarily right for you.
These reviews are designed not just to see whether the software out there is any good or not, but to explain exactly what it does and how it might fit into your workflow.
I don't review every program out there, only those which I personally consider add something significant to the image-editing process. There are some notable and quite possibly very popular programs not in my review list but that's because – and I don't want to upset any publishers out there – I don't think they're different enough, interesting enough or just plain good enough.
Viveza 3 review
Verdict: 3.8 stars Viveza is a great tool for making fast and effective adjustments to colour images, but even with the improvements in version 3 it still feels less useful than the other Nik plug-ins.
Silver Efex Pro 3 review
Verdict: 4.5 stars For fans of black and white photography, Silver Efex Pro is just superb. Version 3 improves the Control Point masking, but moves the sliders to the sidebar, which isn’t necessarily an improvement.
Skylum Luminar AI review
Verdict: 3.5 stars Luminar AI has some spectacular AI effects, but it also has performance issues and a disappointing template AI workflow that’s less than inspiring.
Lutify.me review
Verdict: 5 stars Lutify.me is a subscription-based LUTs package for both video and stills, which includes excellent downloadable LUTs and an online LUT previewer.
CameraBag Pro 2021 review
Verdict: 4.6 stars CameraBag Pro is an effects tool with a wide range of great-looking preset effects and useful manual adjustments too. Best of all, it works with video as well as stills.
Pixelmator Pro 2.1.2 Coral review
Verdict: 4 stars: Pixelmator Pro is Mac only and has fairly lightweight photo editing features, but it’s very fast, unexpectedly clever, and blends in text, vector and paint tools to turn your photos into posters, illustrations and more.
DxO PhotoLab vs Lightroom vs Capture One – which is best for RAW files?
Which is best for processing RAW files, DxO PhotoLab, Lightroom or Capture One? Here’s a set of eight image comparisons that aims to find out.
Skylum Luminar 4.3 review
Verdict: 4.5 stars Luminar 4 is an unusual and constantly evolving program. Increasingly, it’s specialising in altered, enhanced and augmented reality effects – and these are exceptionally effective. Luminar also has a full selection of basic photo editing tools like curves, cropping, layers and retouching. It’s a very versatile and effective photo editor.
ON1 360 review
Verdict: 4 stars: ON1 360 is a new add-on cloud sync service for ON1 Photo RAW that offers similar online sync options to Lightroom and Creative Cloud. It’s different, but is it actually better?