September DAM Update
Yesterday our CEO, Alex Tsepko released the following statement about the upcoming Digital Asset Manager (DAM) update for Luminar 2018:
"We know that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are waiting for this update. But mainly because there are so many people who need this tool, we wanted to take just enough time to make everything right.
We promise we will ship the DAM this year. I know it has been a long wait, but we don’t want to ship a product that we would not use ourselves. The new Luminar (with DAM) will bring you great speed and the most incredible user experience available. Your photos will play the main role. Our software aims to get out of the way.
The update will be free for everyone who has Luminar 2018.”
Since that post we’ve had a few questions:
Q: Will Luminar 2018 be updated with the DAM or will all Luminar 2018 users get a copy of Luminar 2019?
A: Luminar 2018 will be updated with the DAM
Q: How long after Luminar 2018 is updated with DAM will Luminar 2019 be released?
A: We plan to release Luminar 2019 later next year.
Q: Will Luminar 2018 users get updates to the DAM to address bugs?
A: Seeing as there will be several months between the release of DAM and the next (paid) major version upgrade, there will be updates to address bugs.
Q: Will Luminar 2018 users get a discount on Luminar 2019?
A: Yes. We always provide upgrade discounts for our customers. However, pricing for Luminar 2019 (and discount amounts) have not yet been finalized.
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@Angela Andrieux
"For now we are conducting internal beta testing". OH! Really
I've just been watching a video from a well known photographer who says he has already tested the DAM and his conclusions are that he likes Luminar but will continue to use Lightroom as his DAM.
Says a lot...……. -
@Douwe - Unfortunately I can't be more specific than what is posted above in that Luminar 2018 will be updated with the DAM by the end of the year. You can read more from our CEO, Alex Tsepko on the blog at https://skylum.com/blog/skylum-innovation-future
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@Mike - Perhaps a better description would have been "private beta testing". I apologize for my poor word choice.
As for a noted professional opting to stick with Lightroom - every one of us must choose which solution is best for their workflow. For seasoned pros with an established asset management system there are a myriad of considerations that will need to be weighed. I would enjoy seeing the video you're referring to if you'd be willing to share the link.
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@Angela, if you still didn‘t understand what I was saying, Luminar must not be different between the platforms. Not 80%, not 90%, it must be 100% because else your proud ambassadors instead of promoting your product will reap a shitstorm from those that can’t reproduce the results because they happen to use the false platform. The DAM will effectively be DOA if there is a disparity between the platforms.
But it will also be a complete and utter dud if you don‘t remedy the big problem that there is an unavoidable and unpredictable noise reduction in the RAW conversion. Is it asking too much to add a simple „noise reduction on/off“ control to the RAW conversion? It seems very much so! Your marketing was so proud of that feature that it made the announcements earlier this year „yeah, we now got a heuristic that is determining if there is noise and eradicating it, if you want or not“ - that feature has no place in a tool that want‘s to be taken seriously because it prevents any workflow to be developed. Ever since that announcement I have stopped recommending Luminar.
Now this applies to one specific function - if there were similar nasty unpredictable surprises lurking (that the users are unaware of because they didn’t make the „we are proud“ list) then those need to be adressed too - again before even shedding a thought on releasing the DAM. You seem blisfully unaware what responsibilities come with that!
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I received an email today about the release of Aurora 2019. I think I already know the answer, but why release new products when there are known issues with old products (for which people have already paid), issues that make the product unusable? Surely somebody must realize how this looks.
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Going to be tough to get preorders from people still waiting on the DAM they ‘preordered.’
And my Aurora 2018 crashes a LOT. I emailed support, and they blamed it on my 2009 Mac Pro (with upgrades in gfx, ram, SSD, firmware etc) without saying WHY that Mac was inadequate. They swore a new Mac would fix the issue. Well, a 2018 MBPro didn’t fix it. I am markedly disappointed.
I think I will wait until there is actual software.
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Note that today the marketing of Aurora 2019 started and there are many videos from Skylum affiliates showing demos of the software. The software is supposed to be released in early October. Try to find such a video of the DAM in action with someone explaining how it works....etc. So do we think the DAM will be out in October of this year? Note there is no mention in the Aurora videos of how the app should be able to interwork with the DAM by the end of this year.
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Aurora is going to be released on October 4th this year. The DAM is also scheduled for the release by the end of this year. The reason we're showing Aurora HDR 2019 but not the DAM is because the DAM is going to be a free update and the new Aurora is a paid product which requires promotion.
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Dear Skylum, I kindly request that you adopt the following policy immediately, and backdate it for the blog referenced here. When a significant update in progress is announced then, as well as posting in a blog that only a small minority of registered Luminar (or other product) users are likely to see, you must also send out the same information to the registered email address of all product owners. I do not see why tens of thousands of people need to spend their time individually and unreliably searching for news when your team could far more efficiently disseminate progress.
I may be unlucky in my recent purchases, but this experience is sadly not unique for me this year so perhaps there is a growing trend amongst online technology retailers to tick the box in providing updates but to do so using "stealthy" distribution methods that ensure as few customers as possible learn of delays and other frustrating news!
Thanks in advance for your assistance in keeping us all informed.
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Received this email this morning:
you recently contacted our Customer Support team. We just want to make sure that you are up and running.
If any assistance is still needed, we're here for you. Just reply to this e-mail and we will get back to you ASAP with the answers.
If everything is fine, we’d like to know what you thought about your support experience with us.
Please take a moment to share your thoughts on how we did.
Just an FYI
I’m not sure what would make you think I was “up and running.” I’ve been in constant contact with your company about this. To recap, since you seem to have ignored my issue, it was suggested by your own tech department that I uninstall Luminar and wait (patiently) for the upcoming update since there are “known issues” with the program in Macs.
I am not “up and running.” I am up and still waiting.
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@Leila I certainly understand that, but it sort of rubs salt in the wound and gives the impression that Skylum is on auto-pilot. "Thank you for your patience, Sorry about that. Fixed next update."
When will this new update be issued and, for the record (again) I have nothing to update. The program was removed, at your suggestion.
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@daniel - No problem. Lightroom works fine. I can wait. Just a thought, though. Maybe you should have changed your name from MacPhun to We're Working On It.
Maybe it's just me, but did you actually read my comment? I have no program. Your tech support had me uninstall it.I couldn't care less what the current program is, because I have nothing to compare it to. Honestly, the replies I get from Skylum seem a little tone deaf and are always followed up with some sort of apology for the misunderstanding, then a thank you for my patience.
Let me share an analogy. If I brought my new car into the dealer for service, and they told me, "we have no ETA on when we can fix it. Just don't drive it until we can come up with a repair. Thanks for your patience," how do you think that would fly?
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bourne.scott For those of you asking - the next version of Luminar will be out in 2018 - I can't give you a better answer than that - but it will ship in 2018. And every owner of Luminar 2018 will get it free. We're in very early beta testing of some key components, including the browser.
I'm very proud of the speed our team has delivered here. It must be experienced in person to really grasp how fast it is. I also love the fact that your images aren't forced into square boxes without regard for whether or not you shot a horizontal or vertical. This free-form approach is more natural and easier to navigate. I can't answer any questions about specific tools in the new version. I can suggest that anyone who approaches the product with a beginner's mind will be blown away by what it does do. I know I am.
Stay tuned...
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@Rick - I understand your frustration. Since Luminar 2018 doesn't work for you now, you can request a refund by contacting us directly at support@skylum.com. I found your ticket in our system, it looks like you had an issue with "MpCurve", this bug will definitely be fixed in our next update. I would also recommend you to install the latest version of Luminar 2018, since an update is offered via a pop-up alert.
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Tom, thanks for that update. That does seem to be more promising, and at least an idea of what it might look like. This would have helped and awful lot many months ago - just an idea of what to be expecting.
However, I'm not terribly reassured by the 'We're in very early Beta testing'. Surely you should have been at that stage a year ago, you should be in final stages of Beta testing at this point (or indeed some months ago). If you weren't, you should never have even announced the feature in the first place.
The feature you show there for free-form viewing is not really anything new. Lightroom CC already does this, and has done so for almost a year already, Apple Photos has done this for even longer. It's not a terribly useful feature to be honest, and one I tend to disable, preferring standard boxes with useful metadata showing.
Your last comment gives the impression that you're accepting you've lost a lot of regular users, those that have existing collections and may have wanted to switch from Lightroom, and experienced in using a DAM/editor with years of photos in their library. Instead aiming this at a new customer base.
As it is, the UI you present there does seem pretty similar to Lightroom CC, with a little of 'Classic' added.
And, please stop telling us we're getting the update for free. We already paid for it nearly a year ago. I would expect it to be 'free' - if anything you should not go with Luminar 2019, but I would suggest continue until Luminar 2020 before charging us again (which is very much not what you advertise on the Luminar page anyway, you strongly imply that you never have to pay again once you buy a licence). Honestly, have a good look at your marketing tactics, they're not very credible.
I'm sorry to sound to critical, but it's because I like the Skylum products a lot, and I am keen to see you creating great products that are competitive feature rich, as well as maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction, you're just not being very good at that at the moment.
Best regards.
Andy
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@Tom, that screenshot looks god damned awful!
A browser like this is useless to find an overview of your own images because the wider landscape oriented image draw every bit of the attention away from the portrait oriented ones which get much less real estate with the lack of optical separation! That separation that a fixed grid brings is badly needed to organize your images, you often can‘t properly do multiple selections in that unorganized messy view!
That higglety pigglety unorganized mess also is the thing I hate the most in LR CC on my tablet and why I‘d probably never switch from LR Classic CC to the mess that Lightroom CC is. If that‘s the look of Luminar of the Luminar DAM then RIP!
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@Daniel Scholz Does the currently available version have the problematic MpCurve bug or was it only the version that I had and uninstalled? if the current version doesn't have that bug, this sounds like a reasonable solution.
OK, so I need an activation code if I want to install a clean version. if you could email that to me at the address you have on file, that'd be great.
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Well I do not hate the look as much as K.G., so I guess there is no pleasing everyone. I’m not sure how you handle conflicting preferences.
But, EARLY stages of beta? You showed a video Nearly a year ago and have been claiming to be in beta for months. Even in this post you say you will release this year. Early stages of beta does not sound promising at all.
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This "We're in very early beta testing of some key components, including the browser." statement blows me away, it's completely at odds with every other vague statement we have had from Skylum all year long!
If after nearly a year of development you are still at this stage how are you possibly going to be able to release a non beta version by 12/31. The only way that's going to happen, is like Liminar Windows, release it as finished product even though it isn't then have your paying customers do the beta testing for you for free.
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That BETA shot looks like the graphic that has been up for 'ages' showing off the COMING SOON DAM.
I am not too thrilled with the spacing but that is because I am old school in the idea of a grid housing objects to easily discern the differences on a glance, not a packed object base that 'looks nice' but harder to find. I suppose an old dog can learn new tricks though.
I also hate how on many DAM screenshots (Photos, On1, the above, and on Luminar's page) they show just a couple shots that may be related but seem to be random shots. For my usage, a DAM allows me to see all shots within a certain set. and MANY seem to be similar, this way I can easily pick out "the best" on a glance. I haven't really seen this idea of a SET of photos from the same photoshoot, so I can see how a 'normal' layout is.
from the screenshot above i don't see anything "stand-out-ish" so perhaps that is a good thing instead of "rebuilding the wheel"
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@Rick - Sorry for the confusion. It is not necessary for you to reinstall the software at this time. Since you're unable to use it, I'm guessing you wouldn't open the software often (if at all) to check if an update is available. Instead, I recommend keeping an eye on the Luminar 2018 Mac section here in the forum and we'll post when an update is available.
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