ON1 Photo Raw 2018.5 users?

[Ross M]

I am on ON1's email list after buying the 2017.5 version of Photo RAW. As I have previously posted, it runs so slowly that I quickly gave up and returned to Lightroom and Photoshop Elements with nik plug-ins. ON1 have now released the "2018.5" version and are claiming that is significantly faster to use than the previous 2018 version.

Does anybody have any experience with this iteration? I am skeptical about claims regarding speed because I know adding features is always a higher priority.

[farmmax]

I'm interested in this also. I gave up trying the earlier versions of Photo Raw, as my computer hated them. It copes with everything else fine. I use Perfect Effects without much problem, but it now seems to only come in Photo Raw. I also wonder if I should try the 2018.5 version, but have doubts. Shame Photo Raw won't work easily. I find Perfect Effects very easy to use.

[nardes]

Hi Folks

I have the latest ON1 Raw downloaded a couple of days ago and as a Plug In for PS CC, I do not notice any performance issues. Note that I do not use it as a stand alone app so cannot comment on its behaviour and performance in that scenario.

As a PS CC Plug In, it opens in an acceptable time and as I cycle through the various Tabs and Effects, the results are applied quickly with no delays. If I glance away I have to check the Preview Toggle to see if the Effect has been applied, it is that quick.

The slowest part of the operation as a Plug In to PS CC is launching the environment once I have selected it, but the performance is very acceptable and comparable to e.g. launching the Topaz or Nik Plug Ins in PS CC.

Windows 10 Pro, 32GB RAM, Intel I7 3.6GHz 4 Core CPU, C Drive=Samsung SSD.

Cheers

Dennis

[Palomine]

I downloaded and played with ON1 Raw for the first time yesterday. Performance (speed, loading etc.) appears to be excellent on an old iMac. However, it has already crashed once, so I'm interested to see how it goes over the next month trial period. I'll also be trialling it on a latest model MacBook Pro.

[Ross M]

September UPDATE:
I bit the bullet and bought ON1 RAW 2018.5, during a recent US$72 (upgrade price) promo whereby I will receive the next major update free, plus receive some presets free. This company seems to think that their tutorial/training videos are worth a lot of dosh, so they add dollar values in to the before-and-after discount ads. Real users just use Youtube to get tutorials free anyway.

I use this product as a free standing tool. 2018.5 seems to be faster than my previous 2018 version for reasonably basic editing in layers. It compares favourably with Lightroom and PS Elements for speed on my desktop computer now. That was the crux of my problem. Other software ran OK in terms of speed, so regardless of the state of my computer, ON1 RAW was a bust. I have not experienced any crashes on Windows 7, but I haven't yet pushed it very hard. Adjustment brushes now work reliably and quickly. The "fix" clone stamp is a little slow. Rendering and merging layers can be slow.

I will try out more demanding processes in the next few weeks, now that I have the patience to use it and learn it.


P.S. I have discovered why the discount promo was launched this month. The "2019" version of ON1 RAW is due in November, so the next major upgrade is not far away. It's not as if I have future proofed myself to a great extent. Of course, if that was my priority, I would be subscribing to PS CC.

See the launch announcement here:
https://www.on1.com/blog/an-all-new-photo-editing-experience-on1-photo-raw-2019

The main features appear to be an ability to migrate work more effectively from Lightroom with existing edits preserved and more processes available in raw rather than jpeg, plus layer improvements. It is of course, billed as (insert fanfare here) an "All new photographic experience"

[richtbw]

Have used On1 RAW. Cannot make up my mind if I want to commit to a purchase.

[Cargo]

I purchased ON1 at the beginning of the year and use it mainly as a plug-in to LR ( I use an iMac 27" 5k retina )
I don't have any problems with it crashing or it being slow, I find it offers a lot of scope and finishing touches to my shots. I also use youtube for tutorials, but as I'm registered I also receive free tutorials and presets etc.
My biggest issue was with the export module .... No matter what I did I couldn't get a clean sharp photo to export for use in AP. Not really a big problem in the end when you just use ON1 as a plug-in.

Thumbs up from me