ON1 Unveils Photo RAW, the First All-New RAW Processor in a Decade

ON1 Photo RAW Develop

Sick of Camera RAW and Lightroom? Want a brand-spanking-new RAW photo processor and non-destructive editor to work in that isn’t made by Adobe? Your wish is ON1’s command.

Today, ON1 introduced ON1 Photo RAW, a program they’re calling, “the first all-new RAW processor and non-destructive photo editor to be released in more than a decade.”

“With modern code optimized for today’s super-megapixel cameras and high-performance computer graphics systems,” says ON1, “Photo RAW will be the world’s fastest, most flexible, and easiest-to-use RAW processor and photo editor on the market.”

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ON1 is calling this program the “future of RAW photo editing,” a big claim but one they’re standing behind. Other RAW editors, they argue, are rooted in the beginnings of digital photography when today’s super-high megapixel DSLRs weren’t even imaginable. By contrast, Photo RAW sports a state of the art processing engine, “tuned for today’s sensors and graphics chips.”

“It will open 50-megapixel images in a fraction of a second on a standard PC or Mac,” they claim, “and perform edits in real-time, without slider lag or frustrating waits for redraw.”

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ON1 Photo RAW is the product of several years worth of engineering and design, and it’s built around ON1 Browse. As such, it won’t require photographers to import and catalog their photos the way Lightroom does, “an often painful and time-consuming process required before editing can begin,” as ON1 puts it.

Between the two programs you have a fast photo browser and an instantaneous RAW processing system powerful enough to edit as many photos as you want… at once. As ON1 explains, “select one or 101 photos, make a few develop adjustments and all of the photos update automatically in real time.”

They’re really pushing this as a photo editor that has everything you ever wanted out of Lightroom but never got. Something that may even replace Lightroom AND Photoshop for those of us who rarely open the latter.

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Diving into the features, ON1 Photo RAW not only includes the typical adjustments you’re used to—contrast, exposure, shadows, highlights, etc.— but also lets you non-destructively add effects and perform portrait retouching.

“The complex filters found in ON1 Effects and ON1 Portrait—including Lens Blur, Skin Retouching, Dynamic Contrast, HDR Look and many more are all available in Photo RAW’s non-destructive workflow,” says ON1. “The controls found throughout ON1 Photo RAW will also respond in real-time by leveraging modern video cards, using the latest versions of OpenGL and OpenCL.”

Plus, the program has built-in layers, brushes, and advanced masking tools. It can even work as part of whatever workflow you want—use it as a plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop, a standalone host app for Google Nik and other photo editors, or as an extension to Apple Photos.

Check out these video demos to see the app in action:

ON1 Photo RAW isn’t available right now, but ON1 plans to release it this fall as part of their $150/year ON1 Plus Pro membership. It’s important to note that this is not a subscription, that yearly fee keeps you up to date with the latest releases, but you receive a perpetual license for all those ON1 apps so you can still use them if you stop paying.

And if you purchased ON1 Photo 10, the company will give you the chance to upgrade at a price that, “will be determined at a later date.”

To learn more about ON1 Photo RAW, head over to the company’s website by clicking here.

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