Some of these filters do a great job when you have learned how to use them. In On1 Effects they are editing tools where you can add fully adjustable, blendable, and maskable layers, similar to Photoshop's adjustment layers with sensible starting points to work from. When anyone mentions filters in digital editing, I think of the horrible effects available on Instagram. If you are a Lightroom user, you can export all your adjustments from there into the develop module. Most of the sliders are similar to Adobe’s, but with the addition of a midtones slider.

The develop feature has raw adjustment sliders that are similar in looks to Lightroom or ACR, but have a far more accurate and gentle touch to them than Adobe’s offering. Following on with the lovechild analogy, it inherited from the best bits of Lightroom and Serif Affinity, after they had a ménage à quatre with Nik and Photoshop: Develop With the Browse Module, you can either navigate through the file system, as you would with Adobe Bridge, or use the catalog to rate, tag, sort, and then find images as you would with Lightroom. If you have a large catalog, then it’s a long process, but you can continue working as the changeover progresses. Pleasingly, when moving from Lightroom to On1, you can import the collections across into On1’s Albums.

You can use it like a file browser, or a catalog to access your folders and images. The Browse module seems like the result of a fling between Adobe Lightroom and Bridge. You can quickly and seamlessly jump between different modules in this single app, carrying out actions that would otherwise be spread over several programs. It’s an asset management, raw development, and photo editing tool with extra bells, whistles, and drums. I think of each module is the lovechild of other software, inheriting the best aspects of each parent Lightroom, Photoshop, Affinity, Topaz DeNoise, and the Nik Collection all rolled into one. I need to decide if I am ready to completely change my way of working. It’s come a long way since then and, for a lot of photographers, it has become a viable alternative to Lightroom and Photoshop. I’ve used On1 alongside other software for many years, going right back to the early versions of Perfect Effects and Genuine Fractals. I’ve been on the verge of permanently swapping from Lightroom and Photoshop to On1 Photo Raw for a long time.

Lightroom and photoshop