The one that definitely caught my attention the most is Sky Swap AI: an AI-powered feature that lets you replace dull skies in your images. But there are other new features too, and it seems that On1 is serious about competing with Adobe and Skylum.
Replace skies in an instant with Sky Swap AI
Okay, so I’m obviously going to start with this one. From now on, On1 Photo Raw 2022 also lets you replace skies in your photos, just like Luminar AI and Photoshop. Sky Swap AI is pretty straightforward – you pick the photo you want to edit, then pick the photo of the sky from the gallery or upload your own. Hocus-pocus and your photo now has a new sky.
The Sky Swap AI creates a mask on its own based on your image. However, you can adjust it and refine it in case the results aren’t perfect. Here’s a little preview from ON1:
It’s interesting that I’ve heard many people complain about sky replacement features, calling it “fake” and “not photography.” But apparently, there’s an audience for it considering that it’s becoming an integral part of more and more editing software. I agree that sky replacement strays away from photography a bit, at least from photography as I see it. But there are many great composite artists out there who will surely find a feature like this useful. But let’s move on to other features of the ON1 Photo Raw 2022. As I mentioned, there are some other new features and improvements to the existing ones. Also, the Line Mask tool is back and it’s been revamped. So, let’s see what else is new and improved.
Time-lapse video creation inside of ON1 Photo RAW
The ON1 Photo RAW 2022 lets you quickly and efficiently create time-lapse videos from your images. You can preview your results in the timelapse dialog. The software will detect when the camera is bumped and filter out misaligned frames so you don’t end up with a jittery video. It also detects changes in exposure and evens them out automatically.
NoNoise AI is now integrated into Photo RAW
ON1 NoNoise AI gives a fast noise reduction preview and instant result. Now you can use the features of NoNoise AI directly inside of ON1 Photo RAW.
Custom thumbnails in Browse
The ON1 Photo RAW 2022 now gives you bigger control over the appearance of the thumbnails in Browse. You can control what is displayed on them, how big the labels are, when they show up, and more.
Run Photoshop plugins directly inside of Photo RAW
Another big change is that you can now run plugins made for Photoshop right inside of ON1 Photo RAW 2022. I believe that this would make it easier for you to switch to ON1 Photo RAW from Photoshop. If you’ve been collecting Photoshop plugins for years, you can now access them through ON1 Photo RAW, too. That sounds pretty convenient.
Speed up your organizing with the Favorites pane
To help you access frequently used folders and photos easier, ON1 Photo RAW’s Browse module now has a Favorites pane. You can now drag and drop a folder you access frequently to the Favorites pane to create a shortcut for it.
Revamped Export, Backup, and Restore
ON1 Photo RAW’s Export engine has been revamped too. ON1 says that it relied on 100 suggestions from users and added new features based on their feedback. Backup and Restore options have also been improved, and you can easily save, recover, or migrate your work inside of ON1 Photo RAW.
Available plans
ON1 Photo RAW 2022 is available for preorders on ON1’s website. You can choose either a perpetual license or a subscription license that comes with bonuses. The perpetual license costs $99.99 for new users – you pay once and have the software forever. If you already own any of the previous versions, you get a discount and pay $79.99. Subscription plans are available from $7.99 per month or $89.99 per year.
