Excellent and balanced review. All programs have their individual underlying philosophy which impacts how they function. In ON1's case their approach is very different in that virtually every other program has a menued set of controls that are presented to you and you work your way down the stack (or tabs) as you edit your photo. The Develop module in ON1 being the closest to this model. ON1 adopts a totally different model where you choose what you want to do from the "local", "effects" etc modules and this brings up the relevant set of menu controls to accomplish this task. This approach is so different that it does put people off from using ON1 however, it does have several advantages to the traditional approach in that a user only has a relatively few controls to use at any one time, you are focused on what you want to accomplish at that stage of editing and are able to decide, through the layers capabilities, which parts of the photo should be impacted by the edits you are currently performing. Although my main editor is Capture One, with DXO-Photolab providing noise reduction/lens corrections where needed, I think ON1 is a very capable and certainly the most cost effective photo editor available and certainly worth the time and effort to overcome the initial "different philosophy" that ON1 bring to the table.
Thank's for dropping by Ian. Indeed, the inclusion of layer's forces ON1's interface to differ from non-layer-based apps such as Lightroom and PhotoLab and is ultimately more capable as a result.
I am a wildlife photographer. I love ON1 Photo Raw 2025 for No Noise AI, AI-based subject masking, depth masks, custom vignettes, HDR effects, sunshine effects, and luminosity masks.
I bought the 2023 version to run on a machine with 32gb memory, i7 processor and a reasonable 3gb Nvidia graphics card. It has some good points, but I find that using it on a machine with other day-to-day applications, it is excruciatingly slow to load and then run. I now use the latest DxO Photolab to process RAW, and then Affinity if I need to do further PP. I detest the ON1 upgrade nag screen as well.
I detest that update screen running every time On1 started as well. It would be great if it could be disabled, or only appeared once a month or when the user wanted to check for updates.
Hi InAcadiaSum. That's a good system you have there but your GPU's 3GB is a weak point. Its a possibility that your 3GB is been saturated by your other apps. If so, your GPU will be trading data with your system's 32GB of Ram via the CPU. In human terms, its the difference between me recalling something from memory and having to ask someone else. Good luck.
@@silentpeakphoto1845 The GPU is definitely not up to the job when anything else is going on. I am thinking of either editing on a separate dedicated system or perhaps upgrading the one system to a more powerful system.
Yeah, it's such a big pain in the drain to click away the "nag" screen, or click on "don't show me this again!" Interestingly, I run the 2023 version on pretty much the same setup, except I have an i5 processor. No issues.
Which O/S do you use. If it's M/S you can set specific applications to have processing priority; the other means of getting improvement is to 'tune' ON1; BUT 32 gb & 3 gb are weak points, especially if you are running a Chrome type browser with a load of tabs open, or other memory hogs. I run an i5 13600 BUT I have 96GB memory. I also run a nvidia Gforce RTX 2060 super with 8GB - no issues at all running a 3 screen setup with ON1 & Topaz AI open along with Chrome (5 tabs), Notepad++, Free Commander file manager and occasionally ACR / Photoshop.
I'd say the biggest issue with ON1 is that potential users expect it to look and use terminology like Photoshop, as most other processing applications do, BUT IMHO, IF you put in the effort to LEARN how to use it, it is well worth it. Its' biggest drawback AFAIC is that it lacks the equivalent of Photoshop's ACTIONS and SCRIPTS.
I think that's a fair observation. I'm not sure whether I'd need to use Actions in ON1 Photo Raw - presets are good enough for me. But I use Actions all the time in Photoshop - saves me hours every week.
Thank you for a very comprehensive review of ON1 Photo RAW. I must agree with you that upon opening the program it is very overwhelming but it does not take long to get used to it.
Excellent overview. I too found an earlier edition of ON1 Photo Raw to have a steep learning curve. Joining ON1's Plus program (included in Everything, or available separately) can be worth it in getting the most out of ON1 and very helpful in getting over the learning curve. Plus includes lots of editing demonstration videos and a customer forum. ON1's new AI features will be a bit glitchy, as you showed. It will be a work in progress, as it has at Adobe, which has a two-year head start.
Brilliant overview. I agree. The initial interface is confusing. Sort of 'where do i start'. Interesting what you say about ACD See. I am trying to leave Lightroom. Looked at Excire for photo browsing, but it is way too expensive. Could I run ACDSee as a browser and ON1 as an editor?
Thanks Peter. I'm just cutting my ACDSee Ultimate Review. It should be ready this week. Overall, I like ACDSee a lot as I like Face Recognition almost as much as I don't like subscriptions.
Excire is indeed expensive but AFAIK it is mainly intended for Keywording. There are very good FREE photo browsers such as FastStone Image Viewer, IrfanView and XnView MP.
On1 was a good PS alternative when it came out years ago, but nothing has really been improved in so long I stopped upgrading after the 2020 version. Topaz is so much better, so staying there. Surprised the company On1 hasn't died yet.
Hi Pebble. ON1 Photo Raw might not be for you but quite a lot has changed since the 2020 version. You can always give the free trial ago and you get a discount when you upgrade too.
@Bigpebble, Topaz has been so amazing for me as well. I do basic editing in ON1 or Nikon NX and then drag that photo to Topaz AI for the final polish. The race of the perfect AI photo editor companies is on. And Topaz really gets some super results.
@@ON1Photo but your key stoning tools could work as well as Nikon NX. They don't clip the the edges off a photo if you rotate it or work the image for balance. Maybe it's a proprietary patent that Nikon NX has? But in ON1, the re-straightened picture has to be re-worked.... To clean up the edges, but Nikon NX doesn't have that issue. Please go see what I mean, and advise your software engineers to see how Nikon NX rotates a photo. If your "transform" tool button had the same features plus the amazing things you already have, I would be so happy. You do offer transform tools that Nikon NX doesn't have, which is great! But try to tilt a photo in ON1. Then go do the exact same move in Nikon NX.
Excellent review Richard, thanks! I've been using On1 Photo Raw for four years now so am familiar with all the tools and features it has, but I recently trialled ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 and found that confusing and unintuitive to use, so any new program obviously takes a little time to learn. In saying that though, On1 has a wealth of features and there's not a lot that it cannot do. The biggest disappointment with On1 2025 is, for me, the very poor performance of the Generative Eraser tool which often replaces a selection with something else, totally unrelated to the subject in the photo. Unfortunately, On1 over-promised and under-delivered massively with that feature. I can understand them hyping a new feature, but promoting Generative Eraser as a game-changer was deceptive marketing in my view. I'll finish by saying I loved seeing all your lovely New Zealand photographs!
Thanks Kenemmens. I think your assessment is fair. ON1's first iteration of Generative Erase is quite poor and perhaps should have been marketed as a Beta. But, for the sake of fairness, Luminar's and Adobe's first efforts were pretty poor and even now, still wildly unpredictable. Topaz Photo AI's was surprisingly solid though.
Yeah, the hype on the generative AI feature bugs me too. They say it depends on how good your graphics card is or you can choose to be a member of Stability AI for a fee. Now I run the RTX 3060 which has 12 gb of memory, but I can see that choosing the generative AI tool option can easily max that out too. Yet, their system recommendations and requirements say that you should be OK with 4 or 6 gb memory on your GPU. I have found that is not true at all. 😕 My processor is an Intel Xeon and it's barely breaking a sweat. It seems that ON1 teamed up with Stability AI for "amazing" generative AI but they don't tell you upfront how important that is and that it will cost me even more money to make it amazing. I've been a little disappointed lately using their new AI features with absolutely weird useless results. Maybe I am doing something wrong? 😞
So what software gets me the closest to lightroom without being lightroom? I know most people concentrate on the editing aspects but to me the catalog aspects of LR is just as important.
You could try stacking and aligning multiple images as individual layers and erasing from each layer the parts you don't like. However, it would be a bit of a process so I'd stick to Pixel's AI smarts. I think Paint Shop Pro has a similar feature.
It has some great features, but it’s just touch-and-go as to whether they’ll run on your computer (and mines an M3 Max machine!). I certainly won’t be bothering with any future versions.
I use the 2024.5 version on a Mac Mini M4 and it runs very fast either. This compared to my PC with 32GBRam and a Ryzen 9 On1 Photo. 2024.5 was slow that I decided to deinstalled it. I gave it a go with my new Mac with an unbelievable fast result.
I have mixed feelings about on1. While I like the workflow, variety of features and noise reduction is one of the best. However, I wish they put more effort on the quality of already existing features instead of releasing new half baked ai gimmicks with overpromising marketing. Here are some of the annoying issues: - It seems very inefficient and sucking resources of a cpu/gpu, RAM, generating huge hidden mask cache files that take GBs of storage without you even knowing it (clearing cache doesn’t clean them). - Light control was always a mystery, eg increasing shadows increases basically whole range shadows, mids and lights (compared to Lightroom where one can pinpoint control the range of light), - color correction is also subpar with presets lacking in variety - some specific older camera raw files are not supported - duplicate find is basically not working or misleading. Spot removal and retouching is rather weak - Overall more often than not it takes more effort to achieve a desired result as compared to LR.
@grybukaras3000 - you make some fair points. ON1 tends to throw the kitchen sink at its products which inevitably leads to some immature implementations.
I agree completely about the interface. The last time I used it was in 2023 and I found the interface did not have a true workflow, making it difficult to do things with while editing
Hi Rider! Indeed. It can be a bit awkward, especially since most over photo editing applications share a similarly designed interface. However, use it long enough and it begins to make sense and can offer advantages over DxO, Lightroom, etc. Thanks for dropping by!
Hi Richard, what a review for on1 photo raw 2025. So, is the regular version good enough for photo editing? Or do we need to buy the MAX version of it? Please advise
Hi Given - thanks for dropping by! Standard and Max are largely the same. However, with the Max package, Standard's inbuilt features such as NoNoise AI, Resize AI, and Effects are also available as separate plugins which can be launched by other photo editing apps such as Lightroom. Thus, if you only plan on using ON1 Photo Raw and no other editor, Standard is all you need. However, Max, has a few minor perks, such as the addition of a second computer activation. Btw, both are on sale. Check out - silentpeakphoto.com/store/
@ I see, so MAX is just like you have DxO Photolab with Nik Collection and also have Viewpoint, Pure Raw, and Film Pack? Also, the Standard version of ON1 Photo Raw 2025 is already capable enough for photo editing. Right?
I made the switch from Adobe at the beginning of this year. Switched to Divinci Resolve for video and On1 for photo. I love On1 but it takes forever to apply any changes I make or even to just select a new photo. It makes my MacBook sound like an airplane anytime I do anything in it. I’ve never had this issue with Adobe, and even divinci resolve is nowhere near as taxing on my MacBook during very complex edits. I just upgraded to 2025 hoping it would change, but it seems to be even worse now. Does anyone have any tips to fix this?
The biggest problem I have with ON1 is they don't fix their bugs until the next major version effectively making the user pay to fix the issues by upgrade.
So after all those hosannas you sang for ON1, we should conclude that your video title description phrase "poor first impressions" was untrue and clickbait. Right?
On1 is only minimal better than 2024.5. Its nowhere really fast. AI Tools lack.. All the hype is over the Top. Many Bugs. Such as, stopping the program from trying to update on every start. You have that option, but the program simply ignores. Sometimes the in ON1 edited photo comes out very over saturated, when exportet. Or it turned 180°, The Geotagging Map is not that clear .its simply not a substitude for LR or PS
@@silentpeakphoto1845 I know. But they praise it, as it is a new revelation. It just isn't. The program can't compare to Adobe. And the pricing is not much better than Adobes
I expect your performance is likely to do with available computer resources and the application configuration. The AI capability is going to need a modern GPU with at least 8G RAM and if you have a gigantic catalog as I did that's going to crush the CPU. Much better to have smaller catalogs, lets say one for each year. Also make sure you turn off the AI metadata things you don't need. Do this and you'll have a much better experience. I stopped using Adobe in 2017 owing to their pricing mechanism. I actually don't care if their products are better, I didn't like the idea of their hand permanently in my wallet.
@@KeithHeinrich i run a HP Desktop i7 Gen 11, w 64 GB Ram and Nvidia Graphics 16GB. No other Programm lets the fan on my GC work . Not even Adobe und Lightroom running simultanious. Only On1PR does this. its still laggy and buggy. I am trying On1 since 2022 and all they do is add stuff w/o fixing the other bugs. Every 6 month they claim to become better and faster. And they never achieve it. And the pricing method is only cheaper if you stick w your old version and dont upgrade. On Adobe (believe me, i am not an Adobe Fanboy) i pay 10 Euros per month and i get all the AI Features, together w LR and PS. I ve been looking for a good Programm that can do it all, but there isnt one.
@@KeithHeinrich seems like someone deleted my answer. So here it is again. I try to use it since 2022. Not much changed but the bugs and issues stay almost the same. I have a desktop system, I7 gen11, 64 GB ram, and a Nvidia GC 16 GB. And only this program stresses so that the GC is getting louder. This doesn't happen with any other of the big players. Even LR and PS open and working it doesn't stress the GC.
On1 Max version offers plugins so it can be invoked inside Lightroom, Capture, or even Apple Photos! Considering that apps like DXO Photolab cannot work on Apple ProRAW images and don't integrate with Apple Photos app (and the iPhone is the most used camera on the planet) it's a little surprising you gave no attention to Max or the plugins.
@@silentpeakphoto1845 Must've missed it. Sorry! I'm pretty sure you didn't mention Apple Photos, which is probably the main way most people manage their photos on their home/mobile devices, and it'll be beefed up more soon after Apple's purchase of Photomator/Pixelmator. So looking at apps which integrate with it is becoming more important.
Hi Pixel. There's a 30 day money back guarantee. I also expect these tools to improve. ON1 usually delivers a mid-life upgrade - ON1 Photo Raw 2025.5 and its normally free.
You presented a very good review, but I get the impression you did not want to do this. It seems that something else is bothering you and that needs attention more than a review.
I am a wildlife photographer. I love ON1 Photo Raw 2025 for No Noise AI, AI-based subject masking, depth masks, custom vignettes, HDR effects, sunshine effects, and luminosity masks.
Excellent and balanced review.
All programs have their individual underlying philosophy which impacts how they function. In ON1's case their approach is very different in that virtually every other program has a menued set of controls that are presented to you and you work your way down the stack (or tabs) as you edit your photo. The Develop module in ON1 being the closest to this model.
ON1 adopts a totally different model where you choose what you want to do from the "local", "effects" etc modules and this brings up the relevant set of menu controls to accomplish this task.
This approach is so different that it does put people off from using ON1 however, it does have several advantages to the traditional approach in that a user only has a relatively few controls to use at any one time, you are focused on what you want to accomplish at that stage of editing and are able to decide, through the layers capabilities, which parts of the photo should be impacted by the edits you are currently performing.
Although my main editor is Capture One, with DXO-Photolab providing noise reduction/lens corrections where needed, I think ON1 is a very capable and certainly the most cost effective photo editor available and certainly worth the time and effort to overcome the initial "different philosophy" that ON1 bring to the table.
Thank's for dropping by Ian. Indeed, the inclusion of layer's forces ON1's interface to differ from non-layer-based apps such as Lightroom and PhotoLab and is ultimately more capable as a result.
I am a wildlife photographer. I love ON1 Photo Raw 2025 for No Noise AI, AI-based subject masking, depth masks, custom vignettes, HDR effects, sunshine effects, and luminosity masks.
Couldn't agree more. Thanks for stopping by :)
The No Noise Is On Par With DXO, Imo.
Great video. Thank you. Purchased it. Was on the fence but this video showed me that it has all the basics I need and more. Thanks again.
Thanks mvabiv. Once you get the hang of it, you may find its alternatives under powered.
I bought the 2023 version to run on a machine with 32gb memory, i7 processor and a reasonable 3gb Nvidia graphics card. It has some good points, but I find that using it on a machine with other day-to-day applications, it is excruciatingly slow to load and then run. I now use the latest DxO Photolab to process RAW, and then Affinity if I need to do further PP. I detest the ON1 upgrade nag screen as well.
I detest that update screen running every time On1 started as well. It would be great if it could be disabled, or only appeared once a month or when the user wanted to check for updates.
Hi InAcadiaSum. That's a good system you have there but your GPU's 3GB is a weak point. Its a possibility that your 3GB is been saturated by your other apps. If so, your GPU will be trading data with your system's 32GB of Ram via the CPU. In human terms, its the difference between me recalling something from memory and having to ask someone else. Good luck.
@@silentpeakphoto1845 The GPU is definitely not up to the job when anything else is going on. I am thinking of either editing on a separate dedicated system or perhaps upgrading the one system to a more powerful system.
Yeah, it's such a big pain in the drain to click away the "nag" screen, or click on "don't show me this again!" Interestingly, I run the 2023 version on pretty much the same setup, except I have an i5 processor. No issues.
Which O/S do you use. If it's M/S you can set specific applications to have processing priority; the other means of getting improvement is to 'tune' ON1; BUT 32 gb & 3 gb are weak points, especially if you are running a Chrome type browser with a load of tabs open, or other memory hogs. I run an i5 13600 BUT I have 96GB memory. I also run a nvidia Gforce RTX 2060 super with 8GB - no issues at all running a 3 screen setup with ON1 & Topaz AI open along with Chrome (5 tabs), Notepad++, Free Commander file manager and occasionally ACR / Photoshop.
I'd say the biggest issue with ON1 is that potential users expect it to look and use terminology like Photoshop, as most other processing applications do, BUT IMHO, IF you put in the effort to LEARN how to use it, it is well worth it. Its' biggest drawback AFAIC is that it lacks the equivalent of Photoshop's ACTIONS and SCRIPTS.
I think that's a fair observation. I'm not sure whether I'd need to use Actions in ON1 Photo Raw - presets are good enough for me. But I use Actions all the time in Photoshop - saves me hours every week.
Very thorough and well presented. Thanks!
Thanks Colin - appreciated!
Thank you for a very comprehensive review of ON1 Photo RAW. I must agree with you that upon opening the program it is very overwhelming but it does not take long to get used to it.
Thanks for dropping by Steve. Indeed, ON1 Photo Raw is worth a little perseverance.
Excellent overview. I too found an earlier edition of ON1 Photo Raw to have a steep learning curve. Joining ON1's Plus program (included in Everything, or available separately) can be worth it in getting the most out of ON1 and very helpful in getting over the learning curve. Plus includes lots of editing demonstration videos and a customer forum. ON1's new AI features will be a bit glitchy, as you showed. It will be a work in progress, as it has at Adobe, which has a two-year head start.
Thanks Sound. I agree with your observations entirely :)
Too glitchy for me to 're-purchase' the app only a year later (standard version here).
12 months later
Brilliant overview. I agree. The initial interface is confusing. Sort of 'where do i start'. Interesting what you say about ACD See. I am trying to leave Lightroom. Looked at Excire for photo browsing, but it is way too expensive. Could I run ACDSee as a browser and ON1 as an editor?
Thanks Peter. I'm just cutting my ACDSee Ultimate Review. It should be ready this week. Overall, I like ACDSee a lot as I like Face Recognition almost as much as I don't like subscriptions.
Excire is indeed expensive but AFAIK it is mainly intended for Keywording. There are very good FREE photo browsers such as FastStone Image Viewer, IrfanView and XnView MP.
On1 was a good PS alternative when it came out years ago, but nothing has really been improved in so long I stopped upgrading after the 2020 version. Topaz is so much better, so staying there. Surprised the company On1 hasn't died yet.
Hi Pebble. ON1 Photo Raw might not be for you but quite a lot has changed since the 2020 version. You can always give the free trial ago and you get a discount when you upgrade too.
We are alive and well! Make sure to check out version 2025, its by far our best version yet!
@Bigpebble,
Topaz has been so amazing for me as well. I do basic editing in ON1 or Nikon NX and then drag that photo to Topaz AI for the final polish.
The race of the perfect AI photo editor companies is on. And Topaz really gets some super results.
@@ON1Photo but your key stoning tools could work as well as Nikon NX. They don't clip the the edges off a photo if you rotate it or work the image for balance. Maybe it's a proprietary patent that Nikon NX has?
But in ON1, the re-straightened picture has to be re-worked.... To clean up the edges, but Nikon NX doesn't have that issue. Please go see what I mean, and advise your software engineers to see how Nikon NX rotates a photo. If your "transform" tool button had the same features plus the amazing things you already have, I would be so happy.
You do offer transform tools that Nikon NX doesn't have, which is great!
But try to tilt a photo in ON1.
Then go do the exact same move in Nikon NX.
Excellent review Richard, thanks! I've been using On1 Photo Raw for four years now so am familiar with all the tools and features it has, but I recently trialled ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 and found that confusing and unintuitive to use, so any new program obviously takes a little time to learn. In saying that though, On1 has a wealth of features and there's not a lot that it cannot do. The biggest disappointment with On1 2025 is, for me, the very poor performance of the Generative Eraser tool which often replaces a selection with something else, totally unrelated to the subject in the photo. Unfortunately, On1 over-promised and under-delivered massively with that feature. I can understand them hyping a new feature, but promoting Generative Eraser as a game-changer was deceptive marketing in my view. I'll finish by saying I loved seeing all your lovely New Zealand photographs!
Thanks Kenemmens. I think your assessment is fair. ON1's first iteration of Generative Erase is quite poor and perhaps should have been marketed as a Beta. But, for the sake of fairness, Luminar's and Adobe's first efforts were pretty poor and even now, still wildly unpredictable. Topaz Photo AI's was surprisingly solid though.
Yeah, the hype on the generative AI feature bugs me too. They say it depends on how good your graphics card is or you can choose to be a member of Stability AI for a fee. Now I run the RTX 3060 which has 12 gb of memory, but I can see that choosing the generative AI tool option can easily max that out too. Yet, their system recommendations and requirements say that you should be OK with 4 or 6 gb memory on your GPU. I have found that is not true at all. 😕
My processor is an Intel Xeon and it's barely breaking a sweat. It seems that ON1 teamed up with Stability AI for "amazing" generative AI but they don't tell you upfront how important that is and that it will cost me even more money to make it amazing.
I've been a little disappointed lately using their new AI features with absolutely weird useless results. Maybe I am doing something wrong?
😞
So what software gets me the closest to lightroom without being lightroom? I know most people concentrate on the editing aspects but to me the catalog aspects of LR is just as important.
Hi Gustavo - probably ACDSee Pro or Ultimate. Check out my top five photo editing apps - th-cam.com/video/bteLfryx7bc/w-d-xo.html
Is the app able to do "best take" feature like my Google pixel 8 pro. I need it for group photos.
You could try stacking and aligning multiple images as individual layers and erasing from each layer the parts you don't like. However, it would be a bit of a process so I'd stick to Pixel's AI smarts. I think Paint Shop Pro has a similar feature.
It has some great features, but it’s just touch-and-go as to whether they’ll run on your computer (and mines an M3 Max machine!). I certainly won’t be bothering with any future versions.
Hi Simon. Unfortunately, I've never tested it on a Mac but I'd expect it to fly on your machine.
I use the 2024.5 version on a Mac Mini M4 and it runs very fast either. This compared to my PC with 32GBRam and a Ryzen 9 On1 Photo. 2024.5 was slow that I decided to deinstalled it. I gave it a go with my new Mac with an unbelievable fast result.
I have mixed feelings about on1. While I like the workflow, variety of features and noise reduction is one of the best. However, I wish they put more effort on the quality of already existing features instead of releasing new half baked ai gimmicks with overpromising marketing. Here are some of the annoying issues:
- It seems very inefficient and sucking resources of a cpu/gpu, RAM, generating huge hidden mask cache files that take GBs of storage without you even knowing it (clearing cache doesn’t clean them).
- Light control was always a mystery, eg increasing shadows increases basically whole range shadows, mids and lights (compared to Lightroom where one can pinpoint control the range of light),
- color correction is also subpar with presets lacking in variety
- some specific older camera raw files are not supported
- duplicate find is basically not working or misleading. Spot removal and retouching is rather weak
- Overall more often than not it takes more effort to achieve a desired result as compared to LR.
@grybukaras3000 - you make some fair points. ON1 tends to throw the kitchen sink at its products which inevitably leads to some immature implementations.
I agree completely about the interface. The last time I used it was in 2023 and I found the interface did not have a true workflow, making it difficult to do things with while editing
Hi Rider! Indeed. It can be a bit awkward, especially since most over photo editing applications share a similarly designed interface. However, use it long enough and it begins to make sense and can offer advantages over DxO, Lightroom, etc. Thanks for dropping by!
Hi Richard, what a review for on1 photo raw 2025.
So, is the regular version good enough for photo editing?
Or do we need to buy the MAX version of it?
Please advise
Hi Given - thanks for dropping by! Standard and Max are largely the same. However, with the Max package, Standard's inbuilt features such as NoNoise AI, Resize AI, and Effects are also available as separate plugins which can be launched by other photo editing apps such as Lightroom. Thus, if you only plan on using ON1 Photo Raw and no other editor, Standard is all you need. However, Max, has a few minor perks, such as the addition of a second computer activation. Btw, both are on sale. Check out - silentpeakphoto.com/store/
@
I see, so MAX is just like you have DxO Photolab with Nik Collection and also have Viewpoint, Pure Raw, and Film Pack?
Also, the Standard version of ON1 Photo Raw 2025 is already capable enough for photo editing. Right?
I made the switch from Adobe at the beginning of this year. Switched to Divinci Resolve for video and On1 for photo. I love On1 but it takes forever to apply any changes I make or even to just select a new photo. It makes my MacBook sound like an airplane anytime I do anything in it. I’ve never had this issue with Adobe, and even divinci resolve is nowhere near as taxing on my MacBook during very complex edits. I just upgraded to 2025 hoping it would change, but it seems to be even worse now. Does anyone have any tips to fix this?
The biggest problem I have with ON1 is they don't fix their bugs until the next major version effectively making the user pay to fix the issues by upgrade.
Hi Jokemeister, Not always, but the free .5 updates can be pretty substantial.
EXcellent review...
Appreciate it!
At 35 sec there is a stament that the Max verison is for 3 computers but is for 5 computers
Hi MrTriumpST. You can get a five computer license, but only if you subscribe. A Max lifetime license is for three computers. Thanks for watching!
Can not compete with Adobe Camera RAW and Capture One Pro. I used demo version while ago, it was so slow.
So after all those hosannas you sang for ON1, we should conclude that your video title description phrase "poor first impressions" was untrue and clickbait. Right?
Hi Bud. As stated (verbally) in the ON1 Photo Raw's dense interface does indeed present a bad first impression. So it's true .. and clickbait :)
On1 is only minimal better than 2024.5. Its nowhere really fast. AI Tools lack.. All the hype is over the Top. Many Bugs. Such as, stopping the program from trying to update on every start. You have that option, but the program simply ignores. Sometimes the in ON1 edited photo comes out very over saturated, when exportet. Or it turned 180°, The Geotagging Map is not that clear .its simply not a substitude for LR or PS
I tend to upgrade every other year at most. 12 months (or six when it comes to ON1's .5 updates) isn't a lot of development time.
@@silentpeakphoto1845 I know. But they praise it, as it is a new revelation. It just isn't. The program can't compare to Adobe. And the pricing is not much better than Adobes
I expect your performance is likely to do with available computer resources and the application configuration. The AI capability is going to need a modern GPU with at least 8G RAM and if you have a gigantic catalog as I did that's going to crush the CPU. Much better to have smaller catalogs, lets say one for each year. Also make sure you turn off the AI metadata things you don't need. Do this and you'll have a much better experience. I stopped using Adobe in 2017 owing to their pricing mechanism. I actually don't care if their products are better, I didn't like the idea of their hand permanently in my wallet.
@@KeithHeinrich i run a HP Desktop i7 Gen 11, w 64 GB Ram and Nvidia Graphics 16GB. No other Programm lets the fan on my GC work . Not even Adobe und Lightroom running simultanious. Only On1PR does this. its still laggy and buggy.
I am trying On1 since 2022 and all they do is add stuff w/o fixing the other bugs. Every 6 month they claim to become better and faster. And they never achieve it. And the pricing method is only cheaper if you stick w your old version and dont upgrade. On Adobe (believe me, i am not an Adobe Fanboy) i pay 10 Euros per month and i get all the AI Features, together w LR and PS. I ve been looking for a good Programm that can do it all, but there isnt one.
@@KeithHeinrich seems like someone deleted my answer. So here it is again. I try to use it since 2022. Not much changed but the bugs and issues stay almost the same. I have a desktop system, I7 gen11, 64 GB ram, and a Nvidia GC 16 GB. And only this program stresses so that the GC is getting louder. This doesn't happen with any other of the big players. Even LR and PS open and working it doesn't stress the GC.
On1 Max version offers plugins so it can be invoked inside Lightroom, Capture, or even Apple Photos! Considering that apps like DXO Photolab cannot work on Apple ProRAW images and don't integrate with Apple Photos app (and the iPhone is the most used camera on the planet) it's a little surprising you gave no attention to Max or the plugins.
Hi Qwe, thanks for dropping by. I do talk about Max and the plugins in the video
@@silentpeakphoto1845 Must've missed it. Sorry! I'm pretty sure you didn't mention Apple Photos, which is probably the main way most people manage their photos on their home/mobile devices, and it'll be beefed up more soon after Apple's purchase of Photomator/Pixelmator. So looking at apps which integrate with it is becoming more important.
tethered shooting only works with canon and nikon cameras, those two only
Hi Areusirius - very useful info, thanks for dropping by :
Great 1st impression. If you take the time to go to the nuts and bolts
The Generative AI feature is very poor not at all like in their demo videos. I wish I could get my money back.
Hi Pixel. There's a 30 day money back guarantee. I also expect these tools to improve. ON1 usually delivers a mid-life upgrade - ON1 Photo Raw 2025.5 and its normally free.
You presented a very good review, but I get the impression you did not want to do this. It seems that something else is bothering you and that needs attention more than a review.
Glad you liked it. I wasn't aware of being distracted at the time. Maybe a sub-conscious thing :)
The dehaze function is absolutely useless. Its not going to bring out any detail, not even as good as the free mobile version of lightroom.
ON1 is pure crap!
Have you ever used it or, if you have was it more than 5 minutes? I'd say you don't know what you're talking about.
@@kenemmens6281 have used it and really tried to like it, but it sucks. I will say that you suck too.
The quality of your comment is equally pure: no examples, no reasons why you dislike it, just destructive. Absolutely useless at best.
@@wiewowos devil's advocate
I am a wildlife photographer. I love ON1 Photo Raw 2025 for No Noise AI, AI-based subject masking, depth masks, custom vignettes, HDR effects, sunshine effects, and luminosity masks.
I have a modern system 64gb DDR5 radeon GFX card with 16gb memory and a AM5 CPU, this runs fine lol