With ON1 Photo Raw 2023 having just won a Pop Photo Award for its AI features, the app can be compared with the next Lightroom. How can it stand up to different camera raw files?
I tested two alternatives to Lightroom Classic: DxO PhotoLab 6 and Capture One. During these tests, I displayed and compared the same raw files. Unlike other programs, I’ve been using ON1 for several years, although I’ve been using Lightroom longer.
On1 Photo Raw is probably the closest package you’ll find in Adobe’s Photographer Plan. Its raw development tools work similarly to Lightroom Classic, it has an advanced layers-based editor that can be easier to use than Photoshop, and it also has a mobile app with a cheaper cloud service than with Adobe. It also has an advanced category.
New version, ON1 Photo Raw 2023.1, will be released soon
The new version of ON1 Photo Raw, coming soon, features new overlays for the crop tool. It also enhances the features of Sky Swap AI, increases the speed of NoNoise AI and Resize AI modules, and changes the font size, making it easier to see on smaller screens. It also supports more cameras, including the Canon EOS R6 Mark II and Panasonic Lumix DC-S5II.
The upgrade is free for ON1 Photo Raw 2023 users and costs $99.99 for a perpetual license for new customers. Owners of any previous version of any ON1 product can order the 2023 version for an upgrade price of $79.99. There is a 14-day free trial available, and once the 2023.1 product is officially made available, if you already use the Photo RAW 2023 trial, you will be able to download and use the 2023.1 trial for 14 days.
ON1 is not the same as Lightroom Classic and Photoshop
ON1’s raw interface has a very similar look and feel to Lightroom Classic. Categories work similarly. If you can find a way to search images in Lightroom, you’ll be on ON1. In fact, it is possible to import the catalog and development settings from Lightroom Classic into ON1 Photo Raw. Pricing is slightly more competitive than Adobe Photographer’s Plan and can be purchased outright or through subscription options.
There’s a lot more under the ON1’s hood than the Lightroom Classic. It combines many of the functions you find in Adobe Photographer Plan, including a phone app, cloud sync, and various plugins in one package. The Editor’s advanced layer tools are also more intuitive.
Similar to DxO PhotoLab 6’s Deep Prime, it’s a bit unfair to compare ON1 with Lightroom Classic because it has AI sharpening and noise reduction, which Lightroom doesn’t have. You will need to purchase those as plugins for Adobe products. However, this review primarily looks at the original raw files at import. I could mention the functionality of some settings, but I don’t consider the results, as they are subjective.
Raw file test results
ON1 and Nikon
Comparing the results between ON1 and Lightroom with Nikon’s images surprised me. I was impressed with the output from Lightroom and the ON1 being very similar as well. The greens appear to be a bit lighter in the On1, but the grass yellows are a bit darker and sharper. There is a small, more detailed section of the sky. Using the sliders below, you can see the differences in the profiles applied by the two programs, such as something to check before you buy if you shoot architecture. With that said, I found the ON1’s lens configuration to produce no horizontal or vertical lens distortion.
Lightroom is on the left in the following two examples.
As you can see on the lawn, in some areas the ON1 brought out slightly better detail that I couldn’t see in Lightroom.
I did not use the before and after sliders in the following image because I wanted to show you the larger version that you can get by clicking on the image. The stem on the ON1 version is a bit lighter, showing more detail but the details in the needles of the tree are similar. Other apps give more details there.
Compare the detail in the foliage above with the detail generated by ON1 below.
Overall, at default settings, Nikon’s images appear to be a bit stronger at ON1. To Nikon owners, the difference between the two programs seems very small.
ON1 and Canon
Canon images are not over-sharpened in ON1 as in Lightroom. Furthermore, noise in the dark is less visible in ON1.
The model’s skin in the Lightroom version is slightly yellow, and the fake purple of the shirt is also visible there. The ON1 version is slightly brighter. ON1 on the right and Lightroom Classic on the left.
Overall, looking at all the images I tested, Canon’s raw files appeared brighter in the ON1 than in Lightroom, albeit only very slightly. However, colors from ON1 are much more accurate than Lightroom’s default. The subject’s blue blouse appears almost purple in Lightroom. The photographer, not knowing what program I was showing, chose ON1 as the closest result. Then I changed all the camera profiles in Lightroom and they all showed the shirt as purple. I like the skin tones in ON1 more than Lightroom. However, for my taste, DxO Photolab 6 is better.
ON1 and OM . system
I shot with the previous OM-1 and Olympus cameras. Like Lightroom, I’ve been using ON1 Photo Raw for years. In many cases, I like the developed results it delivers much better than Adobe’s. However, using the same image that I tested before, I was more impressed with the Lightroom output. The yellow in ON1 Photo Raw seems to be oversaturated. The tonal transitions through the highlights aren’t smooth either; Look at the highlights around the sun in the following image.
Again, Lightroom is on the left and ON1 Photo Raw is on the right.
I can fix that in processing, but that’s not the point of this test.
Default ON1 results for OM-1 which is much cleaner than Lightroom; no unwanted ugly artifacts. By default, Lightroom over-sharpenes Olympus and OM System images. I can only detect a little light noise in ON1. Since ON1 has built-in AI sharpening and noise reduction, applying these produced results far superior to Lightroom, even though I had to reduce the sharpening settings a lot. by default AI.
Looking at another image, color accuracy is better than in Lightroom, with greens more muted and closer to life. In the following example, the green color shown in the Lightroom export on the left is too vivid. I was also able to dramatically increase details in dark tones using the shadow slider without noise in ON1, which I was less able to do in Lightroom Classic. However, the Lightroom version has a clearer default value than ON1. Besides the structure slider in the raw dev panel, ON1’s editing module has a great layering tool called Dynamic Contrast that solves that problem.
Raw photo of Sony and ON1
The following slider shows Lightroom on the left and ON1 on the right. In the LR it automatically chose the “Camera ST” profile, so in ON1, I chose their camera standard profile. There is a significant difference between the two images. The ON1 version is 0.8 stops brighter; it might even be a little too bright. Skin tone looks more natural to me in ON1.
Using ON1, I restored details in the shadows, minimizing visible noise to the image. Again, when using multiple images I tested, colors were more accurate and skin tones were more tolerable than in Lightroom. No weird colors that I see in Capture One.
The following image from the a7 Mark III is rendered using Lightroom on the left and ON1 on the right. Again, there was a significant difference using the other raw files I tested.
On1 and Fujifilm
Again, there is a significant difference in the default results between ON1 and Lightroom. The blue is lighter in ON1 and the castle walls are a more pleasing color. However, I’m not so sure about the color of the sky; I prefer the blue color in Lightroom.
Again, Lightroom is on the left and ON1 is on the right.
As I’ve pointed out before, my tests with Fujifilm shots weren’t as good as Lightroom; There seems to be an unpleasant blurring effect in the intricately detailed green of the leaves. In ON1 Photo Raw, this is less obvious.
What I like and what I can improve in ON1 Photo Raw 2023
This application is probably the most versatile of all the programs I have tried. It is accessible to beginners, with one-click adjustments, and advanced photographers who want precise control over their adjustments. Buying a perpetual license or subscription is also cheaper than anything else I’ve reviewed so far.
I found the ON1’s sliders to be softer to use than Lightroom’s, so their controllability is more precise. The one exception is the contrast slider which I find to be too sensitive.
Out of all the programs I tried, ON1 Photo Raw had the most varied results. There are significant differences depending on the camera brand and subject being photographed. Sometimes it’s better than Lightroom and others it’s not. However, these results are only default conversions. If one spends time developing the image, it can produce great results for all brands with either program.
The raw results, the features in the Editing Module and especially the AI NoNoise make it well worth considering as a great alternative to Adobe Photographer Plan.
You can download the 14-day trial of ON1 Photo Raw 2023 by clicking here.
I want to once again thank my fellow writers for generously sharing their images for me to play with: Used with permission of Peter MorganCanon; Gary McIntyre, Fujifilm X-T5 and Nikon Z 7II; Andy’s DaySony a7 III and John RicardSony A1 and Nikon Z6.
