As you know, many of us are excited about RapidRaw, and the developer has just released a new update that has some great additions to an already amazing editing package. Here is a quick look at the new features, and feedback on how they work (if applicable).
RapidRaw 1.5.4: Updates.
- Direct WGPU Rendering – Making the editing experience even smoother!
- Reworked Presets System – “Styles” which over-write the entire images settings and “Tool” which acts additively, blending the changes on top of the current settings. Masks and Crops can now also be saved in your presets.
- Experimental Android Support – For Android devices.
- Intersecting masks – Finally, you can intersect your masks for great control.
- Flow Masks – An additive brush that builds up the mask as you draw over it.
- Copy & Paste Upgrade – You can now copy and paste masks and crops easily.
- Fluid Canvas Navigation – A re-written engine for improved performance.
- Retained EXIF Data – When using denoised and stiched images.
I have tried out all the above features except the Android support, and I am glad to say that they are all working very well.
RapidRaw 1.5.4: Core Improvements.
- Better Auto-Adjust: The auto-adjustment algorithm has been greatly improved to deliver faster, more accurate results. In my tests the results are 100% better than previous versions with amazing results at the touch of a button.
- Redesigned Color Wheels: The color grading wheels have been redesigned for a clean, consistent look and now feature dynamic sliders.
- Batch Processing Upgrades: I’ve added batch denoising and a new option to preserve your exact folder structure when exporting in batches.
- AVIF Export: Added support for AVIF export.
- Removed mask limits.
- Improved the downscaling algorithm so you feel less of a difference when dragging sliders.
- Fixed bugs that occurred when rapidly switching between images.
- General UI polish, bug fixes & usability improvements.
These are all very welcome core improvements, and you can download this latest version of the software by visiting its official page here.
I look at a previous update to RapidRaw here. You’ll find detailed screenshots and more.
My initial in-depth review is here.
Join the RapidRaw community here.
There will be a set of YouTube videos coming soon taking a look at RapidRaw and certain features of RapidRaw, including a full workflow of an editing session for a professional shoot.
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Interesting update, and some genuinely useful additions in there, especially the masking improvements and the split between “Styles” and “Tool” presets, that could make a real difference in day-to-day workflow if implemented well.
At the same time, it still feels like a relatively young project finding its footing, so it’s probably a bit early to draw bigger conclusions, but the direction does look promising. Curious to see how it holds up over longer-term use.
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I’ve spent about 2 and half hours playing with this update and it’s great! There’s still the annoyance of the black slider not working, but other than that it’s looking good, and the Style/Tool update is great and a real game changer to the way it works.
Long-term, it can only get better, but if all development stopped now, it’s still more than capable. I have a paid shoot next week and I’ll be using it on a few images to really push it.
It’s obviously not up to Luminar Neo standards, but it’s free and all the main tools and control are there.
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