Fix a flat, muddy background with Lightroom’s Variance slider
Point Color’s Variance slider can pull colour back into a dull brown backdrop. Here are the steps, menu paths and limits in Lightroom Classic 15.5.
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Affinity, darktable and Luminar compared with Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop in 2026
Affinity just landed free on iPad, darktable keeps shipping RAW tools, and Luminar 1.29 is out. Here is what each replaces in Lightroom and Photoshop, and what it costs.
Free photo editors vs Adobe’s plans after Affinity for iPad
Affinity now runs free on iPad, darktable is on 5.6.2 and Snapseed 4.2 imports Lightroom presets. Here is what each free editor does, and where Adobe’s paid plans still apply.
Free Photoshop alternatives for photographers, October 2026
Affinity is now free, GIMP has non-destructive editing, darktable 5.6 added optional AI, and Pixelmator Pro sits in Apple’s bundle. Here’s who should leave Photoshop, and who shouldn’t.
DxO ViewPoint 6: what AI masks in ReShape Fusion change
DxO ViewPoint 6 adds AI masks to ReShape Fusion and opens RAW files directly. Here’s what it does, what it costs, and who should skip it.
Lightroom, DxO and Photoshop just drew three different AI lines
Adobe lets AI invent new eyes in Lightroom mobile, DxO says its AI only rearranges pixels, and Photoshop’s next filter has no AI at all.