DxO Optics Pro 5, image correction software that knows about the camera and lens you use
This is a multi-page review. Don't miss the invitation at the end of this article inviting you to nominate your images to be corrected by Optics Pro 5 and shown in a future before and after results gallery.
The latest version of DxO Optics Pro v5.3 was released in October and now that a Mac version is also available, we thought it was time to find out what it’s all about. What does the program do, what are the claims made of it, does it fulfil its promise and, finally, how does it compare with one of the market leading raw conversion packages, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom?
I have been a great fan of Lightroom since it was released, so I was keen to find out how it compares and whether the claims made of it are worth the cost of buying it. In fact, DxO has positioned Optics Pro to work in conjunction with Lightroom.
What’s it all about?
Essentially DxO is Raw conversion software, however because every camera and lens combination have their own unique characteristics, DxO set about with Optics Pro to test selected camera bodies and lenses and use the information learned from specific combinations of body and lens to automatically apply fine-tuned image corrections. By profiling a camera body and lens combination, the software will, in theory, apply corrections to known image quality issues. In theory this is great for bodies and lenses that DxO have profiled, but as the profiling procedure is time consuming and expensive, DxO has primarily focused on the best-selling camera bodies and lenses.
The program can also take into account distance, focal length and aperture. The end result is that it can correct lens distortion such as barrel and pincushion effect, as well as edge fall off (vignetting), colour fringing, (chromatic aberration) and lens softness. There are also corrections to anamorphic distortion, such as faces at the edge or centre of a picture which look stretched or bulbous, all corrected easily. Finally, correction of horizons and key stoning i.e. converging/diverging verticals can be corrected manually.
How many times have you taken shots using a wide angle lens, and people at the edge look stretched or distorted? Maybe the camera was pointed up a little and you find a curved horizon. Both are hard work to correct quickly in Photoshop. DxO seems to have it sorted with a minimum of user input. I was on a shoot the other day and I needed to photograph a large and long building with a 17mm lens. The result was that the two end corners of the building were converging. Using the Keystoning tools in DxO the problem was sorted in no time and with a click of the crop tool the shot was cropped to take account of the dead space created. To do that in Photoshop would have taken far more stages and longer, and all this is done with the raw file before processing in DxO. If I’m honest I was pretty amazed when I saw it happen on screen then looked at the before and after view side-by-side.
Of course it's not all about correcting lens distortion or picture geometry, there are many other tools available to help in the raw conversion. As one would expect it’s easy to correct exposure, colour balance, noise, dust and chromatic aberration. Not only this but they also throw in the ability to simulate film grain for many different films.
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Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
DPNow Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
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DxO Optics Pro ... (more)
Stephen Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
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Pops Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
Your example is an excellent illustration of the programmes capability. I suspect however that the l... (more)
Ian Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
StuartR (corse fisherman supreme) uses Optics Pro - will we EVER seen him again? :eek: (I've got a... (more)
Ian Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
Basically you don't need a tilt/shift lens any more?
The two shots are very interesting - what I... (more)
Stephen Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
Thanks for taking the time to comment Pops. The standard version is £99 which is cheaper than Lig... (more)
Stephen Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
When taking such photos though, you need to allow space for the correction. Altering the geometry ... (more)
Ian Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
Yes that's a very good point.
Ian... (more)
Autumn Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
I had a look at your comparisons Stephen and they look good. I don't think I really want to go to a... (more)
Stephen Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
In truth this is not the package for you Audrey and would not be cost effective even if you wanted ... (more)
veggiesosage Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
An alternative worth thinking about is PTLens. It doesn't have the RAW conversion function or noise ... (more)
Ian Re: Stephen Anstey reviews the DxO Optics Pro 5
Bibble from Bibble Labs is another alternative, though it's not nearly as sophisticated.
Ian... (more)
