DxO PhotoLab 8 Aims to Be the ‘Ultimate’ Photo Editing Software
DxO PhotoLab 8 has been announced, and with it comes the addition of the DeepPRIME XD2s noise reduction tool and the promise of a much improved and “complete” workflow for passionate photographers within the RAW processing and correction application.
According to the company, PhotoLab 8 will deliver “ultimate noise reduction and detail extraction now with large live preview magnifier, hue masks, enhanced tone curve tool, and much more.” Due mainly to the evolution of the XD2s DeepPRIME machine learning, the software update features impressive noise reduction and detail extraction tools, as well as additional lens profiles and compensation, more advanced color science tools, improved file management, and “intuitive” local adjustment tools.
“This is the ultimate editing software for anyone passionate about photography. The noise reduction and detail extraction is like nothing you’ve seen before, and its refreshed tools and new features give photographers more precision than ever before,” says DxO VP of Product Strategy Jean-Marc Alexia.
The improved Denoise tool enables real-time high-quality quality Previews for RAW denoising and demosaicing through the use of a large preview magnifier that allows users to see precisely how their images will be improved and adjusted using the DeepPRIME engine along with any other adjustments they’ve made to the image. This includes exposure adjustments, ClearView, Smart Lighting, Tone Curve adjustments, and more. These improvements will allow the photographer to see exactly how far their images can be pushed while providing up to 1,600 percent zoom so they can check every detail before committing.
In addition to the massively improved denoise tools, DxO PhotoLab 8 has added an improved lens profile system, plus better corrections for aberrations and softness. The software promises to give users better access and control over their optical sharpening. According to the company, the improved DxO optics modules are mathematical models developed by observing the performance of each lens across the entire field of view and focal range available to them. These models are then used to ensure precise, incremental levels of sharpening depending on the characteristics of specific camera and lens combinations. DxO claims these new models will reveal details without adding fringing artifacts in high-frequency areas.
Also added within this update is an improved U-Point technology control for Hue Masks, allowing for “ultra-accurate” individual hue and hue range selections for targeted editing. These masks allow creatives to pick from eight predefined hues or sample directly from the image before fine-tuning and adjusting the selected range.
Tone Curves have also received an update containing on-image control that allows users to edit the curve by selecting the Tone Picker and clicking/dragging on the part of the image that relates specifically to the tone they want to adjust. This includes a new Luma channel added to the Red, Green, and Blue channels to provide further control to tonal adjustments without impacting color levels to the image, helping avoid unwanted and unexpected color shifts when adjusting the brightness.
Additional improvements to overall usability include a histogram to help guide adjustments, a visual cue when making changes to the RGB channels, and each point on a curve now has an editable number value that photographers can use to make precise adjustments and dial in specific changes, while also allowing them to save their own custom and reusable presets.
Lastly, PhotoLab 8 has added several new quality-of-life improvements to give users a more intelligent and faster workflow. These include a new Compare Mode that allows users to set an image as a reference from which they can match their overall adjustments, a new Correction Rollover viewer that provides a live preview of effects when the cursor hovers over rendering settings (like color renderings, LUTs, or Tone Curve presets), and lastly, to boost workflow speed, browsing and loading images (previews) have been accelerated across the board.
Pricing and Availability
The new DxO PhotoLab 8 is available now for $229. Existing users can take advantage of a special upgrade price of $109, and a free 30-day trial is also available on DxO’s website.
Image credits: DxO
