I tested on a quad-core 3.4GHz AMD Windows 7 64-bit system with 4GB RAM.ĭxO Optics Pro 7's interface is clear, and mostly self-explanatory, with three tabs for its three modes-Organize (an overstatement), Customize, and Process. That's one complaint I have with Optics Pro 7: for working with the huge photo files you get from high-end DSLRs these days, 64-bit would seem desirable. The 200MB installer creates only a 32-bit app on your system.
Setup and Interface DxO Optics Pro 7 comes in both Windows and Mac OS X flavors, and a free trial edition gives you access to its full feature set for 31 days. I tested using raw image files from a Canon EOS T1i, a 7D, and a Sony a580. As soon as you open an image, Optics Pro applies its best-guess corrections, and if you do nothing more than accept this, your photos will be much improved from the default.
Other software like Lightroom and Apple Aperture lets you apply adjustments and tagging during import. Unlike Adobe Lightroom, Optics Pro offers no workflow and few image-collection organization tools: There's no import feature at all-you simply choose a folder from the directory tree in the inaptly named Organize tab, the first one you start working in. The company expects to offer profiles for over 5,000 camera+lens combinations by the end of 2011, and 10,000 in 2012. But if you have a lesser-known or not-really-enthiusast-level point-and-shoot, you're probably better off keeping your $99. Most popular DSLRs are represented, such as those made by Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and Sony, as well as some point-and-shoot models from the likes of FujiFilm, Panasonic, and Samsung. Of course, these corrections depend on DxO having the data for your camera and lens in its database. DxO adds noise reduction, color correction, and sharpening to Lightroom's, and DxO actually does a much better job at eliminating chromatic abberation.
Lightroom's profile presets only correct geometric distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. Optics Pro brought out submerged detail and eliminated obvious image noise and chromatic aberration better than Lightroom's similar equipment-specific correction. To jump the gun on my evaluation a bit, my results were remarkable, particularly with raw camera files-the program can benefit JPG shots as well, but results on raw camera files are far more impressive.
Optics Pro 7's default is to use "modules" developed specifically for your camera body and lens combination. It will be of interest not only to photography professionals, but also to enthusiast who want to get the most accurate images from their digital SLRs or high-end point-and-shoots.ĭxO Optics Pro 7 does most of its work with simple-to-use automatic presets. Instead DxO's $99 Optic Pro 7 can be thought of as a dedicated digital photo correction tool. It also differs from professional workflow apps like Lightroom ($299, 4.5 stars) which offers an abundance of importing and organizing features. Optics Pro 7 differs from most imaging software, such as Adobe Photoshop ($699, 5 stars) and its little brother, Photoshop Elements ($99.99, 4 stars), which offer lot of doodads to gussy up your photos. The results are little short of amazing, letting you get the most accurate and therefore lifelike images possible from your digital camera. DxO is better known for its embedded camera software and image-testing software, but the French company is increasingly sharing its expertise and strong academic ties with digital photographers.