Some of my "Toys" for Rudra & Others.

[andy153]

Perhaps I should now introduce another of my "Toys". I use DXO Labs "Optics Pro" V4 and am currently testing the public Beta of V5 - stand alone Elite. This software automatically corrects lens softness, distortion, removes dust, corrects perspective FOR CERTAIN CAMERAS AND LENSES - Most Cannon, Nikon etc. Here is a link that explains what it does
http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/dxo_op...tures/overview

I have used V4 for some time and today I have started on the Public Beta Testing of V5 - To put it through it's paces I've been to Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire today and for those of us who know it, I think it is fair to say there is hardly a proper right angle in the place - For those who don't - It is an Elizabethan Half Timber Moated Manor House.

[Rudra Sen]

Andy, been through that site and surely looks interesting. 299$/150£ is the cost. Let me go through their demo...

Can you post some of your DXO treated images here? I mean before and after types..

[andy153]

Hi Rudra and all, I'm going to post some shots of Little Moreton Hall. These have been through DXO to correct lens distortion - I was using the Sigma 10-20 mm . I will mark the before and after shots.

[Adey Baker]

Originally Posted by andy153

...I will mark the before and after shots.

If it's any good, you shouldn't need to

[andy153]

Of course your'e right Adey - Here they are - The only filter applied has been the DXO correction for a Sigma 10-20 on a Nikon D300 body.
DXO1.jpg

DXO2.jpg

[Adey Baker]

Originally Posted by andy153

Of course your'e right Adey - Here they are - The only filter applied has been the DXO correction for a Sigma 10-20 on a Nikon D300 body.
Attachment 4132

Attachment 4133

With a building like that, I prefer the 'before' to the 'after!'

Incidentally, there's a lens correction 'filter' in later versions of Photoshop (Filter>Distort>Lens Correction) - it will work with 16-bit images. You can correct barrel and pincushion distortion, vignetting and colour fringing (zoom up the preview box beyond 100% to check the effects of this to make sure you don't overdo it). It can also alter the horizontal or vertical perspective. With several of these functions you'll need to crop the image at the end, so you end up with a smaller image area.

If you like 'playing' then you can over-correct a perfectly good image for...erm...interesting effects:

[andy153]

You are right again Adey - CS 3 has these various corrections available but I actually started with Photoshop 7 for a long time. Because of the price in those days I started looking at "Toys" that would do things that were limited or poorly done in Photoshop. And as Photoshop has progressed so have the "Toys". The beauty of DXO is that it is specific to various lens and body combinations - there are different algorithms for the D300 and the D2x both with the Sigma 10-20 etc. Its BIG drawback is that it alters the original if as they suggest you batch everything through DXO to start. It reads the EXIF to make its choices - so for DXO I create a separate DXO Library to my Aperture Vaults. Also the new Beta DXO 5 is quite slow and my machine is a dual chip Mac with 8.5 Gb RAM.
As Photoshop and my "Toys" evolve no doubt some of them will become superfluous as Adobe take some of the functions to themselves - but in the mean time I find them fun.

[Adey Baker]

How much does DXO cost if you've got, say, 3 different bodies and 6 lenses? And what if you're a regular upgrader every time a new camera body is released - OK, if you can afford to keep doing that I suppose you can afford DXO upgrades as well!

[andy153]

Hi Adey - It doesn't work that way, I've been using DXO v4. It is available in two forms - Standard and Elite
They support the following bodies as shown in this LINK :
http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/dxo_op...cameras_lenses


Each time a new lens or body comes out you just update the modules in the DXO program - they are FREE - you just wait a short while until the appropriate algorithms are posted - they email you as a registered user. I just have the Nikon ones.

This link shows the difference between STANDARD and ELITE

http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/dxo_op...uct_comparison


ELITE costs $299 Standard is $169

Hope this helps - My upgrade to V5 for Mac should be free as I have V4.

[Adey Baker]

Ah, just re-read the test report in 'AP' of version 4 where it mentions the re-structured pricing policy - my comments are based on what I remembered from the earlier test report (can't find that now, must have dumped that particular issue!)