The PhotoLab world
DxO Labs provides three software tools that can help to produce images to faithfully reflect what was shot and a range of creative tools in a continuous sequence of treatments.
* It exists in two commercial publishers: Essential and Elite.
The Elite edition contains all of PhotoLab’s advanced tools and functionalities.
See details at bottom of this page.
Features requiring Elite Edition in this tutorial are highlighted.
DxO PhotoLab is the flagship brand product. It offers all the necessary tools to make qualitative images that accurately reproduce the diversity of the photographed scene.
As long time users of PhotoLab, we tend to favour the Elite edition. See bottom of page.
DxO ViewPoint automatically fixes skewed perspectives, be it automatically or manually. It can reduce or eliminate the effects of undesired properties of the lenses used in the shooting of large subjects at the cost of distortions that ViewPoint can render in a realistic and eye-pleasing perspective.
See the specific tutorial “Perspective with DxO ViewPoint“.
DxO FilmPack provides the creative tools for the photographer to express himself (creativity limited to renderings, therefore far from PhotoShop or Affinity Photo). It contains an extensive set of film emulations and an advanced set of contrast tools. FilmPack offers a variation to the image objectivity offered by PhotoLab.
* DxO ViewPoint and FilmPack are available as stand-alone versions and as plug-ins for host software (Adobe, Affinity Photo, etc…).
* PhotoLab also contains tools of ViewPoint and FilmPack. These tools will show, if DxO ViewPoint and FilmPack license keys have been entered.
User better interest to stay in PhotoLab’s environment to maintain a “raw flow” throughout the entire development chain.
The tutorials on this site introduce the features of DxO ViewPoint and FilmPack integrated into PhotoLab.
Other DxO software
DxO PureRAW is DxO’s newest product. It contains key features for optical corrections and noise reduction.
PureRAW is mainly intended to be used as a pre-processor for other applications, but it can be used as a standalone app too. This can occasionally limit PureRAW’s usefulness.
See the Dxo PureRAW website
DxO PureRAW is useless for PhotoLab users.
Use the 30 day trial period before confirming your purchase.
Nik Collection by DxO is a stand-alone product. It is a suite of creative applications that can be used standalone or be run from host software – including DxO PhotoLab.
* Note that Nik Collection apps can only handle JPEG and TIFF image files and therefore cause a media break in a raw workflow
Nik Collection has some overlap with features of ViewPoint and FilmPack, but it offers a plethora of effects that many long time users of the Nik Collection love.
Originally designed as a plugin for PhotoShop, the Nik Collection was acquired by DxO Labs in 2017 and has been developed incrementally since then.
The tutorials on this site are not about Nik Collection software.
Combined use of DxO software
DxO software are designed to be used in combination with :
| PhotoLab Elite | Obtain high quality objective images | |
| PhotoLab + ViewPoint | High quality architectural or wide angle photos | |
| PhotoLab + FilmPack | Express your creativity by using all the resources of the raw file | |
| PhotoLab + FilmPack + ViewPoint | The must for technical and creative mastery | |
| FilmPack standalone | Get to the point to focus on your creativity | |
| PhotoLab + Nik Coll. | Transform your images with complete freedom and optimal quality | |
| PureRAW + Nik Coll. | Transform your images from optimised raw files | |
| PhotoLab ou PureRAW + third soft. | Develop your images from optimised raw files |
Notes on DxO software
* The DxO’s software can be installed on three machines, MacOS et Windows, in Elite edition (two in Essential edition).
Only one instance (plug-in or standalone) can be used at a time
* Immediately after the installation, and each major update, all DxO’s software can be used without a license for 30 days
PhotoLab is updated every year, in October. It is strongly advised to take advantage of this 30-day trial period to validate that this software is suitable for your needs.
* The Essential edition of PhotoLab is an low-cost version, without advanced tools. It’s only interest is to correctly develop raw files in order to provide quality images to raster software like Nik Collection.
Click on “Compare editions”: PhotoLab . FilmPack
See the tutorial “Mastery of PhotoLab – Software and Hardware configuration” for installation details and license declaration.
* The standalone version of FilmPack can open raw files to which it applies DxO optical corrections.
The standalone version of FilmPack is an efficient way for “creative” photographers (who do not wish to invest in PhotoLab) to access DxO technologies.
See the details of the FilmPack offer in the chapter “Making progress” on the DxO website.
FilmPack is also available in two editions: Essential and Elite.
The Essential version of FilmPack is clearly not interesting since it is deprived of the original tools of the software.
* PureRAW is the perfect companion to Nik Collection.
* ViewPoint is also offered as a module of Nik Collection – Perspective Efex
* PureRAW and Nik Collection can be installed on two machines, MacOS and Windows. Only one instance can be used at a time
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