Software Updates

I talked about software updates in one of my previous articles. Also when I believe many software updates are more profit orientated and not always aimed at providing the photographer with improved tools, I can also point out specific cases that resulted in real performance improvements. One such example is Optics Pro 7 from the software company DxO. In parallel to Optics Pro 7, DxO also recently released FilmPack 3. Both software packages are absolutely outstanding.

Why not using Lightroom 3? I tested Lightroom and although I think it is a good option I am a little worried that it will follow the same pattern as what Adobe CS and Elements did. Each year mentioned packages receive updates in the form of new releases. To benefit from these new releases the user is basically forced to upgrade. The reason is the RAW converter in both older versions receive no further updates once the new releases are out. If the user keeps the same camera then all is OK and RAW files will be treated as "normal" in the older versions. If the user upgrade to a new body then working with RAW files in this example becomes a lengthy process.

Here are one of my HDR creations. I used HDR Effect developed by NIK Software to create this Image.

Photoshop Elements use a basic or scaled down version of the full CS version RAW software. Up to Elements V8, the Mac version of Elements were supplied with Bridge and by opening the RAW file in Bridge the Mac user had access to the full CS version RAW converter. That has now changed and from PSE9 onwards Adobe supplies a different looking image organizer with Elements. No need to say I prefer to use Bridge. In addition I use iPhoto to manage my photo collection. Nothing is as quick as iPhoto when working with large image databases.

RAW Converter Advancements

A few RAW converters are standing out today in terms of using absolutely excellent image processing engines. To name a few, Capture One, Optics Pro, Lightroom, Aperture 3, CS5 and finally Bibble are part of my list of top performing RAW converters. I have been a long time HDR style photography enthusiast. From early days I already used HDR software, learned all about Tone Mapping and did regular bracketed image photography in support of getting the right HDR exposure. When home a demanding process of selecting and processing bracketed images start, aiming to develop HDR works of art.

The forum expert always referred to these HDR "works of art" as not natural looking and many people just never liked the HDR look. I am the first to admit that in some cases it is true, even to the point that I myself sometimes had trouble spotting the beauty in some HDR examples. That said, the fact that I tried doing HDR photography, it also helped me to better appreciate what HDR photography is all about. Software like HDR Darkroom is really successful in combining differently exposed HDR images into wonderfully naturally looking images. Its when one study these HDR Darkroom results that one cannot help to ask, could one do the same with a RAW converter only?

Getting back to Optics Pro 7 and a whole new world of opportunities and RAW editing opens up. Away are the annual upgrades forcing the user into a never ending spiral of upgrades. I used version 6 and throughout its lifetime several improvements and upgrades were done and the user could always upgrade the software free of charge. In addition all the new tested bodies and lens data are available free of charge. With version 7 there has been a small cost to upgrade the software. The improvements are more than worth the upgrade cost.

Optics Pro from DxO

I can talk much more about Optics Pro 7, but for this short article I will only highlight a few outstanding features which I think could be of interest to you. Keep in mind that Optics Pro 7 is a Pro solution and not an entry level software tool. One therefor get powerful functionality build into Optics Pro 7. Examples are the ability to use Plug-ins, functions like Keystoning and many more. What the guys at DxO did was to test each camera body with a number of different lenses. The data from these test are available from DxO and the user can download and install what they need into Optics Pro 7. Optics Pro automatically corrects any image problems related to specific lens and camera body data. What I like most about the upgraded version 7 is the fact that one can now work directly from the file directory structure and it is not necessary like in the past to create projects. Almost all software packages force the user into using a propriety image organizer solution. With Optics Pro it is not the case, the user can select an image and start the process of developing the RAW image.

The final aspect I briefly like to touch on is the ability of Optics Pro 7 to capture the full dynamic range of the RAW image. Any RAW converter can do that and depending on the user's skill more or less dynamic range can be extracted from a RAW image. What I find outstanding with Optics Pro 7 is the dedicated slider or function that will allow the user to optimize dynamic range in seconds. The results are absolutely outstanding, leaving the user with beautifully balanced images. It is that good that I find myself returning to the more natural "HDR" look plus I hardly ever use my dedicated HDR software. This function was already available in V6, from my initial tests its difficult to say if the HDR function were further improved or not.

I hope you enjoyed this short article talking about software or editing techniques. I hope to find the time to talk more in depth about Optics Pro 7 in the future. My advice is go download the trail version and try it.

Siegfried