DXO PureRAW. Anybody using it alongside LR and/or PS?

[Phil Crean]

DXO PureRAW converter. They claim it works seamlessly with LR and PS... 

If you are using it I'd love to know how it is better than using ACR?

 

Thanks,

Phil

[Joe Gaul]

Not PureRaw but PhotoLab3 as a raw converter because I use old stand alone versions of Lightroom and Photoshop which do not recognise my current raw files. My experience is mainly positive although I on a couple of recent conversions to DNG in Lightroom from DXO I did find that the colours did not transfer accurately.

[Rebecca Ore]

DXO allows a trial of this.  I'm downloading it now and my LR is LR Classic and I have DXO PhotoLab 5.

 

Looks like it does a slightly better job than what I was getting processing purely in Lightroom Classic. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Rebecca Ore

[geogphotos]

I've given it a brief trial. To my mind I produce much better images myself through using the options in Adobe Camera Raw.

 

The DXO ones are a little dark and lacking vibrancy. I also use the Geometry tool ( too much probably) and although DXO does the normal lens conversion it doesn't do any other adjustments. I think I would prefer to continue to do all this work on the RAW file and then just finish off in Photoshop saving as a JPEG at the final stage.

 

I am very aware that I might have completely got the wrong end of the stick but can't see how tweaks and adjustments are possible in DXO. 

[Craig Joiner]

In my experience DXO PureRAW is excellent at removing noise and the lens corrections are very good too, at least I find them better than the profiles baked into my micro 4/3 lenses and applied by Lightroom/ACR.

 

Note that DXO PureRAW is not a RAW converter. It just produces cleaned up DNG files for downstream RAW conversion in your favourite RAW converter.

 

The global lens sharpening in PureRAW is dreadful and, in my mind, totally unsuitable for stock images – images way over sharpened. In version 1 this was always on but they quickly released v1.5 and made it optional. I wonder why? Even with the global sharpening off, it still applies quite a bit of sharpening so sharpening will probably need turning down or off in your RAW converter when processing the final DNG files.

 

I only use it for images from my Panasonic micro 4/3 cameras, especially my infrared converted body where images are prone to noise and can be a tad soft. I find Lightroom does a poor job with these images producing fuzzy rather than sharp edges, but the DNGs from PureRAW are very clean and sharp by comparison.

 

I’d never consider it for images from my full frame Nikon unless maybe I had to rescue a particularly underexposed high ISO image though.

 

Is it worth it? I think it all depends on what you are throwing at it so definitely look at the trial before buying.

 

Craig

[geogphotos]

Thanks Craig. 

 

I have just used it for a few images that I processed this morning and had some difficulty with. The problem I had was noise in shadow areas. In the end I reduce dthe size of the images, and used Levels to make it darker. 

 

Using DXO PureRaw very much improves these problem images and they are fine at full size. 

 

So yes i can definitley see a use for this - and will try a few more with noise in the shadows ie) church interiors

[geogphotos]

22 hours ago, Phil Crean said:

DXO PureRAW converter. They claim it works seamlessly with LR and PS... 

If you are using it I'd love to know how it is better than using ACR?

 

Thanks,

Phil

 

 

From what I see you would use it as a first stage ( save as DNG) before using ACR rather than replacing ACR. 

 

It certainly helps with problem images ( noise in shadows). While using the free trail I will let it run through a varied batch of 60 images and try and assess whether it would be a potential auto process for all images before opening individually in PS/ACR.

Edited March 25, 2022 by geogphotos

[wiskerke]

2 hours ago, geogphotos said:

 

 

From what I see you would use it as a first stage ( save as DNG) before using ACR rather than replacing ACR. 

 

It certainly helps with problem images ( noise in shadows). While using the free trail I will let it run through a varied batch of 60 images and try and assess whether it would be a potential auto process for all images before opening individually in PS/ACR.

 

Have you tried it on slide grain yet? That would be the holy grail.

 

wim

[geogphotos]

2 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

Have you tried it on slide grain yet? That would be the holy grail.

 

wim

 

That is an excellent point Wim and I will be sure to experiment. 

 

I am concerned about the comment made above by Joe Gaul about how it treats colour but as I say I will give it a try. 

 

Anyone who develops software to remove dust and scratches from camera copies of slides would certainly get my custom.

[Joe Gaul]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

 

That is an excellent point Wim and I will be sure to experiment. 

 

I am concerned about the comment made above by Joe Gaul about how it treats colour but as I say I will give it a try. 

 

Anyone who develops software to remove dust and scratches from camera copies of slides would certainly get my custom.

I've been using DXO for a few years now Ian and only recently noticed a marked colour shift when moving from the DXO platform to Lightroom (converting to a DNG). It was mainly obvious on an image of a local lighthouse lit up in Ukrainian colours and the conversion when viewed in Lightroom lacked the saturation seen in DXO particularly the blues. In fairness to DXO they don't guarantee the colours will translate to Photoshop. Just something to be aware of.

[geogphotos]

17 minutes ago, Joe Gaul said:

I've been using DXO for a few years now Ian and only recently noticed a marked colour shift when moving from the DXO platform to Lightroom (converting to a DNG). It was mainly obvious on an image of a local lighthouse lit up in Ukrainian colours and the conversion when viewed in Lightroom lacked the saturation seen in DXO particularly the blues. In fairness to DXO they don't guarantee the colours will translate to Photoshop. Just something to be aware of.

 

 

Cheers Joe 🤙

[Craig Joiner]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

I am concerned about the comment made above by Joe Gaul about how it treats colour but as I say I will give it a try. 

 

I believe Joe is tallking about DXO PhotoLab which is a photo editing software. DXO PureRAW is something entirely different. Although I use it mostly for black and white images, I have not noticed any colour shifts in my colour images when using PureRAW.

[geogphotos]

1 hour ago, Craig Joiner said:

 

I believe Joe is tallking about DXO PhotoLab which is a photo editing software. DXO PureRAW is something entirely different. Although I use it mostly for black and white images, I have not noticed any colour shifts in my colour images when using PureRAW.

 

Thanks Craig.

[M.Chapman]

6 hours ago, wiskerke said:

 

Have you tried it on slide grain yet? That would be the holy grail.

 

wim

 

Topaz Denoise AI works for me when needed.

 

Mark

[geogphotos]

I really do end up thinking that all this tinkering with images is largely a waste of time.

 

Our purpose is to provide useful stock images. 

 

EDIT ----by which I mean that largely Content is King

Edited March 26, 2022 by geogphotos

[geogphotos]

RAW 

 

 

ACR

 

 

 

DXO

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2022 by geogphotos

[Phil Crean]

Thanks for all the replies. 

 

@Craig Joiner Thanks for the thorough review... Based on that I'm not sure it's worth the investment

 

@geogphotos Thanks for you examples....Definitely behaves better in the shadow noise areas than ACR.

 

I may still give the free trial a go and then make up my mind.

 

Phil

[geogphotos]

RAW

 

 

ACR

 

DXO ( not quite comparable crop but gives the idea)

[geogphotos]

This obviously needs work not least on verticals - which I haven't done for this comparison.

 

This image failed QC for chroma noise in the shadows and I ended up not using it at all because I couldn't find a solution.

 

 

ACR

 

 

DXO

Edited March 26, 2022 by geogphotos

[geogphotos]

For me it is definitely software worth having in the toolbox.

 

What I need to look at more closely is if it does any harm to non-problem images ie) is it worth using as a batch processor for all images before opening in ACR or just keep in reserve for problems.

 

I haven't figured out what Craig mentioned about sharpening and how to turn that on/off. 

[geogphotos]

Kodachrome slide

 

Can't see any real difference. On other slides it does improve contrast/clarity.

 

It can't do any harm?

 

 

[Craig Joiner]

8 hours ago, geogphotos said:

I haven't figured out what Craig mentioned about sharpening and how to turn that on/off. 

 

Sorry Ian, I'd forgotten that global lens sharpening only applies to the DeepPrime option and is probably hidden too so you may not have seen it. When you click on process photos and then select DeepPrime as the method in the process dialogue box, the global lens sharpening option becomes available. It's under the DxO Optical Corrections section but seems to be collapsed by default so you need to click on it to expand the section to see the available options. It's not the most intuitive interface, but at least once you have found the settings that work for you, it seems to remember them.

 

Craig

[geogphotos]

Thanks Craig. I've turn sharpening off for now and will monitor what happens. 

[geogphotos]

Topaz Denoise AI  or DXO PureRaw??

 

Anybody tried both? 

 

I have a trial of Topaz, a bit hard to judge results with the large watermark they put on Trial images, and I don't much like the interface. It is cheaper than the DXO option. 

[sb photos]

1 hour ago, geogphotos said:

Topaz Denoise AI  or DXO PureRaw??

 

Anybody tried both? 

 

I have a trial of Topaz, a bit hard to judge results with the large watermark they put on Trial images, and I don't much like the interface. It is cheaper than the DXO option. 

When I get a spare moment I’ll search for reviews. I’m also interested in which application is the biggest resource hog, as I believe both use AI, as well as making the best job of minimising digital noise. I know DX PureRaw also requires ACR.  Also do either satisfactorily help in reducing p.m. grain in B&W negative scans or is that a no no?