[dcstep]

Originally Posted by Cyruz

you use it for all of your raw conversion and tonal adjustments as well, like lightroom? ...

Yes, that's how I use it. It does noise reduction prior to RAW conversion. Before running a batch I look at each shot for Saturation, Contrast and Color Temperature. Occasionally White Balance will need a tweak.

The advantage over Lightroom is the body-specific and lens-specific corrections that it makes at specific aperatures and focal lengths. The sharpening of my EF f4L 24-105mm IS, for instance, is simply amazing. Suddenly it's like I've got a bag of the very best prime lenses that money can buy, but it's just one lens. Otherwise, it looks and feels like some of the best of the RAW conversion softwares.

For instance, in artificial light a whole series of images will need Color Temperature correction. There's a slider to adjust the Color Temperature and the Preview is showing you the result as you move the slider. You can then set the adjusted Color Temp as a Preset for the whole batch, if you like. You'll see the results in the Preview mode and you can easily apply a change in temperature to individual images, as needed.

I also look at the horizon, to assure it's straight, then review for any straight lines that are leaning inappropriately and Crop. Making these types of corrections is WAY faster than in PS4, at least for me.

Yesterday I reviewed 190+ images in 30-minutes, then ran the batch while I went to lunch. You can convert your processed images to jpg or dng (DigitalNeGative). I generally go straight to jpg at highest quality.

If there's an image that I want to work on in PS4, then I convert to DNG, which is a full sized image file in a generic RAW-like format. For archiving DNG is the way to go. If you've got tons of storage, you might want to convert to jpg and DNG simultaneously for all your images. I've got all my RAW files, so I facillate between creating DNG files or just jpgs. Duel conversion does take more processing time.

Try DxO before buying. The only potential issue is that it uses a LOT of computing power and resources. Processing those 190+ images yesterday took over 90-minutes, starting with 25MB RAW files. It'll work with RAW, jpg or DNG files and is faster the smaller the file, BUT the very best results come from working with full sized files. Teamed with a powerful computer it's incredibly powerful. I now resort to PS4 for about one image out of every 400, now that DxO does so much work semi-automatically.

Maybe, someday, I'll get the energy to post some Before and After images. Shutterbug did a nice review a few months back, which is what led me to DxO, so you might look at that for examples OR just do the free trial. You won't have to sign up at the Community College to be able to operate it.

Dave

[TWiTCHY]

I just drag the RAWs that I want to be processed and click "Process Now"

Even without manual adjustment it still does a great job sharpening and correcting the photos.

[dcstep]

Originally Posted by TWiTCHY

I just drag the RAWs that I want to be processed and click "Process Now"

Even without manual adjustment it still does a great job sharpening and correcting the photos.

Yes indeedy, you can simply let DxO do its thing.

Dave