1. science
2. physics
3. optics

Microsoft® Windows®
DxO Optics Pro 8
PUSH THE LIMITS OF YOUR CAMERA
EN
User Guide
Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What’s new in DxO Optics Pro 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Other new items and changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Registration, downloading, installation, and activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 2 - The Organize Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
About the Organize tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Organize tab interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Command bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Browsing the computer file system (default) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Managing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Docked Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Undocked Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Image Browser command bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Image Browser messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Sorting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Filtering images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Within the Image Browser: the thumbnail icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Installing new DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Managing DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 3 - The Customize Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
About the Customize tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Workspace basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Managing palettes and workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using and moving palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Using ready-made workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Creating a custom palette (advanced user) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Creating a custom workspace (advanced user) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Image analysis palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Move/Zoom palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Histogram palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
EXIF palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Correction palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
About the correction palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Light and color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Light and color - Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Optical corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DxO Filmpack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Using presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
About presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ready-to-use presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Applying presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preset editor palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Virtual copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 4 - The Process Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
About the Process tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Output settings panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
About the Output settings panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
File formats and their constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Creating and activating an output setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Processing the images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 5 - Print and Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Printing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
About the print module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Print module tools and settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Uploading to Flickr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Exporting to Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Chapter 6 - Menus and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
DxO FilmPack emulated films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
©2012 DxO Labs. All rights reserved.
Photo credits: Hector Martinez, Mike & Tamy Rice, Andrea Bagnasco, Constantin Foniadakis, Keith Cooper, Ian Coristine, Arnaud Pincemin
Text: Gilles Théophile, L. Matthews
Design: S. Morin (Arkyda)
You can find more information about DxO Optics Pro at www.dxo.com.
Trademarks
DxO is a registered trademark of DxO Labs both in the European Union and in other countries.
Adobe, Acrobat, Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Incorporated. Mac OSX and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the United States
and in other countries. Microsoft®, Windows, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. FLICKR and the Flickr logo are registered trademarks
of Yahoo! Inc. Reproduced with permission of Yahoo! Inc. ©2012 Yahoo! Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The information contained in this guide is provided “as is.” In all cases, including negligence, DxO Labs cannot be held responsible for any damage, be it specific, direct, indirect, or consecutive, which
may result from or be tied to the use of any information contained in this guide, with or without the software described in this document.
DxO Optics Pro 8 - User Guide ©DxO Labs 2012 - All rights reserved
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Introduction
1.1. Welcome
Welcome to DxO Optics Pro 8, whose powerful tools and features will help you quickly and automatically improve your photos.
We test cameras and lenses
First let us briefly introduce ourselves. We are DxO Labs, and we are based in Paris, France. We develop image-processing
technologies and design products for serious and demanding photographers.
Our chief scientists regularly publish scientific papers in the most prestigious journals of the computer imaging community.
Their scientific and mathematical backgrounds have allowed us to design DxO Optics Pro 8 as a tool that aims not just to
improve quality, but to achieve perfection — and more specifically, automatic perfection.
What makes DxO Optics Pro 8 unique is that its corrections are based on tests of all photo hardware characteristics, performed
in our own labs. Cameras and lenses spend days in the hands of our technicians, who measure not only optical defects such
as distortion, lens softness, and vignetting, but also check and measure noise, colorimetry, and tone curves. They analyze the
in-camera processing that is applied (with or without your knowledge) to the images. The result is a huge database that has
no equivalent anywhere else in the world.
When you shoot a photo, DxO Optics Pro uses the data about the specific camera and lens combination you used, as well as
the shooting aperture and focal length, to calculate that a particular pixel in the image should have its value increased by
x%, moved by y% in this or that direction, and needs to be corrected by z% in, say, the red channel. But you won’t have to do
a thing: the program will download the profiles for your camera and lens, then silently and effortlessly apply the appropriate
corrections to each and every pixel as required.
DxO Optics Pro analyzes your images one by one
As every photographer knows, every photo is unique. Even if you have shot the same subject with the same equipment,
the images will always differ: one has some grain in a dark zone, while another lacks contrast, and the third suffers from
excessive backlighting. Most programs deal with these differences by offering a wide range of corrections… but leaving you
to do the work.
DxO Optics Pro 8 - User Guide ©DxO Labs 2012 - All rights reserved
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DxO Optics Pro 8 has a radically different approach. DxO Optics Pro 8 analyzes the image, finds the corrections to be done,
carries out these corrections, and shows you the result — and gives you the option to fine-tune the corrections if you want.
Of course, analyzing an image zone-by-zone and pixel-by-pixel is a highly complex task that includes determining if a particular
subject is backlit and needs not just additional light (as if you’d used a fill-in flash) but also heightened local contrast; seeking
out the minute colored fringes round the edges of some objects; and detecting highlights that are close to “burning out” and
need to be preserved.
Traditionally, skilled operators in photo laboratories would have accomplished all these tasks. Now that operator is an
extremely powerful application. This auto-analysis of each image is another DxO Labs exclusive feature.
What does DxO Optics Pro do for your images?
• If you have shot in RAW format, DxO Optics Pro processes your photos using the best converter ever designed. When
transforming the RAW sensor data (using the “demosaicing” process, among others), this converter creates an image
that is virtually free from artifacts.
• DxO Optics Pro automatically corrects all five optical distortions (geometric distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration
– both longitudinal and lateral – and lens softness), thanks to the high-level measurement database that our labs have
been building up for years.
• DxO Optics Pro precisely corrects the exposure of your photo, with an automatic adjustment to prevent burnt highlights (RAW images only), and to even recover some partially burnt highlights. We recommend working with RAW files
for best results.
• Thanks to the measurements made in our labs for each camera body, DxO Optics Pro has the best denoising process
available, letting you shoot RAW or JPEG photos at speeds as high as ISO 100,000.
• DxO Optics Pro offers a unique automatic correction of contrast and lighting in shadows, equivalent to a fill-in flash, to
radically improve any high-contrast or backlit picture.
• DxO Optics Pro offers an unrivaled option to change the color rendering of your photo, to make it look as if it had been
shot by another camera, or that you had used a particular film.
• DxO Optics Pro offers an exclusive tool for wide-angle shots to correct deformation of faces and bodies by using nonconventional (cylindrical or spherical) perspective methods.
• While all of the above corrections and features are automatic (apart from perspective correction, which is semi-automatic), you can always fine-tune their settings to adapt them to your taste.
NOTE
We use certain terms that are specific to DxO Optics Pro throughout this user guide, such as “Preset,” “Source image,”
etc. These terms are listed and defined in detail in the Glossary section of the appendix to this guide.
About DxO FilmPack 3 plug-in for DxO Optics Pro
DxO FilmPack is an optional plug-in which emulates the appearance of a certain film type on digital photos. More than 60
films are available for emulation. This emulation takes place at different levels: the color rendering of the image; the general
rendering of the image (e.g., contrast or saturation); and finally, the film grain.
DxO FilmPack 3 exists in two editions: DxO FilmPack 3 Essential and DxO FilmPack 3 Expert. These editions differ in terms
of features, which are documented in this user guide.
A trial version of DxO FilmPack plug-in for DxO Optics Pro is available within DxO Optics Pro and can be launched via the Help
menu. This trial can be used for 31 days. During this period, the trial can be switched as often as desired from Essential to
Expert, and from Expert to Essential.
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Purchasing one of the DxO FilmPack 3 editions gives you access to three instances of the program, which can be installed
simultaneously on your computer, allowing you to choose at any moment among them:
• The plug-in for DxO Optics Pro version, which is wholly integrated with DxO Optics Pro (versions 6.6 and above).
• The standalone version, which is a separate application and functions on its own.
• The third-party plug-in version, which works with most well-known image editors: Adobe Photoshop CS3, CS4, CS5 and
CS6, Apple Aperture 3 and 4, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 and 4, and Photoshop Element 9 and 10.
NOTE
Because DxO FilmPack as a plug-in for DxO Optics Pro is wholly integrated into DxO Optics Pro’s workspace and commands, all its features are described in this user guide. Only the standalone and third-party versions have a separate
user guide.
1.2. What’s
new in DxO Optics Pro 8
DxO Optics Pro 8 introduces quite a number of changes — a revamped interface to make your workflow faster and much
easier, and new features, such as the improved DxO Smart Lighting and protection of saturated colors, to produce better
quality images.
1.2.1. Highlights
DxO Smart Lighting
Master the light
New DxO Smart Lighting corrects the light and contrast of your images easily and intuitively. The unique slider groups a set
of very powerful tools to help you to keep control of your image contrast. DxO Optics Pro analyzes the contents of your image
and recovers all the details automatically, both in the highlighted areas and in the darker zones. A DxO Labs exclusive.
DxO Optics Pro 8’s new Selective tone control allows you to more precisely correct the brightness of your image separately in
the highlights, the mid-tones, and the shadows, for impressive results.
The new DxO default preset also utilizes the features of the new DxO Smart Lighting.
NOTE
The old DxO Lighting – HDR tools and controls are still available by selecting “DxO Optics Pro 7” in the Mode drop-down
menu (DxO Smart Lighting sub-palette).
Interface and controls
Redesigned organization of controls
The DxO Optics Pro 8 interface is redesigned to speed up your work and make it more efficient. The basic and most important
corrections, such as White balance, Exposure compensation, DxO Smart Lighting, Contrast, and Color accentuation have
been regrouped in the Light and Color palette, covering 90% of the basic tasks to be performed.
Palette reorganization
The advanced corrections have been reorganized more logically in different palettes. The new Light and Color – Advanced
palette, as an example, includes the Selective tone control and the Protect saturated colors sliders. The Detail palette
regroups the new Moiré and Dead pixels controls, and the Optical corrections are grouped in their own palette.
Output
Printing
DxO Optics Pro 8 new print module allows you to directly print RAW images onto full pages or contact sheets. Many settings
are available: margins, layout, and data to be printed as legends, etc.
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Performance
Caching of previews and thumbnails
The previews and thumbnails are now cached, which means a much faster display of images and their corrections. The image
browser always displays the corrected images, even after leaving and restarting the program. Thumbnail image quality has
also been improved.
Preview speed-up
The image preview is much faster, thus accelerating the workflow.
Noise correction preview below 75% as an option
The noise correction can be seen with zoom levels set below 75%, which was not the case in previous versions of DxO Optics
Pro. You can activate this option in Preferences (it is turned off by default). If your computer can cope with it, we recommend
that you activate this option. However, if the noise preview impacts the speed of your computer, you can deactivate it again at
any time.
1.2.2. Other
new items and changes
Optical corrections
Improved correction of chromatic aberrations: Thanks to its analysis of the RAW file image contents associated with DxO
Optics Module data, DxO Optics Pro performs perfect correction of the color fringes found along object edges.
Smart color management
Protect vivid colors
DxO Optics Pro 8 offers new automatic protection of saturated colors, based on your image content and your own color
corrections. This new item is also part of the DxO default preset.
Image treatment
• Improved default color rendering: DxO Labs has developed and improved the color modeling of camera JPEG files.
Eight camera models have been recalibrated to improve the faithfulness of their color rendering.
• Dead pixels slider: The automatic control of hot or dead pixels that show up in high-ISO or long-exposure images can
be fine-tuned with the new Intensity slider.
• Moiré slider: The automatic control of moiré, showing as color artifacts in high-frequency details of the pictures, can
also be fine-tuned with the new Intensity slider.
• Image resampling: Bicubic sharper has been added to the resampling options in the Process tab.
Further interface and workflow improvements
• Additional image filtering: It is now possible to filter and sort images by ISO speed or virtual copy number.
• Histogram: The histogram is now smaller (to fit the new interface), and the RGB channels can be displayed individually
by clicking on the respective buttons.
• EXIF data: The EXIF palette displays additional information, such as Exposure Program, Exposure Bias, and Metering
Mode.
• Output settings: Improved layout of the output settings palette (Process tab).
1.3. Installation
1.3.1. System
requirements
For the best results with DxO Optics Pro, your computer must conform to the following minimum specifications:
• Microsoft® Windows XP 32 bits, Windows Vista® (32, 64 bits), Windows 7 (32, 64 bits). A 64-bit system is required for RAW
images of 25 Megapixels and more.
• Intel® Pentium® 4, Intel® Core™ 2 Duo or higher, AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 or higher.
• Support of DirectX 9.0.c or higher for Windows operating systems. 256 MB VRAM is recommended to support GPU
acceleration.
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• 2 GB of RAM (3 GB of RAM is recommended for processing images taken with cameras having a sensor size greater
than 20 Megapixels).
• 2 GB of available disk space (6 GB of available disk space is recommended for optimal software performance).
1.3.2. Versions
DxO Optics Pro exists in two editions, Standard and Elite, both of which utilize the same set of features. The difference is that
the Elite edition supports high-end cameras in addition to the cameras supported by the Standard edition.
1.3.3. Registration,
downloading, installation, and activation
IMPORTANT - An Internet connection is required to follow the steps described below, even if you purchased the software from
a distributor and you have the installation CD. It is nevertheless possible to perform the necessary installation functions using
an Internet connection available on a computer other than the one on which you are installing DxO Optics Pro.
Registration
You need to register your license in order to activate your software. To do so, go to the DxO Labs website at www.dxo.com/
CD and follow the registration procedure. Registration includes creating a DxO Labs customer account (if you do not already
have one).
Downloading
Once you have registered your license, you will find important information in your DxO Labs customer account about your
software, along with the download link for DxO Optics Pro. This procedure ensures that you will be installing the latest version
of the software. Click on the WIN button to begin downloading the installer.
NOTE
If you have purchased a DxO Optics Pro version CD from a reseller, the CD contains a single file that you will use to
download the full installation setup file.
Installation
1. After the download is completed, the DxO Optics Pro installation program should start automatically (if not, doubleclick on the installation program icon that you just downloaded).
2. Choose the supported language that you want to use with the installation program.
3. To continue installing DxO Optics Pro, you must have the Microsoft Windows component .NET Framework installed
on your computer. In case this is not already installed on your computer, the installer will suggest a link to the Microsoft
website where you can download it. You can continue installing DxO Optics Pro once the missing component is installed
on your computer.
4. A welcome window opens, indicating that the setup of DxO Optics Pro has started. Click on Next.
5. After accepting the license agreement, click on Next.
6. Select the destination directory in which DxO Optics Pro will be installed.
7. Click on Install. The installation starts and may take several minutes.
8. The installation is complete; you can now use the software.
Activation
Once the application is installed, you can use it for 31 days without having to enter an activation code. DxO Optics Pro will work
without restriction during this time period. Beyond 31 days, the output images are marked with a watermark, “DxO Optics Pro
8 DEMO.” These watermarks cannot be removed once they appear, even if you purchase the software afterwards, meaning
that you will have to reprocess those images. We recommend that you purchase an activation code as soon as possible to avoid
seeing watermarks appear unexpectedly on your output images.
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NOTE
Printing is deactivated after the DxO Optics Pro trial period has expired (31 days). To reactivate this feature, register and
activate your license (paragraph 1.3.3, page 8).
IMPORTANT – If you purchased your software online, you should have received your activation code by email. If you have lost
your order form containing your activation code, you can retrieve it in your DxO customer account on www.dxo.com. If you
purchased your software from a reseller, your activation code can be found on the cover of the installation notes provided in
the box with your software.
1. Double-click on the DxO Optics Pro icon on your computer desktop to start the software.
2. At the launch of DxO Optics Pro, a dialog box appears. Enter your activation code in the appropriate field and click on
the Activate button.
3. If you have not created your account, a message appears asking you to visit the page to create an account on www.dxo.
com. Fill out the form and submit. A message will tell you when your account has been created and your activation code
will appear in your customer account. Return to the application and enter your activation code.
4. A message informs you that DxO Optics Pro has been properly activated. Click OK and start using the software!
NOTE
The DxO software License provides for the use of activated copies of the software on two different computers.
Uninstalling
1. Click on Start > Programs > DxO Optics Pro > Uninstall DxO Optics Pro
2. Follow the procedure for uninstalling.
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The Organize tab
2.1. About
the Organize tab
When you open DxO Optics Pro, you will see the first of three tabs, the Organize tab. The purpose of the Organize tab is to help
you browse through your folders or projects to find your images, organize, and process them.
2.2. The
Organize tab interface
1
2
4
3
The Organize tab is composed of four panes:
1 The Command bar contains controls to navigate through your file system, to display your images, and to apply presets.
2 The Source Browser pane is used to navigate through folders (or projects) in order to locate the photos on which you
want to work.
3 The Image Browser displays, as thumbnails, the pictures in a selected folder or project.
4 The Viewer shows the image selected in the Image Browser.
NOTE
These four panes can be adjusted to suit your needs. They are delimited by two separator bars, one horizontal and one
vertical, both indicated by central dots. Each bar can be moved at will, changing the relative size of the panes.
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2.3. The
Command bar
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
The Command bar contains the controls to navigate throughout DxO Optics Pro tabs and to decide how your images will be
displayed in the Viewer (including zoom settings). There is also a drop-down menu for applying presets.
1 The tab selectors, located on top of the command bar, allow you to select the Organize, Customize, or Process tabs.
2 Browse buttons let you select the file system mode or the Project database mode.
3 Display mode:
• Single image mode displays one image at a time in the Viewer (main display pane) and the corrected image
preview (use Ctrl+D to toggle before/after corrections).
• Dual image mode displays one image in its original form (left side) and after corrections or processing (right side).
Please note that the changes to the image will be displayed, even if the image has not gone through processing.
• The reference image drop-down menu allows you to select the reference image (either an image file or a virtual
copy) for comparison purposes.
4 Image info overlay toggles on or off the information overlay on the picture displayed in the Viewer. 5 Picture display size:
• Fit on screen: the picture will fit the main display pane area. • 1:1: display the image at 1:1 (1 pixel in the image equals 1 pixel on the screen, or 100%).
• Current zoom level: after selecting the 1:1 button, this drop-down menu allows you to change the zoom settings
(25, 50, 75, 100, 200, or 400%). 6 Tools:
• Pointer: Click on this tool to switch back to the mouse pointer that lets you compare the “before” and “after”
single images by clicking inside the viewer. • Hand tool: If you zoom in on the image, this tool allows you to navigate in it in every direction with your pointing
device (i.e., mouse, trackpad). • Zoom: This tool allows you to zoom in on your image (up to 1600 %). To zoom out (down to 1%), hold the Alt key. 7 Presets is a drop-down hierarchical list of all available presets, or sets of corrections, which we will discuss in detail
later on. (See the section on “Using Presets” for more information.)
2.4. The
Source Browser
The Source Browser lets you explore the directories on your computer and its peripherals, and Projects in the Projects
database.
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2.4.1. Browsing
the computer file system (default)
When you select File System
, the Source Browser lets you explore the contents of your computer and its peripherals
(including internal additional drives, external drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or memory cards). You can navigate through your
volumes and folders to locate the images you want to process. The image thumbnails and names will appear in the Image
Browser as you go.
TIP
You can hide or display the Source Browser in the View menu > Show/Hide source browser, or use the keyboard shortcut
Ctrl+F10.
2.4.2. Managing
files ans folders
In folder browse mode, you can create new folders: right-click on any folder and select Create folder in the context menu. You
can also rename the folders. When you create a folder in DxO Optics Pro, it will be created on the hard disk, and you can see it
in your system folder hierarchy by right-clicking and selecting Open in Windows Explorer in the context menu.
TIP
You can use drag and drop to move or copy the images to different folders on your hard drive: select the images in the
Image Browser and drop them onto the desired target folder name in the Source Browser (hold Shift to move your images,
Ctrl to drop them).
2.4.3. Managing
Projects
A Project can include photos from various origins. They may differ not only in terms of shooting date, camera type, lens,
speed, aperture, etc. — they may also originate from very different storage environments — the normal computer’s file
system, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, DVD, photo-card, or other medium.
TIP
Projects can also be accessed from File menu > Open Project or Recent locations.
In the command bar, click on the Project Database
button. The pane will show an alphabetical list of the projects you have
already processed (if you are using DxO Optics Pro for the first time, this will be empty). Clicking on a project will display its
image thumbnails in the Image Browser.
Creating Projects
To create a Project, click on the Create icon in the header. A new Project will appear in the list, and you can directly rename
it. Projects are always shown in alphabetical order. You can rename a Project anytime by clicking directly on the name or by
right-clicking and selecting Rename project in the context menu.
To delete a Project, select it in the list and click on the icon in the header, or right-click on the Project and choose Delete
selected project in the context menu. A dialog box will pop-up and ask you if you are sure you want to delete the Project.
Adding photos to a Project
To create a Project with several photos, select the images in the Image Browser (Ctrl-click for multiple selections or Shiftclick for contiguous selections), then right-click and choose Create project from current selection in the context menu (you
can do that from any of the three tabs). You will automatically jump to the Organize tab in the Project browser, and a new
Project will be automatically added. You can name your Project by clicking on the default name (New Project #1).
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TIP
You can also automatically create a new Project by doing a drag and drop of several pictures into the Image Browser or
the Viewer. In that case, a dialog box will prompt you to name the new Project.
To add more pictures to an existing Project, select them in the Image Browser (Ctrl-click or Shift-click), right-click, and select
Add current selection to project in the context menu. From there, you will be able to access the list of existing Projects and select
the appropriate one in the menu. The More projects command displays the complete list of existing Projects in a floating window.
TIP
You can also add several images to existing Projects by selecting the desired photos in the Image Browser, then dragging
and dropping them on the relevant Project located in the Source Browser or directly from the Windows Explorer window
into the Image Browser.
Both commands — Create project from current selection and Add current selection to project — are also available in the
Image menu in the three tabs (Organize, Customize, and Process). You can see the number of images listed beside the name
of your project in the Project header in the Source Browser, per the figure below.
The Image Browser command bar also shows, from left to right, the selected Project name, the file name of the selected
photo, the number of selected photos, and the number of photos in the Project. You can add as many photos as you want in a
Project, and you can also assign the same photo to different projects.
NOTE
A photo added to multiple Projects is not physically duplicated. If you add a photo to different Projects, removing it from
one Project will not remove it from the other Projects. Removing a photo from a Project doesn’t remove it from the original
folder or directory. If you modify or correct a photo which is part of many Projects, the changes will affect this particular
photo in all Projects it belongs to. If you want to have a photo with different settings or corrections in different Projects,
create virtual copies (see the section on virtual copies under “Using presets” for more information).
2.5. The
Image Browser
The Image Browser displays the contents of the folder or project you selected in the Source Browser (left pane). If you select
a photo in the Image Browser, it will be displayed in the main view pane.
2.5.1. Docked
Image Browser
Images in the Image Browser are displayed horizontally as thumbnails, and you can navigate through them using the scroll
bar, or with your input device (mouse scroll wheel, trackpad, etc.). You can adjust the size of the Image Browser by moving the
separator bar. You can also use the arrow
buttons located in the header of the Image Browser to move through
the images.
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2.5.2. Undocked
Image Browser
You may want to undock the Image Browser, especially if you use a second monitor. Go to the View menu > Undock image
browser, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+U. If you’d like to dock the Image Browser again, go to the View menu > Dock
image browser, or use the same keyboard shortcut.
The undocked Image Browser appears as a floating window that you can position freely on your principal monitor (or on your
second monitor if you have a dual display). Moving the Image Browser will increase the vertical size of the main display pane.
The undocked Image Browser can be resized, and the scroll bar will be located on the right side. The navigation buttons are
still available and you can set the size of the thumbnails with the slider located in the command bar.
TIP
If you can’t see the slider, enlarge the Image Browser window (click and hold the bottom right corner with the mouse
and pull diagonally downwards).
2.5.3. Image
Browser command bar
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1 Selected folder name or active project name, and an active file name.
2 Number of active pictures in the Image Browser, and total number of pictures in the selected folder or active project.
3 Sort and filter options:
Sort images in the Image Browser according to selected criteria (see “Sorting images” below for details).
Filter images (see “Filtering images” paragraph below for detailed information). 4 Image properties, display, and processing tools:
Image properties: Display information such as source image data, location path, name, type, basic EXIF data,
and DxO Optics Pro processing information. To quit the floating window, click on Close. Rotate selected photo(s) clockwise or counterclockwise in increments of 90 degrees. Create a virtual copy of the selected image. When created, it will appear in the Image Browser as a normal
photo bearing a sequence number.
Start processing selected images. 5
Navigation arrows (left to right): Go back to the first image, go to back to the previous image, go to the
next image, go to the last image.
6
Print: Opens the Print pop-up window that contains all the print settings and the print preview.
7 Export options:
Flickr: Export selected images to Flickr.
Lightroom: Export selected images to Lightroom.
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2.5.4. Image
Browser messages
When the Image browser is empty, a message informs you about why no images are displayed. The main reasons for an empty
image browser are:
• No images in this folder correspond to your filter criteria: this message will appear if you select a filter in the Image
filter menu (in the browser command bar) and DxO Optics Pro cannot find an image in the folder that corresponds to the
filter criteria.
• This folder contains no images.
NOTE
These messages apply to projects as well as to folders.
2.5.5. Sorting
images
Sorting images works exactly the same way in File system or Project database navigation modes, and consists of ordering
your images based on criteria you select in a dialog box that you access via the Sort button. You can sort by:
• Image format (i.e., RAW images from a mix of RAW and non-RAW images in a folder or project)
• Name (in alphanumeric order) • Extension (.JPG, .TIFF, .NEF, .CR2, etc., in alphabetical order)
• File size (in MB)
• Date (file shooting, creation, or modification date - an option for doing a quick search of the most recent files in a folder)
• Dimensions (length x height in pixels) • Camera (make and model) • Lens (make and model) • Ranking (star rating — visible only if this option has been enabled in Edit > Preferences > Display)
• ISO speed (ISO setting, lowest to highest)
• Virtual copy number (regroups all the virtual copies and their originals together alphanumeric order)
• Processing status (error, done, processing, awaiting processing - visible only if this option has been enabled in Edit >
Preferences > Display)
NOTE
Images that are not displayed cannot be selected for the Customize or Process steps.
2.5.6. Filtering
images
Filtering affects which thumbnails are displayed in the Image browser: if you uncheck any characteristic in the list, any
images with that characteristic will be invisible.
Filters are organized into groups as follows, from top to bottom:
• Image type: RAW, RGB (non-RAW supported images), and images generated by DxO Optics Pro.
• Processing status: Unprocessable images, waiting for processing, processed images, processing errors.
• Reset: Resets the filter to its default status (all options active)
NOTE
A selected filter remains active at the next start of DxO Optics Pro.
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2.5.7. Within
the Image Browser: the thumbnail icons
Each thumbnail displays a number of icons designed to convey its processing status and other specific information.
8
1
2
7
3
4
6
5
1 Processing status icons
These icons indicate the processing status of each image:
Waiting to be processed (shown by default).
Processed image.
Processing error.
Do not process.
Cannot process. This may be due to the fact that the image is too small, or that it is in an unsupported format
(DNG images from unsupported cameras, for example).
Image currently being processed.
2 Module status icons
These icons inform you about the status of the DxO Optics Module associated with each image:
DxO Optics Module enabled and ready to use.
DxO Optics Module not available for this image.
DxO Optics Module available but needs to be downloaded.
DxO Optics Module ambiguity (in this case, you will need to click on the icon to display a dialog box that will allow
you to resolve the ambiguity).
DxO Optics Module ambiguity (solved).
3 Traffic light icons
These icons show which images are to be processed (green light), must not be processed (red light), or require a
decision about processing (yellow light). When processing begins, images with green and yellow lights will be
processed, whereas images with red lights will not be processed. You can change the status of an image by rightclicking on its thumbnail in the image browser, and selecting Allow processing in the context menu, to choose between
the different options: Yes (green), Undefined (yellow) or No (red). These options are also available from the menu Image
> Allow processing.
4 Rotate thumbnail icons
The
and
rotate icons will, by default, appear only when you hover over a thumbnail. They let you rotate the image
either clockwise or counterclockwise in increments of 90 degrees.
5 Filename
The filename is shown by default. It can be either a standard image extension (.jpg or .jpeg, .tiff, etc.) or a proprietary
extension (for example .CR2, for Canon RAW images).
6 Virtual copy identification
Displays a Virtual copy sequence number (1, 2, 3, etc.).
7 Ranking icon
You can use this icon to rank your images from 0 to five stars to facilitate sorting.
8 Remove icon
Delete the selected picture(s) from the disk or remove a virtual copy from the Image Viewer.
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NOTE
You have the choice to enable or disable the icons, or to show them only on mouseover. Go to Edit > Preferences > Display
> Image Browser section (lower part of the screen) and select a status for each icon.
2.6. DxO
optics Modules
DxO Optics Pro can automate the process of installing the DxO Optics Modules that correspond to your equipment. Two dialog
boxes also facilitate manually managing DxO Optics Modules.
NOTE
You must have an active internet connection to find and install DxO Optics Modules. You can also manually download
Modules by going to this page: http://www.dxo.com/fr/photo/dxo_optics_pro/manual_download
2.6.1. Installing
new DxO Optics Modules
To display the download window for DxO Optics Modules, go to DxO Optics Modules > Download missing DxO Optics Modules.
The installer window will display a list of cameras sorted by brand. You can display the complete list or select a specific
manufacturer in the Brand drop-down menu.
To download additional DxO Optics Modules, proceed as follows:
1. Select one or more cameras by checking the corresponding boxes.
2. Click on Next.
3. Select one or more lenses by checking the corresponding boxes (the availability of the modules will likewise be indicated).
4. Click on Next.
5. The window will display the list of DxO Optics Modules (camera/lens combinations) chosen.
6. Click on Next.
7. The Optics Module(s) will be downloaded and installed.
8. A dialog box will confirm the installation.
9. Click on OK to close the Optics Module installer.
2.6.2. Managing
DxO Optics Modules
The DxO Optics Module window lets you display all of the Optics Modules that are installed on your computer. To open this
window, go to the menu DxO Optics Modules > Installed DxO Optics Modules.
You can also filter the list so as to display only the Modules to be updated or those which are not supported.
To download a Module again, choose it in the list and then click on Install to open the Install new modules window.
You can delete an Optics Module in the same way by selecting it and then clicking on Delete. A new dialog box will ask you to
confirm that you want to delete the Module.
NOTE
A DxO Optics Module that has been used in the course of a work session cannot be uninstalled during the same session.
To delete the Module, you will need to restart DxO Optics Pro and open the DxO Optics Modules window prior to loading
any images.
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The Customize Tab
3.1. About
the Customize tab
In DxO Optics Pro’s three-part structure, the Customize tab is the second tab as well as the second step in image processing.
1
3
2
4
The Customize tab is divided in four panes:
1 The Command bar is mainly about displaying the images the way you want. It is very similar to the command bar of the
View tab, but features additional tools that will be described later.
2 The Palettes, containing all the correction tools, are located on the right side of the window. However, you can move
the palettes and reposition them on the left side of the screen, if you like (see the Workspace basics paragraph below).
3 The Viewer pane, which displays one photo at a time, selected in the Image Browser, and shows the effects of the
corrections when you manipulate the different tools and settings. The two stages of this image (uncorrected image /
corrected image) can be displayed either side by side or alternately.
4 The Image Browser (available in all the tabs), where the pictures are loaded in the first step of your work (browsing or
creation of a Project).
3.2. Workspace
basics
The default workspace in DxO Optics Pro is DxO – First Steps, and another, more complete ready-to-use workspace is
available, DxO – Advanced user. Some parts of the default workspace cannot be changed. These are the upper command bar,
and the center pane, the Viewer, that displays the image undergoing processing. But you can create custom palettes and place
them where you wish on your screen, and personalize your workspace in other ways as well.
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3.3. Managing
3.3.1. Using
palettes and workspaces
and moving palettes
Palettes are sets of commands that have a common purpose: for example, you will find all the commands relating to color
correction in the Color correction palette. Sometimes these commands are grouped into sub-palettes; for example, the Color
correction palette has a RGB white balance sub-palette, a Vibrancy sub-palette, etc.
TIP
Clicking on the palette title bar expands / collapses the content of the palette. You can expand or collapse the content of
a sub-palette by clicking on the triangle in its title bar.
Correction palettes are docked by default on the right, and the image analysis palettes are docked on the left of the Viewer
pane. But they can be moved freely anywhere on the screen. To move a palette, drag its title bar to the desired place. To close
or hide a palette, click on the cross on the right side of its title bar. You can also move a palette by using the drop-down menu
on the Palette bar. This menu lets you collapse / expand the palette, dock it on the right or left side, place it freely on your
screen, hide it, or dock it on the top or bottom.
All palettes can be docked on one side of the screen, which leaves room for a larger image in the center, but tends to clutter
the stack of palettes. To allow even more space for the image, you can use the Hide / Show palettes command (shortcut: F9)
in the Palette menu.
3.3.2. Using
ready-made workspaces
The first time you open DxO Optics Pro 8 and go to the Customize tab, the DxO – First steps workspace appears by default,
which displays only a subset of all available palettes and sub-palettes, as follows:
• Light and color, which comprises such tools as White balance (RAW/RGB), Exposure compensation, DxO Smart
Lighting, Contrast, and Color accentuation.
• Corrections, which includes the Noise (RAW/RGB), Distortion, Vignetting, Chromatic aberration, and DxO Lens
softness sub-palettes.
The DxO – Advanced user workspace gives you access to all available tools.
NOTE
If you have DxO FilmPack installed on your computer, a DxO FilmPack palette will also be part of the First steps and
Advanced user workspaces.
3.3.3. Creating
a customorrection palettes or sub-palettes more than others. This being the case, why not create a
palette of your own? Creating a customized palette is easy. Just follow these steps:
1. Go to the Palettes drop-down menu located at the top right corner of the window, next to the Workspaces drop-down menu.
2. Select Create user palette.
3. In the My palette floating window, enter a name.
4. When you click on OK, your new palette will show up on the right side, below the other palettes.
5. The palette is empty, but a message will prompt you to drag and drop your favorite correction tools into it.
6. When you are done, you can close all the other standard palettes, and keep open only your new palette containing all
your chosen corrections.
7. If you want to include your custom palette in a workspace, you will need to create your own custom workspace
(see saving custom workspaces below).
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3.3.4. Creating
a custom workspace
DxO Optics Pro lets you save your favorite working environment as a custom workspace. To create a custom workspace, follow
these steps:
1. In the Workspace drop-down menu, select the DxO – Advanced user workspace in order to display all available palettes.
2. Remove all unwanted palettes by clicking on the cross in each one’s title bar.
3. If needed, create one or more custom palettes.
4. Go back to the Workspace drop-down menu, and select Save workspace.
5. In the Save workspace floating window, enter a name for your workspace.
6. Save your custom workspace.
NOTE
If you change your mind or if you copy an unwanted correction tool by mistake into your customized palette, you can drag
and drop it back to its original location.
Customized palette drop-down menu
You will find your custom workspace in the Workspace drop-down menu. If you quit and restart DxO Optics Pro, the lastselected workspace will be remembered. To delete a custom workspace, make sure it is active and simply select Delete
workspace in the drop-down menu. A pop-up window will prompt you to confirm your decision.
NOTE
It is not possible to delete the DxO – First steps and DxO – Advanced user workspaces.
3.4. Image
analysis palettes
The Customize tab palettes are divided into 2 main categories: Correction palettes and the following three Image
analysis palettes: Move/Zoom, Histogram, and EXIF.
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3.4.1. Move/Zoom
palette
Bottom left to right: fit-to-screen icon; 100% display icon; drop-down menu with frequently-used zoom percentages; zoom slider.
The Move/Zoom palette helps you navigate in the image displayed in the Viewer, and to analyze it in deep detail by zooming
in. After zooming in on the image, you can pan through it in all directions. Grab the box with a white border in the preview, and
move it around: the image in the Viewer pane will move accordingly. The commands in the palette are identical to the ones
found in the Customize tab command bar (except for the zoom slider):
• The fit-to-screen icon lets you expand the image to fill all the available screen area.
• The 1:1 icon displays the image at a scale of 1-to-1, or 100%.
• The drop-down menu lets you go quickly to commonly-used display scales (five choices, from 25 to 400%) or to enter
the scaling factor you want.
• The slider (display scales from 2% to 1600%) lets you zoom in or out quickly.
TIP
If your mouse has a scroll wheel, this is the fastest way to zoom in and out of the image.
3.4.2. Histogram
palette
The histogram shows, color by color, how many pixels there are for each level of luminance.
All 3 RGB channels and the Luminance channel can be displayed separately, and the palette has been redesigned to fit the new interface.
About the Histogram
The histogram is the best tool to determine how a picture has been exposed, in order to help you to correct it properly.
Basically, a histogram is a chart that shows the number of pixels for each level of luminance. The taller each vertical line, the
more pixels with that value in the image. When the peaks are mostly located on the left side, it is a dark image. When they are
mostly on the right side, the image is bright. When the vertical lines are spread from the left to the right, with a bump in the
middle (for the midtones), the photo is balanced, and the full dynamic range is covered.
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RGB and L channels
The DxO histogram tool calculates the brightness values for each color channel, and displays them all together on the same
chart. However, you can also display the values per channel, as your camera does, by clicking on one of the buttons located
on the right side of the chart:
• RGB: displays all the channels together.
• R, G, or B: displays each Red, Green or Blue channels separately.
• L: displays the global Luminance channel.
When you mouse over the image, the histogram palette shows the RGB values for that portion of the image, on a 0 to 255
scale, and the actual color is shown in a patch. This is very useful for determining which channel is dominant and thus helps
to detect color casts.
Clipping
When a luminance level goes below the left end of the histogram – the so-called black point, or above the right end – the
white point, it will be restricted to pure black or pure white. Pixels in this position, or close to it, are said to be “clipped.” This
situation can occur if the scene contains very dark areas, and if you expose for the bright tones, in which case the dark tones
will be clipped. Conversely, if the scene contains very bright areas and you expose for the mid or dark tones, the highlights
will be blown out, and all the relevant details may be lost. The Histogram palette offers two clipping visualization tools, both
located below the histogram chart:
Shadow clipping: Clicking on the icon will display, in false colors, the zones where no (or only some) information is
left in the dark area’s color channels.
Highlight clipping: Clicking on this icon displays clipped or close-to-clipped bright areas. When all three color channels
have reached their maximum values, the corresponding clipped bright zone is displayed as a false black on the image.
When there is some information left in one of the color channels, the affected zone is displayed in other false colors.
Clipping of highlights is visible as false colors in the right-hand image.
TIP
While it is important to correct blown highlights in order to recover clipped image details, it doesn’t make sense to try
to recover very bright areas such as light sources (sun, bulbs, and lamps) or reflections (bare metal or glass surfaces).
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3.4.3. EXIF
palette
The EXIF palette lets you add information to the EXIF data of the output image.
The EXIF information palette is split into two parts: Image Properties, and the EXIF editor.
Image properties
The Image properties list shows the information recorded as metadata by your camera in the header of your image file. This
information cannot be altered and will be saved “as is” when you create a corrected copy of your image. The list of recorded
information includes the camera model and make, the size of the image in pixels, the shooting date and time, the exposure
program or mode, the ISO speed, the exposure speed (shutter), the exposure bias (compensation), whether the flash was
fired, the metering mode, the lens model, the focal length, and the aperture.
EXIF editor
The EXIF editor lets you add author and copyright information to the output image EXIF data.
NOTE
To protect your assets, we strongly recommend that you add your name and copyright information into all your images
before you publish or distribute them.
3.5. Correction
3.5.1. About
palettes
the correction palettes
All the correction options available in the DxO – Advanced user workspace are controlled via six palettes:
• Light and color regroups essential tools such as White balance, Exposure compensation, DxO Smart Lighting,
Contrast, and Color accentuation.
• Light and color – Advanced regroups more advanced correction tools for color rendering and tone control.
• Geometry contains the crop tool and the tools to correct Keystoning, Horizon, and Volume anamorphosis.
• Detail allows you to control Noise and Moiré, to Sharpen your images, and to clean the Dust spots.
• Optical correction helps you correct and control all lens defects, including Distortion, Vignetting, Chromatic aberration,
and Lens softness (most of the tools here provide automatic corrections based on DxO Optical Modules, if your lenses
are supported).
Note that some film rendering options mentioned in this chapter are available only if you have installed the optional
DxO FilmPack module.
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3.5.2. Light
and color
The Light and color palette contains all the basic tools required to adjust the brightness, the contrast, and the colors, before
using, if needed, the correction tools in the Light and color – Advanced palette.
White balance (RAW/RGB)
Although light generally seems white to our eyes, daylight can show blue casts, incandescent bulbs have a yellow cast, and all
fluorescent lights show some complex green casts. Adjusting the White balance helps to correct these undesirable hues. The
ideal is when a perfectly grey object (in which all three primary colors – red, green, blue – are present in the same proportion)
is rendered as a perfect, neutral grey.
White balance sub-palette.
TIP
White balance is the very first adjustment you should make when editing your images, following the order of sub-palettes
in the Light and color – Basic palette.
The white balance setting will differ depending on the type of image file:
• With a RAW file, the white balance has yet to be established, and you can use any of the available tools.
• With TIFF or JPEG files, white balance has already been performed by in-camera processing, or by another software or
image editor (in the case of TIFF). The range of correction is more restricted, with only the color temperature slider and
the color picker to use.
NOTE
When you select a RAW file or a RGB file (JPEG or TIFF) in the Image Browser, the White balance sub-palette will
automatically change accordingly.
Using the pre-established Settings (RAW files only)
The drop-down Setting menu contains 12 options covering most known light sources, ranging from daylight, cloudy, or shade
to tungsten, fluorescent, or flash lights.
The As Shot setting is selected by default: in this case, DxO Optics Pro shows you the image white balance as shot by the
camera. The Manual or Custom option automatically displays as soon as you perform the white balance using the Color
temperature and Tint sliders (see below).
NOTE
The white balance is the only in-camera setting that DxO Optics Pro takes into account.
Using the color picker (RAW or RGB files)
To use the color picker, choose an area that is as close as possible to neutral (light) grey on your image. Click on the color
picker icon. The screen will display two images side-by-side or on top of each other, depending on the display option you
have chosen. The top or left image is where you will click using the color-picker, and the right or bottom image will show the
correction preview.
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TIP
Zoom in on the image to facilitate picking a neutral area, which can be very small.
White balance Radius slider.
The Radius slider at the bottom of the Viewer pane lets you set the size of the sample area.
TIP
With images taken at high ISO speeds, we recommend increasing the Radius slider value to 10, to reduce pointing errors
due to possible noisy patches.
Fine-tuning the white balance of a RAW file
However you choose to initially correct your images for white balance, you will be able to fine-tune the corrections using
the Color temperature and Tint sliders. The Color temperature slider has a range of 2,000 K to 20,000 K, and can often be
combined with the Tint slider to remove residual colorcasts.
Fine-tuning the white balance of a RGB file (TIFF or JPEG)
With a JPEG or TIFF file, you can use a simplified slider in addition to the color picker to fine-tune the white balance. The
simplified slider allows you to choose cooler (more blue) or warmer (more yellow) tones.
TIP
To reset the slider adjustments, double-click on it. For both RAW or RGB files, it is not always necessary to look for perfect white balance. Keep in mind the atmosphere of the scene you have photographed, and try to adjust the settings to
maintain that atmosphere.
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Exposure compensation
About exposure compensation
In the left-hand image, a substantial number of the highlights, especially in the sky, were blown out. The Exposure compensation sub-palette
setting Auto – Highlight Priority – Strong allowed recovering details in the clouds, without disproportionately darkening the rest of the image.
Exposure compensation adjusts the image exposure level, i.e., increases or reduces the brightness of each pixel in the image.
Since a photographic system can capture only a fraction of the tonal range in the real world, most photos will have under- or
over-exposed zones.
With digital photography, the camera sensor cannot cope with brightness above a certain level and returns all-white pixels.
The Exposure compensation tool’s highlight recovery mechanism can help you address this problem. Be aware that Exposure
compensation will have a greater effect on RAW images, which generally retain some information in highlighted channels.
With JPEG images, however, highlights that are lost are gone for good.
Correcting a RAW file
Three correction modes allow for recovery of blown highlights.
The RAW Correction drop-down menu offers five choices (plus a way to return to the manual option):
• The three Auto – Highlight priority modes focus on highlight recovery, offering slight, medium, and strong levels of
recovery. When choosing between these levels, it is particularly advisable to check the highlight clipping in the histogram.
• The Center weighted average option optimizes the correction process (exposure adjustment) on the center of the image.
• The Smart option has a slightly different behavior: it will help to recover highlights as well, but it will also apply a positive
compensation on under-exposed areas of the image.
In all the automatic correction modes, the exposure slider is positioned automatically. You can also set it manually over a
range of −4 to +4 Ev (1 Ev corresponds to one f-stop). Moving the slider to the right increases the exposure to make the image
brighter, while moving the slider to the left (or entering a negative Ev number) makes the image darker.
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TIP
Choosing one of the automatic exposure options can speed up your workflow. Usually, for example, the “slight” correction
is enough to use on a normally-contrasted image.
Correcting a JPEG or TIFF file
You can use the slider to adjust the exposure from −4 Ev to +4 Ev (1 Ev, or exposure value, is the equivalent of one f-stop).
TIP
Move the slider in small steps while monitoring the changes on the histogram with the Highlight clipping button activated.
This way you can easily see if the exposure has been increased too much (i.e., some clipped zones appear) or if it has not
been reduced enough (clipped zones remain in the image).
DxO Smart Lighting
About DxO Smart Lighting
Backlit subjects are a typical case calling for DxO Smart Lighting correction.
Here, because of the very strong contrast, a high level of correction has been applied to “open” the shadows – as if a fill-in flash had been used.
Ordinary image corrections apply to the whole photograph: when you modify the brightness or the contrast, you make the
whole image brighter, darker, and more or less contrasted. The aim of the DxO Smart Lighting correction is to alter the local
lighting in terms of brightness and contrast, increasing or reducing the contrast only where needed, such as in:
• Images with areas that are backlit.
• Images with a contrast range markedly higher than a camera can handle, especially images with very dark areas. • Images that were accidentally underexposed, generally short on contrast, or lacking a flash fill-in.
DxO Smart Lighting: basic settings
The Auto mode of DxO Smart Lighting has three levels, which is sufficient for most photos.
As with many of our tools, DxO Smart Lighting is in Automatic mode by default: the software analyzes the image, identifies the
areas that need correction, and applies the corrections. Two kinds of adjustments are available, together or independently:
• The Mode drop-down menu suggests 3 levels of adjustments: Slight, the default; Medium, and Strong.
• The Intensity slider is set to the following default values: 50 for slight, 100 for medium (default mode), and 150 for strong.
From there, you can manually adjust the setting by moving the slider, in which case the drop-down field will switch to
Custom.
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DxO Optics Pro 7 mode
When you select DxO Optics Pro 7 in the drop-down menu, the DxO Smart Lighting sub-palette will automatically revert to the
controls found in DxO Optics Pro 7. This feature has been implemented to give you the choice between the old and the new –
and much simpler – version of DxO Smart Lighting.
NOTE
If you need more information about the old DxO Lighting legacy mode, please refer to the DxO Optics Pro 7 user guide,
pages 37–41 (http://support.dxo.com).
Which settings should you use with DxO Smart Lighting?
DxO Smart Lighting is probably the most complex of our corrections. It has a global and a local effect on the image – affecting
the whole picture and local details, both in the bright and dark areas – and has a strong influence on contrast and brightness.
Such a complex correction can only be mastered by practice. However, you will quickly see for yourself how effective
DxO Smart Lighting is, even on difficult images.
You should stick with the three automatic correction modes as much as possible, as they can cope with most situations, and
then fine-tune with the slider afterwards. If you need to go further and do additional corrections and fine-tuning, you can go to
the Light and color – Advanced palette and use the Selective tone control and the Tone curve, if necessary.
Contrast
Contrast sub-palette.
Contrast
This tool controls the overall contrast of the image. DxO Optics Pro corrects for contrast using a classic S-shaped tone curve:
shadows and highlights are compressed and mid-tones are expanded. The correction is activated by a slider with values
ranging from −100 to +100.
NOTE
Be careful, as this global contrast correction can strongly interfere with the Tone curve correction.
Microcontrast
This tool controls the contrast of small homogenous regions that have been delimited by the program. Enhancing the
microcontrast gives results that can look somewhat similar to sharpening, without the pitfalls of the sharpening process (e.g.,
white artifacts along the edges when the settings are too strong). Microcontrast correction enhances the details in the image,
but produces very subtle results that you can only see with a high degree of magnification. It works very well in landscape,
architectural, or industrial photography. You can use negative settings to soften portraits.
NOTE
Avoid using too much local contrast, especially in combination with the Unsharp mask correction.
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Color accentuation
Color accentuation sub-palette.
The Color accentuation sub-palette contains two sliders that enhance colors in very different ways: Saturation and Vibrancy.
Vibrancy
The Vibrancy slider operates in a subtle way, taking into account the colors already present in the image. It can be defined as
a “smart” color saturation setting. The range is from –100 to 100, and the default setting is 0. When the slider has a positive
value, vibrancy increases the overall saturation, but with some particular behaviors:
• Skin tones are protected to avoid red faces. • Blue sky tone saturation is increased more than for the rest of the image, and slightly darkened, to give greater depth
to the sky.
• Tones already close to gray are not affected, to avoid a change of color balance.
When the slider has a negative value, Vibrancy decreases the overall saturation level, with the following restrictions: • Desaturation never goes down to zero (i.e., a black and white image), unlike the more radical HSL corrections. • Desaturation is more pronounced in the reds, which is useful for “rescuing” photos in which the faces are too red, and
for making skin tones more natural.
Saturation
The Saturation slider role is straightforward: it increases the entire image color saturation if you move it to the right, and
decreases it if you move it to the left, turning the picture gray when you reach a value of –100. The default setting is 0.
NOTE
Be careful not to combine strong vibrancy correction with an excessive level of saturation in the Color rendering
sub-palette.
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3.5.3. Light
and Color – Advanced
The Light and color – Advanced palette regroups advanced tools for color and tonal corrections, including Color rendering,
Selective tone, Tone curve, and HSL (Hue, Saturation, and Lightness) controls.
Color rendering: simulating other cameras and films (DxO FilmPack not activated)
Every camera, every processing software, and for traditional photography, every film, has a particular color rendering (some
of which are quite famous). The Color rendering correction simulates the rendering of a particular camera X or film Y. Beside
aesthetic considerations, many photographers who work with two or three different cameras may want to have all their
cameras’ output match the rendering of one particular camera, or they may want to deliver very neutral sets of images to
their customers.
Color rendering sub-palette.
JPEG or TIFF images
As with other corrections, Color rendering is inherently limited when applied to TIFF or JPEG images: a RAW converter has
already processed these images, and thus there is no access to the original file data. So for these formats, only certain film
emulations are available.
NOTE
If you have not activated the optional DxO FilmPack plugin, the Color rendering film emulation is limited to a short list
of well-known positive color films: Fuji Velvia, Kodachrome, etc. If you have activated DxO FilmPack, you can have access
to more than 60 films to emulate.
Film categories are accessed by a combination of the two Camera, film, ICC profile drop-down menus. The Intensity slider
allows progressive changing of the original image into the selected emulation. The default setting is 100, with 0 for the original
image, and all values above 100 “hyper-correcting” the image.
NOTE
The Intensity slider has no effect if the first drop-down menu is set to Generic renderings, which is the shooting camera’s
default rendering.
RAW images
Because RAW images still contain all the luminance information and have never been converted into any color space, they are
particularly suitable for the Color rendering correction.
Camera default rendering (RAW: factory, RGB: body)
This is the camera default rendering: if you select a RAW file, the rendering will match the manufacturer’s. In the second
dropdown menu, you have the choice between four “neutral color” settings, which differ slightly only in the shape of their tone
curves (i.e., contrast levels). Of these, the neutral color, neutral tonality setting is our baseline for switching from any color
rendering to another.
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NOTE
DxO Optics Pro does not take into account the photo styles provided by some camera makers. However, it will try to match
the standard original rendering as closely as possible.
Camera body
When selected, this option reveals (in the second drop-down menu) a long list of cameras of different makes and models
which DxO Labs has tested and measured, and whose color renderings you can use.
Color Positive Films
Without the DxO FilmPack plugin, DxO Optics Pro offers by default one single choice, “Color-positive films,” a selection of
generic positive films.
ICC profiles
The last choice in the ICC profile menu opens a dialog box for browsing your file system to find color profiles that you might
want to use. (Remember that an ICC profile is a set of data that characterize any visual device such as a camera, a screen, a
scanner, etc.) As with JPEG or TIFF images, an Intensity slider allows a progressive change of the image’s original color space
into another. At 0, only the original image appears; 100 is the default setting; and above 100, the image is “hyper-corrected.”
Protect saturated colors
The Protect saturated colors correction prevents some specific saturated colors from being clipped, which may lead to
unnatural colors and loss of texture when a particular color channel is close to the minimum or to the maximum luminance
intensity (0 or 255). This process is performed automatically; you can fine-tune or modify the result with the Intensity slider.
Clicking on the magic wand restores the image to the original automatic setting.
Note that this Intensity slider has an effect only when you are applying a particular color rendering:
• On RAW images, it always has an effect since a color rendering is applied (by default, this is the default color rendering
of your camera body).
• On JPEG images, the camera body has already applied the color rendering, so DxO Optics Pro does not apply any
particular color rendering unless you explicitly ask for it.
Selective tone
Selective tone sub-palette.
The Selective tone palette is an easy and very precise way to control and adjust the brightness of an image. Each slider has
an effect on particular tonal ranges, as follows:
• Highlights: Use this slider mainly to bring back details in very bright areas of the image (e.g., skies with bright clouds,
the outside seen through an interior window pane).
• Midtones controls the brightness of the midtones, which are the levels located in the middle of the histogram.
• Shadows: Use this slider to lighten the shadows and dark areas of the image.
• Blacks lets you set the black point (left end of the histogram) in your image. To the left, the slider progressively changes
the dark areas to solid black and, to the right, progressively lifts the black levels and make them brighter (the histogram
left end will move to the right, leaving no image data in the blacks).
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NOTE
Be aware that the Selective tone control sliders can drastically change the contrast of your pictures. Use them moderately,
and check your histogram to avoid clipping.
Style – Toning sub-palette (DxO FilmPack plugin not activated)
NOTE
The contents of this sub-palette depends on whether or not the optional DxO FilmPack plug-in is activated. See the DxO
FilmPack sub-palette section for more information.
The Style – Toning sub-palette contains presets which influence the overall contrast and saturation of the selected photos by
reproducing these classic styles:
• B&W: Black and white conversion of a color image, based on its contents.
• Landscape: Greens are enhanced.
• Portrait puts the emphasis on skin tones.
You can adjust the effects with the Intensity slider. The default value is 100, and 0 corresponds to the original image.
NOTE
If the DxO FilmPack plugin is installed, you can modify and fine-tune the black and white conversion using the Channel
mixer.
Tone curve
The tone curve can be adjusted either channel by channel or globally.
About the tone curve
The tone curve is a powerful but complex tool. We recommend practicing a bit to see the effects on your photos. Note that
many results obtained with the tone curve can be obtained using the DxO Smart Lighting, the Selective tone correction, or
the HSL sub-palettes.
The tone curve translates input tonal values (light received) to output tonal values (light seen in the image). The simplest case
is one in which the tone curve is a straight line ascending at 45° from the origin, as in the illustration above. Such a tone curve
is neutral: every input value of light, whether in dark, medium, or light tones, is translated exactly into the same output value.
Input values (from 0, the darkest, to 255, the lightest) are on the x-axis, output values (similarly running from 0 to 255) are on
the y-axis.
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You can subtly change and redraw tone curves region by region, and even color by color, to suit a particular photo. Quite often
this takes the form of an “S-shaped curve” that compresses the dark shadows and the highlights, but expands the mid-tones.
This can often result in a more contrasty, “punchy” — and ultimately more pleasing — image. But once again, playing with the
tone curve is not a matter of set recipes; it is a complex matter that takes practice and experience.
Drawing an S-curve, so called because of its shape, can make the image contrasty and “punchy.”
Modifying the tone curve
You can set the slope of only the central part of the curve (the “gamma”) by adjusting the slope value in the middle of the x-axis
with the Gamma slider, set to 1 by default. Values can range from 0.05 to 6.00:
• Values above 1 increase the contrast and bring out details in shadow.
• Values below 1 reduce the contrast and bring out details in highlights.
Redraw the curve by defining and then moving points on the neutral curve (most often one point in the light shadows and
one point in the first highlights, but more points are possible). Define points by clicking on the curve. (Active points are filled;
inactive points are shown as white squares.) You can drag an active point to modify the curve.
NOTE
An active point can be deleted by right-clicking or pressing Delete.
You can modify the black and white points on the x-axis and on the y-axis either by dragging them along their axis, or by
entering the desired value in the adjacent boxes.
The drop-down menu at the top of the Tone curve sub-palette lets you apply the tone curve either to all three color channels
(RGB) simultaneously, or channel by channel. Two reset buttons to the right let you revert to the default neutral curve (straight
line at 45°) either channel by channel, or for all three channels at once.
Hue, Saturation and Lightness (HSL) system
Among the multiple systems used to describe the colored spaces, the HSL system is well-known for its effectiveness and
simplicity. Each color has three parameters: its hue (H), its saturation (S), and its lightness (L). This correction is available for
each of the six color channels in an image:
• The additive colors (RGB: Red, Green, and Blue).
• The subtractive colors (YMC: Yellow, Magenta, and Cyan).
Hue
The Hue slider modifies the tint of the selected channel. As an example, if you select the yellow channel, moving the slider to
the left will progressively change all the yellows in the image to magenta, and if you move the slider to the right, the yellow
will change into green. The slider has a range of values from −180° to +180° because hue is classically illustrated as a circle
on which all colors are located.
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Saturation
The Saturation slider determines how strong a color or a tint is. If we carry on with the yellow channel as an example, moving
the slider to the left progressively removes the color until the yellows in the picture turn grey. On the other hand, moving the
slider to the right reinforces the yellows, turning them into orange near the end of the range. The Saturation slider can be
adjusted from −100 to +100.
Lightness
The action of the Lightness slider is easy to understand if you look at its effect on the Histogram. Moving the slider to the right
shifts the black point to the right, compressing the tonal range into the upper half of the scale. Conversely, moving the slider
to the left brings the white level down towards the black tones, compressing the tonal range into the lower half of the scale.
In short, still using our example, moving to the left will make yellows darker and deeper; moving to the right will make them
brighter and lighter.
As Shot
The As Shot button cancels all HSL corrections and resets all the sliders to 0.
NOTE
If you want to correct several colors, we suggest you make note of the correction values you use for each color layer,
so that you can fine-tune a particular correction without having to start over again: moving a color just a few points can
have a significant effect!
3.5.4. Geometry
About the Geometry palette
The Geometry palette contains the following tools:
• Keystoning/horizon corrects and aligns slanted vertical and/or horizontal lines.
• Volume anamorphosis corrects the distortion of cylindrical and spherical objects or subjects taken with
wide-angle lenses.
• Crop changes the framing and/or the aspect ratio of the images.
Keystoning / horizon
Keystoning/Horizon sub-palette.
About horizontal/vertical and keystoning distortion
Two kinds of distortion can affect vertical or horizontal lines; one is simple, the other complex. The simple distortion is a tilted
image: the horizon line is tilted up or down by a few degrees because the photographer tilted the camera by a few degrees
when shooting. Such tilting can likewise result in a prominent vertical slant for a tree, a pole, a column. The solution to this
problem is as simple as the cause: rotating the image in the opposite direction by as many degrees as it has been tilted.
Keystoning distortion is much more complex. This happens whenever you shoot a camera when not square on to the subject.
The most well-known occurrence is when taking pictures of a building. If the building is low, and shot from some distance,
you will frame it without difficulty, the camera will stay roughly parallel to the facade, and no distortion will occur. But if the
building is taller, and/or you stand close when shooting, you will have to tilt the camera up (i.e., rotate it around the horizontal
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axis) to frame the entire building façade. In this case, all the parallel lines on the façade will become converging lines. The
same phenomenon occurs with horizontal lines if the camera is rotated around the vertical axis.
The effects of both distortions combine if the camera is tilted in both directions at once. In such cases, the corrections
are even more complex, requiring reconstruction of missing pixels and the modification of the image’s rectangular shape.
Reconstructing pixels means losing some detail, and modifying the rectangular shape of the image means losing some
picture content.
When appropriately applied, perspective corrections can significantly enhance your photos — not only for architectural images
(which obviously will benefit from them the most), but even for portraits or landscapes.
NOTE
Be aware that using the keystoning tools can result in losing a significant part of the image through cropping. It is wise
to take this reality into account while shooting and to frame your photos accordingly.
Horizon tool
This simple tool allows you to straighten the horizon automatically, without time-wasting trials. The traditional way of setting
the desired rotation is to use the Rotation slider (from −180° to +180°), or to enter the desired rotation angle into the box. You
can toggle the Grid overlay to more easily see your correction. You can also correct the horizon from the Keystoning/horizon
palette, or from the upper command bar, as follows:
1. Click on the tool, and then draw a line on the slanted horizon.
2. Click to establish a first point, hold down the mouse button as you drag it to the desired spot where you want to mark
a second point, and click again.
3. The line between the two points will display in bright green, and the image will rotate automatically to straighten up
the horizon.
This process can be undone using Ctrl-Z.
NOTE
The same process can be used to correct a slanted vertical line.
Using the Horizon tool on a line already known to be horizontal avoids the trial and error process of correcting a slanted photo.
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Advanced keystoning distortion tools
You can click on the Advanced settings box to access the sub-palettes, which will then in turn expand to display additional
buttons and slider controls. You can also select these tools directly in the upper command bar.
NOTE
You can reset or close the tool anytime by clicking on the relevant buttons located at the bottom of the Image pane.
Forcing parallels
Clicking on the first tool, Force parallels, will display images of your photo side by side. The corrections will be performed in
the left image, and the result displayed in real time on the right. To apply the correction, draw two lines on image elements
that you know are parallel (e.g., two columns, two sides of a door or portal, two angles of a facade).
Forcing the rectangle
Clicking on the second tool, Rectangle, will likewise display two images of your photo. Clicking anywhere in the left-hand
image causes a rectangle to appear. Drag the corners onto that you want to become a perfect rectangle — a window, for
example. This tool has a drastic effect, since not only will the two verticals become parallel, but the two horizontals as well,
thus strongly modifying your image perspective. You should use Rectangle for small degrees of correction, when the camera
is only slightly tilted out of its optimal position.
Fine-tuning the parallels and the rectangle corrections
A group of four sliders allows you to fine-tune the parallel and rectangle corrections:
• Up/Down and Left/Right: These sliders give you additional control for adjusting vertical or horizontal keystoning
corrections, with both sliders having a range of −125 to +125. They act as if the shooting plane (or more simply, the
camera) was tilted forward or backwards around the horizontal axis (the Up/Down slider), and as if the shooting plane
was angled to the left / right around the vertical axis (Right/Left slider).
• Scale: This slider lets you resize the image (from 50% to 200%) while maintaining its proportions. You can use it to bring
back into the frame the picture elements eliminated by keystoning corrections.
• Horizontal / Vertical ratio: This slider lets you stretch or squeeze the height of your image while keeping the width
unchanged. The scale runs from −100 (50% of the original height) to +100 (200% of original height). This tool is very useful
if the picture seems excessively elongated in one dimension.
Converging vertical lines are made parallel thanks to the Force parallels tool.
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Volume anamorphosis correction
Volume anamorphosis sub-palette.
About volume anamorphosis
Representing the three-dimensional world in a two-dimensional image raises a fundamental difficulty. The laws of optics
cannot be overturned: when converted into a flat image, the shapes of certain 3D objects appear distorted and no longer
match what our eyes and brain expect to see. This phenomenon is referred to as “volume anamorphosis.” It is most noticeable
when using a wide-angle lens and/or when shooting objects in the foreground, close to the camera, and/or near the edges of
the image.
The main difficulty when correcting this distortion is that it is entirely photo content-dependent. DxO Optics Pro algorithms
are powerful enough to make intelligent automatic corrections, but in some cases you might want to do manual corrections
based on your own experience and taste.
Choosing between spherical or cylindrical corrections
The first step in the correction process is to identify the kind of deformation. There are two types: cylindrical and spherical.
Basically, cylindrical objects (for example, columns or a human body) need correction along one axis (usually the vertical
axis) more than another. To put it another way, a standing human body can be represented by a cylinder. On the other hand,
spherical objects (such as a human head) need correction on both axes simultaneously.
The Volume Anamorphosis sub-palette has a drop-down menu from which you can choose between cylindrical or spherical
correction. Usually the spherical correction is the most useful, but we recommend that you try both to find the best result,
especially if you are not sure.
If you click on Advanced settings, you can fine-tune the corrections with the following sliders:
• Radial intensity for recovering spheres (default value: 150).
• Horizontal intensity and Vertical intensity for recovering cylinders (default values, respectively, are 100 and 0).
The sliders have a range of 0 up to 200%.
The photo at right shows the effect of the volume anamorphosis correction on human bodies and faces,
compared to the strong deformations in the original image at left.
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NOTE
Using the grid overlay on the image will help you better visualize the deformations and their corrections.
Crop
Crop sub-palette.
Automatic cropping
An image whose perspective has been corrected by the Keystoning / horizon tools generally loses some information at the
edges – more if the correction is significant. This is why the Crop sub-palette correction is set to Auto […] by default, and the
aspect ratio is set to Preserve aspect ratio, meaning that cropping is performed automatically on the corrected image while
retaining as much information as possible even if the original proportions are modified.
• Selecting Preserve aspect ratio in the drop-down menu instead of Unconstrained resizes your image while maintaining
its proportions (i.e., the relationship between its longer and shorter sides: for example, 3:2 or 4:3).
• You can also choose a different ratio in the Aspect ratio drop-down menu, such 1:1 (a square format), 5:4 (replicating
the traditional 5×4 or 10×8 formats), etc. You can also type a ratio directly in the menu bar.
Manual cropping
• When the Crop tool is active, a command bar is displayed below the Viewer pane. From there, you can select a predefined aspect ratio, type in your own values, show or hide the grid of thirds, reset and close the tool.
• When you click on the Crop tool button, a dotted crop box will appear on the image. You can move or extend this box by
dragging its corners. If you have chosen a specific aspect ratio, the box will appear with the proportions of this aspect
ratio; if you change one of its dimensions, the other will track automatically. If you have chosen an unconstrained aspect
ratio, you can freely change both dimensions of the box.
• You can also click in the image, hold down the left mouse button and drag to create a crop box, which will appear as a
black rectangular frame within the image.
• Click on and drag the corners of the box to adjust its size. Click inside the box to move it around.
• Click outside the box to remove the box.
3.5.5. Detail
About the Detail palette
The Detail palette brings together corrections involving your images at the smallest scale, but which have a very strong impact
on their visual quality. One feature common to these corrections is the absolute necessity of judging them at a zoom factor of at
least 75%. The reason for this is not only that zooming in will make seeing your corrections easier, but that the image you look
at during the Customizing process is a simulation, which is much faster to compute than the definitive image. Unfortunately,
none of the corrections in the Detail palette can, for technical reasons, be simulated. They can only be effectively computed.
Therefore, to avoid intensive computing which would slow the display, DxO Optics Pro only computes small fractions of the
whole image, this limit being above a zoom factor of 75%.
However, DxO Optics Pro 8 introduces a change to this behavior. In the Preferences > Performance tab, there is a new option
that lets you enable or disable noise reduction preview at zoom levels below 75%. Be aware that enabling noise preview at any
zoom level can impact the speed of your computer, as the process is very demanding on hardware capacities. If you experience
slow-downs, go back to the Preferences to return to the default behavior.
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The Detail palette includes the four following sub-palettes:
• Noise addresses the grainy appearance of all images shot at high ISO speeds, or simply of underexposed zones.
• Unsharp mask can increase the apparent sharpness of the image.
• Moiré reduces or removes color artifacts in the image, sometimes visible in tile roofs, wire mesh, fabrics and so on.
• Dust helps erase dust spots in your photos.
Noise
About noise in digital photography
All digital cameras suffer from noise to a certain degree. Noise is characterized by grain (luminance noise) and random color
pixels (color noise). Noise is much more of a problem in the shadows (where the luminance signal is low) than in highlights,
where it is relatively weaker in comparison to the luminance signal. Noise is aggravated by the use of high sensitivities (high
ISOs) that, basically, amplify the image signal and, hence, amplify the noise with it.
NOTE
We still advise you to perform noise correction at 100% zoom level.
About DxO noise reduction
The extremely powerful DxO noise suppression module is not an all-purpose algorithm. It is based on measurements made
on each supported camera model by DxO Labs and is, therefore, tailored for that particular camera. If your camera isn’t
supported by DxO Optics Pro (i.e., hasn’t been calibrated), you will have to manually adjust the two sliders (“Luminance” and
“Chrominance”) that make the denoising process effective.
A second limitation is that JPEG images, which are already treated by the in-camera noise reduction tool, have in the process
lost a certain number of details which will not be recovered. Accordingly, the quality of noise correction that DxO Optics Pro
can perform on a JPEG image is substantially lower than for a RAW image, from which no detail has been lost. This is a strong
argument for shooting RAW files.
NOTE
While using these sliders, take care not to reach the point where some surfaces are excessively smoothed, thereby
losing their “natural” appearance and looking “plastic.” The Chrominance slider allows higher settings, with less risk of
unwanted side effects.
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Noise reduction sub-palette.
Fine-tuning the noise reduction
Since it is applied in accordance with scientific measurements made on your camera, DxO Optics Pro’s automatic correction
provides a very efficient basis for removing noise. Fine-tuning can be made via 3 sliders (range: 0 – 100%):
• Luminance detail: Reduces the grain in the image, especially high-frequency noise interfering with the smaller details.
• Luminance contrast: Reduces larger unwanted noise effects, such as bloches which can affect skin.
• Chrominance: Reduces colored noise (speckles of unwanted color, such as yellow on flesh tones, or blue on grey tones),
to which the eye is particularly sensitive.
Advanced settings
Opening the advanced settings first gives access to the grey equalizer (enabled by default) and the dead pixel sliders:
• Grey equalizer complements the “Chrominance noise” slider, slightly reducing the colors saturation in the midtone
range. You will probably leave this correction at the default setting (50%), unless you notice undesirable effects (e.g.
excessive desaturation). The slider and its entry box have a range from 0 to 100%.
• Dead pixels reduces or eliminates “dead pixels” - camera sensor elements that, for whatever reason, fail to record the
incident light correctly, showing up as bright spots in the image. This happens mostly at high ISO settings, in dark images
and long exposure shots.
TIP
You can reset all the sliders to the default/automatic settings by clicking their respective magic wands.
Unsharp mask
About the Unsharp mask tool
Contrary to what the name implies, the Unsharp mask tool aims to sharpen an image. The tool makes a blurred copy of the
original picture, then subtracts the original from the blurred copy, leaving only the finest details, which you can then enhance.
Unsharp mask sub-palette.
The Unsharp mask sub-palette includes the following four settings:
• Intensity sets the amount of sharpening to be applied to the whole image. • Radius sets the thickness of the edges to be sharpened. • Threshold sets the threshold level above which details will be sharpened, and below which details will be left as they
are. This makes it possible to avoid sharpening the smallest details, which are just noise.
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• Edge offset puts an emphasis on the edges and helps protect uniform surfaces from excessive and unnecessary sharpening. For example, if you set the (overall) Intensity slider to 200, and the Edge offset slider to 200, the sharpening
intensity values will be 400 on the edges, and 200 within the edges. If you set Edge offset to 0, the Unsharp mask will be
even across the image.
NOTE
The left values on the Intensity slider are negative (from −100 to 0), and such values result in softening instead of
sharpening the image (which can be useful for portraits).
Using the Unsharp mask
The Unsharp mask correction is disabled by default. It is unnecessary for JPEG files, as in-camera processing has already
sharpened them, and it is usually unnecessary for RAW images for which a DxO Module is available. This means its use is
really confined to unsharpened JPEG files and RAW files without a DxO Optics Module. (In the latter instance, we advise finetuning the Unsharp mask settings, and then creating a preset.)
We recommend that you try fine-tuning the three sliders using these starting values: Intensity 100, Radius 0.5, and Threshold
4. For most images, Threshold should stay within a range from 4 to 10. Radius determines how subtle the correction is:
excessive values will result in haloes. Finally, you can set the Intensity slider up to 200.
Manual sharpening (displayed at 100%) for an older lens (1970) for which no DxO Optics Module is available.
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Moiré
Moiré appears as colored artifacts or patterns when fine, high-frequency details interfere with the camera sensor. This is
particularly true for cameras with weak or no low-pass filters: the photos they produce will be sharper than with traditional
digital cameras, which use strong bypass filters, but the risk of introducing moiré will be much higher.
Moiré is especially apparent in image details such as tile roofs, wire fences, mesh, feathers, fur, hair, and fabrics. The moiré
Intensity slider helps to reduce or recover these artifacts. Its range goes from 0 to 100, with the latter as the default value.
After any adjustments, you can reset to the default value by clicking on the magic wand.
NOTE
This tool can only work if your image is displayed at a 75% zoom factor or higher.
Dust
This anti-dust tool allows you to “paint” a line (whose thickness can be adjusted) or to position a dot (of variable diameter) over
a dust spot or any unwanted detail you would like to erase.
Clicking on the tool displays a dual image: original on the left, corrected on the right. You should then zoom in on the image,
and set the width of your tool (with the “Dust pen width” slider at the bottom of the Viewer pane). Then click a spot or draw a
line at the desired place (draw by dragging while holding down the mouse button).
To remove an unwanted correction, click on it again with the tool and press the “Delete” key. A blue spot is the active correction,
and inactive (not selected) corrections are shown as cyan spots.
To remove all corrections made on the image, press the “Reset” button below the left-hand image.
NOTE
If the spot has affected many photos, it can be useful to correct one of them, and then create a preset from these settings
that will be applied to others. It is also possible to copy/paste the corrections from one photo to a selection of other photos.
Each blue dot in the original image will be corrected in the processed image (right).
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3.5.6. Optical
Corrections
The main tools
The Optical corrections palette is the result of a redesign of the DxO Optics Pro interface to make it easier to use. The palette
includes the following tools:
• Distortion corrects pincushion and barrel distortions.
• Vignetting corrects the darkening of the image corners and edge that can occur especially when using wide-open
aperture values.
• Chromatic aberration corrects the color fringes seen along high-contrast edges, more specifically in the image corners
and along edges.
• DxO lens softness helps to compensate for the sharpness differences between the center of the image, which is always
better, and the edges.
You can use all these tools automatically if a relevant DxO Optics Module is available, or manually, if that is not the case.
The secondary tools
If the focal length or focusing distance is inaccurate or is not properly recorded in the EXIF metadata, the Optical corrections
palette will automatically provide Focal length and/or Focusing distance sliders for manually inputting the data.
Optical corrections – Primary tools
Distortion
The two main patterns of distortion: pincushion (left) and barrel (right).
About distortion correction
The geometric distortion introduced by a lens may be in pincushion or barrel form – or sometimes even a mixture of the two. In
each case, DxO Labs’ analytical measurements make it possible to correct the distortion such that straight lines in the original
scene are correctly reproduced as straight lines in the photo.
The Distortion correction has just one slider that controls the degree of the correction, with a range from 0 to 100%. The
default setting is 100%, and you should only depart from this either to avoid the cropping of important details near edges, or
for creative reasons.
The Correction drop-down menu allows you to select automatic correction based on a DxO Optics Module, or manual
correction. Only the manual option will be active if the DxO Optics Module is not available.
Automatic correction of the distortion
Provided the appropriate DxO Optics Module is loaded on your computer for the image you are working on, DxO Optics Pro will
automatically corrects the distortion in it.
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Manual correction of the distortion
You will use the Manual choice in the drop-down menu if the relevant DxO Optics Module for your camera/lens combination is
not available, or not loaded on your computer, or for creative reasons. In either case, first select the type of distortion: Barrel
or Pincushion (see the description in the previous paragraph) and “Fisheye” for fisheye lenses.
NOTE
If you are correcting an image manually, it can be helpful to display a grid over it by clicking the grid overlay button in
the upper command bar.
Changing fisheye lenses into wide-angle lenses
You can automatically turn your fisheye shots into ultra-wide-angle-style photos without the circular distortion if the camera/
fisheye lens combination is supported by a DxO Optics Module. You can also manually correct this distortion by using the
Intensity slider in the Fisheye option in the Distortion type drop-down menu.
TIP
If you use the Fisheye correction tool, try deselecting Keep aspect ratio: you will recover a larger field of view in your photo.
Maintaining the aspect ratio
Most of the time, the distortion correction changes the aspect ratio (i.e., the ratio between width and height) of the image.
Since the aspect ratio is of great importance, especially if the photo is to be published, it is maintained by default, resulting
in some cut-off parts of the image edges. But if you want to make sure that the whole of the usable part of the image stays
visible, you can uncheck this aspect ratio constraint by clicking the box at the bottom of the sub-palette.
Vignetting
Vignetting is an optical aberration that results in corners and edges that are darker than the center of an image. The vignetting
correction works differently and uses different commands depending on whether or not the relevant DxO Optics Module
is available.
If a DxO Optics Module is available
When a DxO Optics Module is available, the Correction drop-down menu will display Auto with DxO Optics Module, and the
correction will be automatic. From there, if you want, you can either fine-tune the automatic correction, or switch fully to
manual correction mode (using the Correction drop-down and selecting Manual).
The vignetting correction actually takes place in two steps, both of which can be fine-tuned:
1. First, from the lens data, focal length, and aperture setting, the DxO Optics Module calculates the necessary correction
for every pixel in the image. The Correction Intensity slider allows you to decide how much vignetting should be removed
(within a range of 0 to 100%).
2. Second, a filter is applied to avoid clipping in bright areas and increased noise in dark areas. Clicking the Advanced
settings box lets you use the Shadow/Highlight preservation slider to set the intensity of this filter, from 0 to 100%, as
follows:
- If set to 0%, the vignetting correction will be applied without any restriction.
- If set to, let’s say 80%, very large highlights and shadows will stay uncorrected.
When adjusting these two combined settings, we suggest sticking to the default 100% for the first (Intensity) slider, since the
Shadow/Highlight preservation slider is usually more effective in preventing undesirable vignetting correction side effects.
Bear in mind that only vignetting due to the lens or sensor is corrected. Mechanical vignetting caused by a lens shade cannot be
corrected. In the case of mechanical vignetting, you may want to use the Crop tool to remove the unwanted parts of your picture.
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NOTE
As with many other DxO Optics Pro corrections, the magic wand allows you to revert to the automatic settings.
How the two sliders appear when the DxO Optics Module is available.
If no DxO Optics Module is available
In this case, the manual correction dialogue box appears. It allows you to adjust the degree to which the corners of the image
need to be lighter. You can use the Mid-field amplification slider (under Advanced settings) to adjust how far towards the
center of the image the correction will be applied.
NOTE
Be careful not to apply a too-strong correction: generally speaking, the corners of the image should not be lighter than
the center!
Chromatic aberration
About chromatic aberration
Chromatic aberration results in different colors focusing at slightly different places, leading to defects which can be readily
seen at the edge between two contrasting areas: green and red halos (lateral AC), and/or purple-only or green-only halos (longitudinal AC). “Purple fringing” is a particular phenomenon mostly due to chromatic aberration in which a ghost-like purple
image appears along highly-contrasted edges.
Correcting chromatic aberration
Lateral chromatic aberration (e.g., magenta or green fringes along edges) is automatically corrected only if the appropriate
DxO Optics Module is available. In this case, no further manual action is necessary. You can correct the other types of chromatic aberrations (longitudinal or other) using the two sliders in their respective sections of the sub-palette: • Intensity sets the strength of the correction within a range of 0 to 200. • Size adjusts the width of the colored fringe to be suppressed within a range from 0 to 12 in arbitrary units. This setting
affects how DxO Optics Pro determines what is chromatic aberration that needs to be corrected, and what is real image
content.
You should check the Purple fringing correction box for all backlit scenes, or when shooting with a lens prone to this optical
defect.
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It is frequently necessary to correct chromatic aberration and purple fringing in a backlit scene.
DxO Lens Softness
About lens softness
The exclusive DxO Lens Softness tool is one of the major strengths of DxO Optics Pro. Lens softness is an optical aberration in
which a point is transformed by the lens into a small blurred circle. (This should not be confused with out-of-focus or motion
blur, which DxO Optics Pro is unable to correct). DxO Optics Modules have been created by measuring the amount of blur at
every point in the image area for each camera body and lens combination.
Matching the shooting parameters contained in the EXIF data (aperture, focal length, etc.) and the map provided by the
DxO Optics Module, DxO Optics Pro can apply precisely-tailored corrections according to the position of each pixel in the
image field. This correction is not the same over the whole image, since lenses are sharper in the center; thus central pixels
need less correction.
NOTE
This sub-palette will only be visible for images for which the appropriate DxO Optics Module is loaded. If no module is
available, you should use the Unsharp mask sub-palette and, more specifically, the Edge Offset slider to manually adjust
the sharpness in the image corners.
The Global slider
DxO Labs has defined an average setting for the Global slider, which is set at “−0.50.” Negative settings, from −2 to 0, do not
soften or reduce the sharpening of the image: they are simply a lower level of correction (the corrected image will always
be at least as sharp as the original image). The 0 level provides some degree of sharpening compared to the original photo.
To reduce overall sharpness correction (for a portrait, for example), move the Global slider to the left; to increase it, move the
slider to the right.
DxO Lens Softness is a “smart” correction, which limits its effects in noisy areas of the image, or when the ISO setting is high.
NOTE
It is important not to increase the sharpness of a shot that has already been sharpened by the camera, as is the case for
JPEG images. So if you intend to post-process your images, you should shoot without any in-camera sharpening.
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The Details slider
The Details slider is set at 50 by default. It is used to enhance the micro-contrast of fine details in the image. This subtle
correction can be very worthwhile for use in landscapes, but should be reduced to a minimum for portraits, where a certain
degree of softness is needed to hide, for example, skin blemishes.
NOTE
Unlike the Unsharp Mask tool, enhancing details with the DxO Lens Softness tool does not create white edges around
the sharpened areas.
The Bokeh slider
The Bokeh slider reduces artifacts in the bokeh (the out-of-focus area in your photos, mostly in the background) that can
appear when using the sharpening tools. However, reducing those artifacts will slightly reduce the sharpness of the in-focus
areas of your image.
DxO Lens Softness and Unsharp Mask
We recommend that you perform as much of your sharpening as possible using the DxO Lens Softness correction before
using the Unsharp Mask (USM). Of course, for images for which the appropriate DxO Optics Module is not installed, you will
have to use the USM for all sharpening.
Optical corrections – Secondary tools
Focal length and focusing distance
The lens focal length and focusing distance of a photo are recorded in the EXIF data of your images. However, this information
is not always accurate. For example, different but close positions of the focal length ring (say, 17 and 18 mm) could result in
the same value (say 18 mm) being recorded in the EXIF data. In this case, the distortion correction may be less than optimal.
In the same manner, the focusing distance might be recorded in the EXIF data with insufficient precision, and similarly lead
to an imprecise correction.
In both cases, to improve the effectiveness of the optical corrections, you can provide more accurate values in one (or both) of
the rollups that appear in the Geometry palette:
• Focal length: Use the slider to specify the lens focal length.
• Focusing distance: Select a range for the focusing distance in the drop-down menu, then fine-tune with the slider.
NOTE
To display the Focal distance and Focusing distance sub-palettes, click on the small arrow on the right side of the title
bar of the Optical corrections palette, then select the sub-palettes in the context menu.
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3.5.7. DxO
FilmPack
About the DxO FilmPack palette
This palette appears if the DxO FilmPack plugin has been activated. It integrates the film emulations and editing tools provided
by DxO FilmPack with your usual workflow in DxO Optics Pro. Five sub-palettes are at your disposal:
• Color rendering duplicates the Color rendering sub-palette in the Light and Color – Advanced palette. It allows you to
emulate either a camera body, an ICC profile, or a very large variety of films —positive and negative, color, and black & white.
• Style – Toning duplicates the Style – Toning sub-palette in the Light and Color palette. It allows you to apply various
styles of monochrome (toned or black & white) emulations, and various colored filters to an image. It also contains
specific color profiles (landscape, etc.) and allows you to set contrast as well as saturation.
• DxO FilmPack grain allows you to apply a specific grain from more than sixty films, color as well as B&W, and to set its size.
• Channel mixer (available only in the Expert edition of DxO FilmPack) allows you to manually adjust the balance between
the six main color channels. to obtain a superior black-and-white version from a color file.
• Creative vignetting (available only in the Expert edition of DxO FilmPack) increases or decrease the amount of light
shown on the periphery of the image. In particular, it allows you to frame and enhance the image center.
Color rendering (with DxO FilmPack activated)
By default, DxO Optics Pro offers in the Light and Color – Advanced palette > Color rendering sub-palette one single choice
of films to emulate: Color positive films, a selection of generic positive films. However, if DxO FilmPack is installed and
NOTE
If DxO FilmPack is activated, the Color rendering sub-palette will be found in both the Light and Color – Advanced and
the DxO FilmPack palettes.
activated, the list expands and offers a larger selection of famous color negative, black & white, and cross-processed films
(see the Appendix for a complete list and description).
Style – Toning (with DxO FilmPack activated)
The DxO FilmPack plug-in, if activated, gives access to a larger choice of toning options in the Style – Toning sub-palette, both
in the DxO FilmPack and in the Light and Color – Advanced palettes.
Toning options
About toning
In a conventional photographic print, the image is formed by silver crystals: the more numerous or large the crystals, the
darker the image. Toning is a very old process that substitutes dyes or various metallic salts for these pure silver crystals. Its
purpose is both aesthetic (more subtle midtones, darker shadows) and practical (in some cases, toning ensures better image
preservation).
Choosing your toning
The drop-down menu lists the following options, which you can blend with the original image by using the Intensity slider:
• Black and white: The standard B&W version of your image, resulting from DxO FilmPack’s default mixing of colored
channels. You can adjust this default mixing by using the Channel mixer. • Ferric sulfate produces a grey-green appearance.
• Gold: This toning used gold chloride, which strongly enhanced the permanence of prints, and gave them flattering
metallic blue-blacks. • Selenium is a classic toning used mainly for the purpose of print permanence. Provides a light color change, mostly in
the range of purples. • Sepia: Albumen images in the 19th century had a natural sepia tint. When albumen fell out of use in the 1880s, many
photographers toned the new gelatin silver prints in sepia, both to protect them better and to make them look like the
older prints. Today, sepia in general has become a synonym for “antique photo.”
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• Sepia terra is lighter than classic sepia. • Sepia gold is a light sepia with some colder or blue notes. Filter
About filters
Front-of-lens photographic filters fall into three categories:
• Correction filters, used only with color films, change the color temperature of the light to suit the film, e.g., allowing
daylight shooting with a film intended for incandescent lighting (filter 85B) or the reverse (filter 80A or B). • Effects filters are used only with B&W films to achieve specific effects. For example, the ultra-classic yellow-tinted
Wratten 8 filter absorbs blue, thereby revealing detail in skies and raising the general contrast of the image. More generally, such filters absorb the complementary color of their own color: the former is reduced, the latter enhanced. • Polarizing filters block certain incoming rays according to their plane of vibration. These filters cannot be emulated
digitally.
Choosing a filter in the drop-down menu
• Cool tone is used to moderately reduce the proportion of “warm” incoming light (in the red- yellow range), thus increasing the proportion of “cool” tones. • Mauve (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Purple (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Purplish Blue (DxO FilmPack Expert version only).
• Blue gives a foggy and unreal atmosphere to landscapes. • Cyan (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Bright Cyan (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Green lightens foliage (trees can appear excessively dark on many photos).
• Yellow is a classic filter that slightly increases the density and quality of skies, and brings out clouds. • Light orange (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Orange: All orange filters strongly darken skies and increase differentiation between many objects of similar intensity
but of different colors — for example, flowers and foliage. The stronger the orange, the more pronounced the effect. • Bright orange (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Dark orange. • Magenta (DxO FilmPack Expert version only).
• Pink (DxO FilmPack Expert version only). • Red is a very powerful filter that provides strikingly dramatic effects for very dark skies and overall extreme contrast.
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DxO FilmPack grain
About film grain
The grain within a photographic emulsion is made of silver crystals or dyes grouped into clusters of various sizes and shapes.
A low-sensitivity film is characterized by finer grain, and a more sensitive film (a film with high ISO) always shows coarser
grain.
NOTE
You can read more about films and grain in the DxO FilmPack manual.
Applying a film grain
After applying a film grain, you can fine-tune (increase or decrease) the effect using the Intensity slider (100 is the default, and
0 will cancel the effect). Applying film grain will give far better results if you have previously removed noise from the image
via the Detail palette.
NOTE
Remember that the grain is applied separately from the tonality: if you have chosen to emulate the tonality of an Agfapan
APX 25 in the Color rendering sub-palette, for example, and then selected Kodak T-MAX 3200 in the film grain sub-palette,
your image will emulate APX 25 tonality with T-MAX 3200 grain.
Setting the grain size
To satisfactorily emulate film grain, you need to take into account the degree of enlargement of the negative film when printed
in a traditional processing chain. If the same size grain is applied to two negatives of different size (for example, 24×36 mm
and 4x5’’), and each negative is enlarged to a 15×12’’ print, the magnification is 3:1 for the sheet film, and more than 10:1 for
the 135 film. Obviously the smaller format will appear much grainier.
To take this variable into account, the DxO FilmPack grain palette has a Negative size drop-down menu in the Size section
that offers a selection of sizes – 24x36 mm, medium format and large format – plus a manual mode. For each format, the
Intensity slider is set to a default value that you can fine-tune or modify at any time, in which case the drop-down menu will
automatically switch to manual mode.
NOTE
If you have cropped an image, and wish to set the enlargement rate according to the actual image size after cropping,
check the Adjust size to current crop box at the bottom of the sub-palette.
Channel mixer
Before using the Channel mixer, you need to convert your color photos to black and white in the Light and Color – Advanced
palette, and then in the Style – Toning sub-palette (more details here).
NOTE
The Channel mixer is available only in the Expert edition of DxO FilmPack.
The Channel mixer lets you fine-tune the black and white conversion to your taste, by adjusting any of the additive colors
(RGB: red, green, blue), and any of the subtractive colors (CMY: cyan, magenta, yellow). Basically, the Channel mixer acts as
a set of customizable colored filters. While the filters in the Filter sub-palette are a limited set of colors and intensities, the
Channel mixer allows more flexibility to enhance or reduce any combination of colors at any intensity.
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If you think that the contribution of any of the color channels is too high (or too low), adjust the corresponding slider. For
example, if the picture contains yellow objects, moving the relevant slider to the left will darken the yellows, and moving it to
the right will lighten them.
NOTE
Because one channel can influence other colors, you need to proceed in small steps and frequently check the image in
the Viewer to control the effect.
Creative vignetting
Vignetting is an optical defect that results in the peripheral zones of an image being darker or lighter than the center of an
image. But this defect can also be used in a creative way to focus attention on the subject at the center of the image.
The following sliders in the Creative vignetting sub-palette help you to create vignetting effects:
• Intensity: A negative value makes peripheral zones darker (–100 is solid black), while a positive value will lighten them
(100 is solid white).
• Midpoint: A low value produces a narrow vignetting effect close to the image edges only, while a higher value broadens
the vignetting effect and brings it closer to the image center.
• Roundness: Positive values produce round shapes (the higher the value, the more rounded the shape), while negative
values produce rectangular shapes.
• Transition: Determines the sharpness of the transition between the vignetted and the non-vignetted zones. High values
produce a clear-cut transition, while low values produce a more gradual transition.
NOTE
Since creative vignetting is always added “post-crop,” we recommend that you always enable the optical vignetting
correction to ensure lighting uniformity.
NOTE
The Creative vignetting sub-palette is available only in the Expert edition.
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3.6. Using
presets
3.6.1. About
presets
A preset is a set of corrections that you can apply all at once to any images in DxO Optics Pro. Presets help you record and keep
track of your favorite corrections, as well as ease and accelerate your workflow within the program.
Two kinds of presets exist in DxO Optics Pro:
• Full presets take into account all the existing corrections available in the Customize tab, meaning that each correction
has a status of either “enabled” or “disabled.” If enabled, a correction is assigned a parameter value.
• Partial presets take into account only a limited number of all existing corrections, meaning that some corrections are
neither enabled nor disabled, but left undecided.
An important feature of DxO Optics Pro is that when you browse your images, the Default preset (either the DxO default
preset or one that you have chosen via Preferences) is automatically applied to each image.
3.6.2. Ready-to-use
presets
Access
More than 30 presets are supplied with DxO Optics Pro. They are grouped in different categories and can be accessed from:
• The Presets drop-down menu in the Organize or Customize tab command bar.
• By right-clicking on a thumbnail in the Image Browser pane and selecting Apply Preset in the contex menu.
NOTE
You can import your old presets from DxO Optics Pro 6 or 7, including the default presets.
DxO default preset
The DxO default preset is applied by default to all images when you browse their respective directories in the Source pane
(Organize tab). It includes the following corrections:
• Auto exposure.
• DxO Smart Lighting set to Light auto.
• Color rendering unchanged for processing JPEG images, and default camera color rendering as set by the manufacturer
for processing RAW images.
• Protect saturated colors set to Auto.
• Noise set to Auto.
• Distortion set to Auto.
• Vignetting set to Auto.
• Chromatic Aberration set to Auto (with lateral chromatic aberration activated).
• Lens softness activated and Global slider set to − 0.50 (i.e., average correction), or Unsharp mask with default settings
if no DxO Optics Module is available.
NOTE
You can choose a different default preset via Preferences. Changing the default setting will not affect photos that have
already been processed.
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DxO default – Neutral color (RAW only) preset
The DxO default – Neutral color preset is identical to DxO default except for the color rendering, which has lower saturation
and contrast in order to achieve very faithful reproduction. This preset is a full preset (i.e., affects all the settings).
NOTE
Because of its faithful rendering, the DxO default – Neutral color preset is recommended for professional photographers.
Color and light adjustment presets
The Color and light adjustment folder includes 14 different presets:
• General – Black and white is automatically tailored to the content of the image.
• General – Negative colors gives the appearance of a negative film.
• General – Old postcard: As suggested, gives the appearance of an older postcard.
• General – Vivid colors: A creative preset, well-suited for landscapes, architecture, still life compositions and nature
photos, if you like strong contrast and saturated colors.
• Highlight recovery – Medium, Slight, or Strong (RAW only): For high-dynamic-range scenes with highlights that are
clipped, but still contain useful details (e.g., cloudy sky, snow fields, wedding dress, candles, open fire, etc.).
• Landscape – High key strongly reduces the density while preserving detail and highlights. Useful for misty landscapes,
photos of the sea in the morning, romantic portraits, etc.
• Landscape – Low key reduces the overall level of exposure while increasing contrast. Very effective for urban landscapes, industrial buildings or “distorted” nature photos.
• Landscape – Postcard boosts color saturation and contrast.
• Natural colors (RAW only) produces natural colors as faithfully as possible. Suitable for most RAW photos if you prefer
a fairly natural color rendering.
• Realistic color variation 1, 2, and 3 (RAW only): These three presets offer three other color-rendering variations for
reproducing colors to your taste.
Detail adjustment presets
The Detail adjustment folder includes the following 4 presets:
• High ISO – noise reduction: Provides the best compromise between noise reduction and detail preservation (including
dark shadows) at very high ISO settings. For all photos shot in low light or at high speed (or a combination of the two), as
well as for night and indoor action photos shot without flash.
• Keep fine-grain noise (RAW only): Preserves a very fine grain for all photos shot in low light, or at high ISOs, or a combination of both.
• Remove color moiré (RAW only): Eliminates areas of colored moiré. Very appropriate for photos of clothing with regular
patterns or any other objects with a fine regular structure. Also ideal for photos of hair, fur, or feathers.
• Sharpen fine details: Raises the sharpness of all details in the image.
Geometry adjustment presets
The Geometry adjustment folder includes the following presets:
• Group portrait (option: Restore body proportions): Restores the natural proportions of bodies that look distorted and
stretched out at the edges of the image. For group photos shot using a wide-angle lens.
• Group portrait (option: Restore face proportions): Restores the natural proportions of faces toward the edges of images.
For group photos shot using a wide-angle lens.
• Maximize field of view: For images with strong levels of distortion, especially along the edges. Recovers the maximum
amount of information.
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HDR (single-shot) presets
The HDR (single-shot) folder has 3 presets:
• HDR – Artistic (RAW only) applies a very strong HDR effect to RAW images without the need for multi-exposure shooting. Recovers the highlights, strongly opens the shadows, and modifies the tone curve and the vibrancy.
• HDR – Realistic (RAW only) applies a strong HDR effect to RAW images (but not as strong as the HDR – Artistic), without
the need for multi-exposure shooting. Recovers the highlights, opens the shadows, and modifies the vibrancy.
• HDR – Slight can be applied to both RAW and JPEG images. It applies a slight HDR effect to them, without the need for
a multi-exposure shooting. Uses DxO Smart Lighting settings only.
No correction preset
The No correction preset disables all DxO Optics Pro corrections. When applied to a RAW image, however, DxO Optics Pro still
takes care of RAW conversion (with the most basic settings appropriate for your camera).
3.6.3. Applying
presets
Applying a preset is required as part of the process of opening an image in the application’s Image Browser (bottom pane).
Therefore, the first way to apply a preset is passive: the simple fact of browsing images applies the default preset (DxO default
or other default set in Preferences) to them. There are other, more active ways of applying a preset to an image:
• By right-clicking on a thumbnail in the Image Browser pane at any time.
• From the Presets drop-down menu on the command bar in the Customize or Organize tab.
• From the Preset editor palette (see below).
NOTE
If you use a partial instead of a full preset as your default, all corrections without an assigned value in your preset will be
set to No correction to satisfy the requirement that the default preset must supply a value for all corrections.
How presets combine with each other
What happens when you have applied the DxO Default preset (or any other full preset) to a photo, and you want to apply
another preset on top of it? Which preset’s values take precedence?
The rule is simple: The values of the last applied preset will prevail, for example:
• If the first-applied preset gives a value of Disabled for a correction, and the second preset gives the value of Enabled to
the same correction, the correction will be Enabled (that is, active).
• If both corrections are are set to Enabled, with the first preset supplying a value of, say, “−2,” and the second preset
supplying a value of “+1,” then the correction value will be “+1.”
This rule in particular makes it possible to create partial presets that are based on a limited range of corrections to be applied
on top of “global” (or full) presets. When a correction is assigned a value by the partial preset, it will be governed by it. When
there is no value assigned to a correction by the partial preset, the correction will be governed by the underlying full preset.
NOTE
Since some settings (e.g. highlight recovery) are only available for RAW images, presets that govern these specific settings
alone are flagged as “RAW only” in the drop-down lists, and will have no effect on JPEG files.
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3.6.4. Creating
presets
Create a preset based on current settings
1. Apply the desired corrections to your image.
2. Right-click on the image in the Viewer, or on the relevant thumbnail in the Image Browser (bottom pane), and select
Create preset from current settings in the context menus (you can also find the same command in the Presets dropdown menu in the command bar).
3. In the floating window, enter the name of the preset and click on Save.
4. The new preset will show up in the context menus and in the Presets drop-down list.
NOTE
The preset you have created in this manner will affect all setting values: it is a Full preset.
3.6.5. Preset
editor palette
The Preset editor palette lets you create a preset from scratch by choosing each one of its settings.
The Preset editor is one of the palettes available under the Customize tab. To display this palette, either choose the Advanced
user workspace, or check Preset editor in the Palettes drop-down menu. The Preset editor palette will appear on the left
side of your screen; click on palette itself to display its contents.
Preset editor command bar
The Preset editor header includes the following commands (from left to right):
• The New folder icon creates a folder in which you can group similar presets: by type of camera used, speed rating,
landscape rendering, portrait, etc. (Presets can be moved from one folder to another using drag-and-drop.)
• The New preset icon creates a blank preset, without any settings selected. (If you have selected a a folder before you
create your preset, the preset will be created in that folder.)
• The Copy icon makes it easier to create a preset by using an existing preset (you will need to use this method if you want
to create variants of a locked DxO preset).
• The Delete icon deletes the selected preset or folder.
• The Import icon lets you import presets that you created previously in other versions of the program, or that are available on another computer. In the import dialog box, you can select and import several presets simultaneously.
• The Export icon makes it easy to export a preset to a folder that will be copied onto another computer or sent via email.
• The Create new preset from image icon uses of all the settings of the current image to create a new preset.
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Creating a preset using the Preset editor
To create a new preset using the Preset editor:
1. Click on the New preset icon.
2. A “New preset” file appears in the current preset directory.
3. Rename it by clicking on the default name and entering the name you want.
NOTE
A locked preset is a preset provided by DxO Optics Pro, so you cannot modify or delete it.
4. Click on the Edit button (or chose Edit in the context menu when you right-click on the new preset’s icon).
5. The palettes on the right in the Customize tab will be in edit mode for selecting corrections and will display a two-toned
grey zebra stripe on their left side (and the Edit button is a darker blue).
6. Perform a first correction on the image and check the box of the relevant sub-palette: the zebra stripe for that subpalette will turn a solid pale blue.
7. Perform other corrections as desired and check all the relevant sub-palettes.
8. Back in the Preset editor, click the Save button.
9. Click again on the Edit button to quit the edit mode.
Editor settings. A blue bar at the left of each setting indicates when Preset editor palette is in Edit mode.
During the preset editing, the blue check box (for the palette) and the grey check box (for the sub-palettes) behave in different
ways:
• Blue box unchecked + grey box unchecked: the corrections of the palette and its sub-palettes are not active.
• Blue box unchecked + grey box checked: the corrections of the palette and its sub-palettes are not active.
• Blue box checked + grey box unchecked: the corrections of the unchecked sub-palette are not active, but if another
sub-palette has been checked (and is therefore active), the palette is marked as active.
• Blue box checked + grey box checked: the corrections of the palette and its checked sub-palette(s) are active.
You can create as many presets as you want, save them to folders, and then export them to other versions of DxO Optics Pro
and to share with other DxO Optics Pro users.
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Applying a preset with the Preset editor
The Preset editor adds a third way to apply a preset, but its most interesting feature is that it allows you to preview the preset
to be applied:
1. Choose a preset in the Preset editor.
2. Click the Edit button to preview the preset effects on your image.
3. If you want to preview another preset, follow the two first steps again.
4. Once you’ve made your choice, click on Apply.
NOTE
You can verify and re-edit your presets simply by selecting a preset in the editor and clicking on the Edit button. Again,
the relevant sub-palettes will be highlighted.
Preset folders
You can open folders in the preset folder list by either double-clicking on them, or by a single click on the triangle on the top
left. Clicking on the name of a folder lets you rename it, just like you rename a file. Preset folders are ordered alphanumerically.
We recommend that you give your folders meaningful names, so that you can easily group and find your presets.
3.6.6. Virtual
copies
About virtual copies
Testing different corrections, or different levels of a single correction, used to be a complicated task. It was common in
traditional photo darkrooms to sacrifice some sheets of sensitive paper, and print copies of the same negative with different
settings in exposure time, contrast, dodging, etc., to experiment with and see the effects. By contrast, DxO Optics Pro offers
an easy way to experiment by using Virtual copies.
A Virtual copy is a duplicate of a Source image. You can create and experiment with as many virtual copies as you wish to apply
many different correction settings and compare them.
Creating virtual copies
The easiest way to create a virtual copy:
1. Choose the image to duplicate in the Image Browser.
2. Right-click on the thumbnail and select Create Virtual Copy in the context menu (alternatively, click on the Create
Virtual Copy button in the Image Browser command bar, or select the same command in the Image menu).
3. A new thumbnail will appear next to the original thumbnail in the Image Browser. The original will show the sequence
number 1 in the lower left-hand corner; each virtual copy will display a sequence number (2, 3, 4, etc.).
To remove a virtual copy:
1. Right-click on it in the Image Browser.
2. Select Remove in the context menu or press the Delete key.
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Using a virtual copy as the reference image
The previous steps explained how to create (unlimited) virtual copies which you can compare, one at a time, to the source or
original image. But you might want to go a step further and compare virtual copies among themselves without having to use
the source image. To do so, follow these steps:
1. In the Process tab, process the image that you want to use as the reference image.
2. In the upper command bar, click the arrow next to the side-by-side display icon, to show the Reference image dropdown menu.
3. A list of all virtual copies of the source image will appear, some greyed out and marked as Needs to be processed
(because they have not been processed yet), and some active.
4. Choose one image from the active set. This image is now the reference image, and will appear on the left side of the
comparison display.
NOTE
Virtual copies will behave exactly like any other original image: you can organize them in projects (along with original
files), apply any correction or preset, process and print them.
NOTE
You cannot delete a virtual copy while you are working in the Project to which it belongs. You can remove it from the
Project, but it will still be visible when you open the folder containing the original image in DxO Optics Pro.
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The Process Tab
4.1. About
the Process tab
*
The Process tab processes some or all of the images from the Image Browser (which appears by default along the bottom
of the application window); each image will be corrected in as many formats as required by the Output settings panel on the left.
The Process tab controls the final step in the DxO Optics Pro workflow. This is the place where you apply all the corrections to
exported files prior to publishing your images or delivering them to your clients, family, or friends.
The processing procedure in itself is simple: when you press the Start Processing button, only the selected images in the Image
Browser pane will be processed, i.e., corrected in accordance with the settings associated with each image. The corrected
output image (always distinct from the source image) is renamed and stored in the desired format and in the designated
folder. The Process tab is very powerful, as it offers you many output options while maintaining fully-automatic processing.
DxO Optics Pro’s default mode provides a basic output: all corrected photos are produced in JPEG format and stored in the
source image folder, with a “_DxO” suffix added to their name to distinguish them from their source images.
But more sophisticated modes are at your disposal which allow you to simultaneously generate a series of output images
for each source image, in a variety of formats, in a variety of folders. Each image can thus be corrected simultaneously
as a TIFF (for high-quality enlargements), as a small JPEG (for a blog), as an Adobe DNG-format image (for subsequent
processing), etc.
To explain these choices, we will first focus on the Output settings panel, then review the three possible output formats (TIFF,
JPEG, and DNG) and their settings; and finally, we will describe how to launch the processing.
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4.2. Output
settings panel
The Output settings panel sets file type, destination folder, suffix to be added, image size, and ICC profile for several output formats.
4.2.1. About
the Output settings panel
The Output settings panel is displayed by default on the left-hand side of the Process tab. This panel can be hidden (or
displayed) by clicking on the vertical line separating the Output settings pane and the Process pane.
The Output settings panel controls the settings that allow the program to generate output files and formats automatically.
While there is no limit to the number of output formats, the name for each one must be different. So you will have to name
them, for example, “JPEG HQ,” “Poster print,” “JPEG Medium,” “TIFF archiving,” etc.
4.2.2. File
formats and their constraints
Some image formats lose part of the file information to achieve a more compact size; these are referred to as “lossy.” Formats
that keep all available information even while achieving a certain degree of compression are referred to as “lossless.”
JPEG is a lossy format, while TIFF and most RAW formats are lossless. DNG (Digital NeGative, © Adobe) is a very specific
format designed by the Adobe software company to be a de facto standard for RAW files, which it has become to some extent.
The following table shows the possible relationships between input and output formats:
Input file formats
Output file formats
JPEG
JPEG, TIFF (8-bit)
TIFF
TIFF (8 or 16-bit, depending on input)
RAW
JPEG, TIFF (8 or 16-bit), DNG
4.2.3. Creating
and activating an output setting
To create a new output setting, click on the Create a new output setting icon above the Output settings panel. Choose the
settings for the type of existing output you need. Some settings are specific to a file format, which are described below.
Other settings are common to all file formats, such as the choice of the output folder, a suffix for the filename, and resizing
parameters.
Once you have made changes to an output setting, they are automatically saved. To activate an output setting, you need to
check the box next to the name of the relevant output setting.
NOTE
To delete an output setting, click on the trash can icon to the right of the setting name.
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Output folder
By default, the output folder is the folder where the original image – or source image – is stored. This choice is shown in the
Destination drop-down menu.
If you select Custom folder in the Destination drop-down menu, a floating window will appear in which you can navigate to your
computer directories and select the place where your folder will be stored. You can also create a new folder directly in this window.
Note that the file path can be absolute (e.g., “C:\Photos\Output DxO Optics Pro”) or relative (“Output DxO Optics Pro”). In the
case of an absolute path, all the corrected images will be saved in a single folder even if the source images are split among
distinct folders. In the case of a relative path, the corrected images will be found in a sub-folder of the input folder, which helps
keep the corrected images “close” to the source images; as many sub-folders will be created as there are source folders.
Filename suffix
By default, DxO Optics Pro appends “_DxO” to any file name. You can replace this with any sequence of characters.
Changing size or resolution
Changing the size of an image involves the process known as “resampling,” which requires recalculating the number of pixels
that make up the image. In all cases, resampling must be performed at the latest possible stage, since it destroys a certain
amount of information in your image. Therefore, if you will need to do subsequent post-processing, we advise you to keep the
initial image size.
If you check the option to change size or resolution, you will have to choose:
• The largest dimension of the output image (whether height or width) in pixels, centimeters, or inches. One single dimension is enough for the program to maintain the aspect ratio (the proportions) of the image.
• The mathematical method to be used for interpolation. Several options are available for interpolating and calculating
mean values for missing pixels: Auto is a good choice, but many photographers are loyal supporters of bicubic interpolation for optimum precision (DxO Optics Pro 8 introduces a new option: bicubic interpolation sharper).
ICC profile
The ICC profile (not available for DNG outputs) can be the original profile, a choice between sRGB, AdobeRGB, or a custom
profile. In practice, the sRGB profile is well suited for web publishing and for printing on photographic or ink-jet printers. The
AdobeRGB profile is generally better for images that need retouching (e.g. for publication), but in this case, TIFF output is
preferable to JPEG. A custom profile is a good choice for a printer for which you have an ICC profile stored.
Output file settings
The next step is to select the proper settings for the various output file formats (JPEG, 8- and 16-bit TIFF, and DNG).
JPEG files
The JPEG format is for files that are going to be printed in photo labs, displayed online, or sent by email. DxO Optics Pro
requires you to set the quality level when processing JPEG files. A slider lets you to set the degree of compression, and thus
quality loss, from 0 to 100. Of course, the higher the quality, the larger the output file. Since JPEG is a lossy format, we advise
choosing a higher quality setting (e.g. 90) and compensating if necessary by using a smaller image size.
TIFF files
The TIFF format is a lossless format designed for high-quality files that you intend to archive or which you will post-process
further (all image editing applications can import TIFF images). When you choose TIFF format for an output image, you must
also choose two specific settings:
• The compressed / uncompressed option: We advise sticking with the uncompressed option, which results in a larger
file, but is more widely accepted by post-processing programs than compressed TIFFs.
• 8- or 16-bit encoding: 8-bit encoding provides only 255 possible levels per color channel, while 16-bit encoding provides
65,536 shades of color. This choice is only available if the source image itself was originally coded in a 12- or 14- bit format
(i.e., shot in RAW or 16-bit TIFF format). We advise choosing the 16-bit format whenever possible, since it greatly improves
color rendition. Furthermore, this format represents an excellent choice for preserving and archiving your images.
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DNG files
The DNG format is designed for files that you intend to archive or that are going to undergo further post-processing with DNGcompatible software such as Adobe Camera Raw/Photoshop/Lightroom. The DNG generated by DxO Optics Pro is a 16-bit
linear DNG format, which is only available for original images shot in RAW.
With linear DNG, the three color channels have been individually calculated, which means that the file is three times larger
than the original RAW file. This format offers the same level of color and exposure control as a camera-generated RAW file.
For the other options, you can treat DNG files in the same way as TIFF files — except for image size, as files intended for
archiving and/or further post-processing should not be resized (so as to maintain maximum potential).
Deleting EXIF data
If you select this option, all the EXIF metadata will be deleted from the processed file, which will reduce its size on the one
hand, and suppress the technical information about your images. This option is available only for JPEG and TIFF files.
TIP
You can use output settings to automatically create backups of each image on several hard disks or servers. Simply define
several output formats that are identical except for the folders in which the processed images will be saved.
4.3. Processing
the images
Before you launch the processing, you must check the box or boxes to enable the desired output setting(s). (Even if you have
just created or modified it, an output setting will remain inactive unless you check its box.) You must check at least one output
setting, and you can check as many as you want. This is a powerful feature of DxO Optics Pro, since it allows several output
images to be processed from one source image all at the same time.
To start processing, you have two possibilities:
• Select one or more pictures in the Image Browser and click the Start Processing button in the upper command bar.
• Select one or more images in the Image Browser, and then drag and drop them in the Processing pane.
If an image to be processed has the same name as an image in the destination folder, the program will ask you if you want to
overwrite the previous version. If you answer no, the image will not be processed.
While processing is in progress, a gear wheel is displayed in the top right corner of the thumbnail of each image being
processed.
NOTE
Processing can take quite some time if there are many photos, or if the files are large.
When the processing is completed:
• An End of processing window will pop up.
• The blue star icon on each thumbnail becomes a green checkmark, indicating that processing has been successful for
that image.
• If an error has occurred, an exclamation mark (!) will be displayed.
If you feel that DxO Optics Pro is not using all your system resources fully and is too slow, you can change the number of
images that the program processes simultaneously in Edit > Preferences > Process. Two images is the default number. If your
computer is up to the task, of course, you can increase the number of images that can be simultaneously processed.
NOTE
DxO Optics Pro is multi-thread and will use all your core processors to work on one (or more) images. But if you increase
the number of photos to process, make sure you have enough RAM, otherwise the gain due to multi-threading will be
offset by the memory swapping between RAM and disk.
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Print and Share
5.1. Printing
images
5.1.1. About
the print module
The print module lets you print any of the file types supported by DxO Optics Pro, including RAW files and virtual copies, before
or after processing. The print module can be called from any tab: Organize, Customize, or Process.
The print module automatically lists every printer installed and connected to your computer. If Adobe Acrobat is installed, you
can also use the module for PDF outputs.
Print color management is performed either by the printer driver or by DxO Optics Pro. The latter option allows you to choose
an ICC profile and to adjust the rendering and sharpness.
5.1.2. Print
module tools and settings
Interface
The print module can be called from the following places:
• The print icon in the Image Browser command bar.
• The File > Print selected images m enu.
When you call the print module, a large floating window appears on the DxO Optics Pro main viewing window. It is divided in
two sections:
• A print preview area on the left that displays the images and pages to be printed (use the arrows to navigate through
the different items).
• A settings column on the right side that contains all the print controls and adjustments.
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In the bottom corner of the Print module window, you will find the Print button (which opens a floating print progress bar)
and the Cancel button.
Settings
Printer settings
The first palette is dedicated to the printer parameters, as follows:
• Name: The drop-down list shows all the printers installed and connected to your computer. Select the printer you want
to use (if you do not want to use the preselected default printer).
• Paper size: Shows the paper size per the printer driver.
• Orientation: Shows the portrait or landscape orientation per the printer driver.
• Resolution: Shows the default resolution (300 dpi) per the printer driver.
NOTE
The maximum print resolution is 1200 dpi.
Color and sharpness
The Color and sharpness palette contains the Color profile drop-down menu, which lets you choose to manage color printing
either by using the printer driver or by manually selecting an ICC profile and rendering mode. You can also use a slider to
adjust the printing sharpness.
NOTE
The choice of rendering modes will appear after you choose an ICC profile (in color management by DxO Optics Pro mode).
Color management by printer
After you have set up the printer properties (see the paragraph “Printer properties”), no further user intervention is necessary:
the printer driver will manage the color printing.
Color management by DxO Optics Pro
When you select this mode, the following menus appear:
• Import ICC profiles: A dialog box lets you choose from the ICC profiles installed on your computer.
• Rendering mode: This menu lets you choose among four color rendering modes:
- Perceptual: This mode compresses the gamut and modifies all the colors so that they remain printable. This is the
rendering that best suits photo reproduction.
- Saturation: This mode ensures color matching between the source space and the target space. It is more suitable
for when you want to accentuate color brightness.
- Relative colorimetric: This mode preserves colors as faithfully as possible (i.e., accurate reproduction of the colors
of a logo or brand, etc.), but unlike the absolute colorimetric mode below, the source of the white space is converted
into the white of the target space.
- Absolute colorimetric: This mode also preserves color fidelity, but unlike the relative colorimetric mode, the source
of the white space remains unchanged.
NOTE
When DxO Optics Pro performs the color management, you must ensure that the corresponding options in the printer
driver have been deactivated (a warning message will be displayed in the palette).
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The Sharpness slider
The Sharpness slider lets you enhance sharpness when printing your photos. It is set at 50 by default on a scale of 0 to 100.
NOTE
Sharpening adapts automatically to the size of the print, but you can use the sharpness slider to adjust the sharpness to
suit your taste and the size of the prints.
It is not possible to have a screen preview of enhanced sharpness. We recommend that you experiment with paper prints to
determine the best settings according to your image content and personal tastes.
Layout
The layout palette lets you create contact sheets by using sliders or by entering values to adjust the number of rows and
columns. There are two optional checkboxes:
• Crop to fill: When checked, the image will fill the page (and may end up being cropped).
• Rotate to fit: When checked, the print module will rotate the image in order to fill the page.
Margins
The margin sliders let you adjust the margin sizes on the page perimeter. You can select the measurement units (cm, inches,
etc.) in the drop-down menu.
Cell size
The cell size sliders let you make adjustments as follows:
• Single image: One lone image on the page is a cell by itself; use the height and width slider to move the image horizontally
and/or vertically.
• Many images (i.e., contact sheets): Use the sliders to modify the size of the image cells as well as the spacing between
the cells, both horizontally and vertically.
Image caption
You can add captions to and position them on your images, and then choose the font type, size, etc.
The Caption drop-down menu has four options:
• None.
• Image name (basically, the file name).
• Image name and date.
• Image name and metadata (which includes the shutter speed, aperture value, and focal length and ISO value).
The Position drop-down menu lets you position the caption below, above, or on the left or right side of the image. The Font
settings let you choose any font type, size, style, effect, and color available on your computer (a system window will open for
that purpose).
TIP
Your settings are saved when you quit the print module. If you wish to use another layout or different settings, you will
need to reinitialize the sliders one by one (by double-clicking on the slider).
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5.2. Uploading
to Flickr
DxO Optics Pro lets you export photos directly to your Flickr web gallery. (You will need an internet connection as well as a
Flickr account.) Click on the Flickr icon in the Image Browser command bar. The first time you use this feature, a floating
window will prompt you to authorize Flickr exports from your computer.
1. Click on Authorize.
2. Your default web navigator opens.
3. On the Flickr welcome page, enter your ID and password.
4. The next pages will ask if you want to allow DxO Optics Pro to access your account; click Yes.
5. Back in DxO Optics Pro, click on Continue in the Export floating window.
6. The floating window will confirm that the authorization process was successful.
To upload pictures to Flickr:
1. Process the images you want to export. Select the original files.
2. Click on the Flickr icon in the Image Browser command bar.
3. In the floating window, select the Export format (JPEG).
4. Choose whether you want to upload to a particular Flickr set or not (sets are albums; you must create them directly in
your Flickr page).
5. Click on Next. The floating window will display a preview of the image(s).
6. Click on Next again to confirm.
7. Click on Finish. DxO Optics Pro starts to convert and export your images (the floating window displays one or more
progress bars).
8. When done, check your Flickr page.
5.3. Exporting
to Lightroom
You can export images to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to add and manage your work in the catalog, or for further editing:
1. Process the images you want to export.
2. Select the original files.
3. Click on the Lightroom icon in the Image Browser command bar.
4. If this is the first export, you need to locate Lightroom: In the floating window, click on the button with three dots. A
system window will appear.
5. Navigate in the system window to the location of the application (generally on the C: drive, Program directory).
6. Open the Lightroom application. The system window closes and the path to Lightroom is displayed in the export window.
Click on Next.
7. Click on Finish.
8. DxO Optics Pro converts the file and starts the export (a progress bar will appear).
9. When done, the export window vanishes, and Lightroom starts, automatically displaying the Import menu.
10. Proceed with the import as you normally do when using Lightroom.
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Menus and Preferences
6.1. Menus
File menu
In addition to the standard menu choices New project, Open project, Recent locations, Print selected images, and Exit, the
File menu includes the following DxO Optics Pro-specific options:
• DxO Optics Pro database allows you to create a backup of the database or to restore a backup from the database.
• Export image for ICC profile saves images that can be used by professional calibration programs to create ICC profiles
(linear RAW or realistic color rendering options available).
• Sidecars exports the sidecar files of the selected images to the same directory as the original images, and imports
the sidecars of the selected images from the same directory as the original images in .dop format. Sidecars allow you to
transfer all the individual correction settings of an image from one computer to another or to share those settings with
other users.
NOTE
DxO Optics Pro sidecars are cross-platform (PC to Mac and vice-versa).
Edit menu
In addition to the standard menu choices of Undo, Redo, Select all, and Rename file, the Edit menu also lets you access
Preferences so you can make adjustments to certain overall program parameters.
(Preferences is explained in more detail below.)
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View menu
The View menu lets you navigate between tabs and controls how images are displayed in the three tabs. It also contains the
application-specific option Undock image browser, which allows you to display the Image Browser in a separate window
and to place it wherever you wish on your screen. Select Dock image browser to reattach the Image Browser to the main
application window.
Image menu
• Apply a preset lets you select a preset from the drop-down menu.
• Create preset from current settings lets you create a custom preset based on the current settings for the selected image.
• Copy correction settings lets you copy the settings of the current image to be able to apply them another image.
• Paste correction settings lets you apply the settings you have copied to another image.
• Resolve DxO Optics Modules Ambiguities displays a dialog box that tells you to manually resolve any Optics Modules
ambiguities (i.e., when DxO Optics Pro presents more than one Optics Module that can be applied to a selected image).
• Rotation rotates an image 90° to the left or to the right, and resets (or undoes) the action.
• Show input file in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected source image.
• Show output file(s) in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected output image.
• Open input image with/open output image with allows you to open source images (or output images) in another post-
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processing application. The first time you use the program, a Browse window will let you choose the post-processing
application that you want to use.
• Create Virtual Copy: When correcting an image, you may end up applying different settings successively. Each time
you apply new settings, however, the previous settings are canceled and their effect on the image is not saved. You can
create virtual copies to keep track of these successive settings so as to compare effects. Clicking on Create virtual copy
automatically generates a virtual copy and displays it in the Image Browser, with a sequence number (filename+1, 2, 3, etc.).
• Create project from current selection lets you choose one or more thumbnails in the Image Browser to group into a
new project.
• Add current selection to project lets you add one or more images in the Image Browser to an existing Project.
• Remove: This command behaves differently according the situation:
- In a Project, the selected picture will be removed from the project, but not deleted (moved to the trash). - In a folder without virtual copies, the image is moved to the trash.
- In a folder containing virtual copies, and with all of them selected, all files are moved to the trash.
- In a folder containing virtual copies, but not with all of them are selected, only the selected virtual copies are
removed from their respective projects, but none of the virtual copies are moved to the trash.
• Allow Processing lets you choose and apply a processing status to the selected image (Yes, Undefined, and No).
Depending on your choice, a label will appear on the thumbnail displayed in the Image Browser.
• Ranking allows you to rank your images by quality using a star-rating system. The stars are visible only if the Ranking
stars option has been activated in Preferences.
• Image properties opens a floating window that contains information about the name, format, location, and processing
status of the selected image, along with its EXIF data.
NOTE
A message will inform you about the action that will take place.
DxO Optics Modules menu
Use this menu to manage the DxO Optics Modules required for fully-automated processing of your images:
• Install new DxO Optics Modules connects you to the dxo.com website, where you can choose to load one or more new
modules (requires an internet connection; the module will be operational as soon as it has finished loading).
• DxO Optics Modules displays the list of modules already installed and lets you uninstall any module that you are not
currently using.
• DxO Optics Modules roadmap connects you to the DxO Labs website, where you can see which modules are due to be
released soon.
• Suggest a DxO Optics Module connects you to the DxO Labs website, where you can ask DxO Labs to develop a
DxO Optics Module for a specific camera-lens combination.
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Help menu
The Help menu offers the following aids to help you use DxO Optics Pro more effectively:
• DxO Optics Pro help (F1) launches the online user guide.
• Online support and resources launches the online support page.
• Shortcuts displays a list of keyboard shortcuts.
• Check for update connects to the DxO Labs server to determine if you have installed the most recent version of
DxO Optics Pro. If this is not the case, you can download and install the latest update (internet connection required).
• DxO FilmPack lets you activate your copy of DxO FilmPack.
• Visit website launches your default web browser and connects you to the home page of the DxO Labs website (internet
connection required).
• About DxO Optics Pro lets you see the “about” information for DxO Optics Pro, including the version you are using and
any add-ons currently installed. This information is especially useful if you need to contact DxO Labs technical support.
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Right-click (context) menu
Right-clicking on an image in the main Viewer or on a thumbnail in the Image Browser brings up a context menu.
Right-clicking in the Image Browser
• Process selected images (go into the Process tab if you want to see the on-going processing).
• Download DxO Optics Modules connects you to the Internet so you can load a new module. This module will be
operational as soon as it has finished loading.
• Resolve DxO Optics Modules Ambiguities: A dialog box will prompt you to manually resolve module ambiguities.
• Apply a preset lets you select a preset from the dropdown menu that can either be applied in addition to current settings
or in addition to the DxO default preset (see details ).
• Create preset from current settings lets you save your settings for a selected image as a custom preset.
• Copy correction settings lets you reuse the settings for the current image on another image or stack.
• Paste correction settings lets you paste the settings you previously copied to use with a different selected image or stack.
• Create project from current selection lets you choose one or more thumbnails in the Image Browser to group into a
new project.
• Add current selection to project lets you add one or more images in the Image Browser to an existing Project.
• Rename file activates the file name field in the thumbnail displayed in the Image Browser. When the field is active,
you can type in the new name. Note that batch renaming is not possible; although you can select more than one image to
rename, the image files themselves must be renamed one by one (successively).
• Remove: This command behaves differently according the situation:
- In a Project, the selected picture will be removed from the project, but not deleted (i.e., moved to the trash).
- In a folder without virtual copies, the image is moved to the trash.
- In a folder containing virtual copies, and with all of them selected, all files are moved to the trash.
- In a folder containing virtual copies, but with not all of them are selected, only the selected virtual copies are
removed from their respective projects, but none of the virtual copies are moved to the trash.
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NOTE
A message will pop-up in order to inform the user about the action to be taken.
• Resolve DxO Optics Modules Ambiguities displays a dialog box that tells you to manually resolve any Optics Modules
ambiguities (i.e., when DxO Optics Pro presents more than one Optics Module that can be applied to a selected image, you
must choose which module to apply).
• Image properties shows the EXIF data for the current image.
• Rotation rotates an image 90° to the left or the right, and to reset (or undo) the action.
• Rotate image selection by 90° left turns the image counter-clockwise.
• Rotate image selection by 90° right turns the image clockwise.
• Show input file in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected source image.
• Show output file(s) in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected output image.
• Open input image with/open output image with allows you to open source images (or output images) in another postprocessing application. The first time you use the program, a Browse window will let you choose the post-processing
application that you want to use.
• Create Virtual Copy: When correcting an image, you may end up applying different settings successively. Of course,
each time you apply new settings, the previous settings are canceled and their effect on the image is not memorized. You
can use virtual copies to keep track of these successive settings so as to compare effects. Clicking on Create virtual copy
automatically generates a virtual copy and displays it in the Image Browser, with a sequence number (filename+1, 2, 3,
etc.).
• Allow Processing lets you choose and apply a processing status to the selected image (Yes, Undefined, and No). Depending on your choice, a label will appear on the thumbnail displayed in the Image Browser.
• Ranking: allows you to rank images by quality using a star-rating system. This option is visible only if you have activated
the Ranking stars option in Preferences.
Right-clicking in the Viewer
The following apply only to the Organize and Customize tabs:
• Image properties shows the EXIF data for the current image.
• Apply a preset lets you select a preset from the dropdown menu that can either be applied in addition to current settings
or in addition to the DxO default preset (see details).
• Create preset from current settings lets you save your current settings for the selected image as a custom preset.
• Copy correction settings lets you reuse the settings for the current image on another image or stack.
• Paste correction settings lets you paste the settings you previously copied to use with a different selected image or stack.
• Process selected images (go into the Process tab if you want to see on-going processing).
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• Rotate image selection by 90° left turns the image counter-clockwise.
• Rotate image selection by 90° right turns the image clockwise.
• Show input file in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected source image.
• Show output file(s) in Windows Explorer lets you view the location of the folder of the selected output image.
• Open input image with/open output image with allows you to open source images (or output images) in another postprocessing application. The first time you use the program, a Browse window will let you choose the post-processing
application that you want to use.
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6.2. Preferences
General tab
The General tab in the Preferences is organized as follows:
Application preferences
• Application language lets you choose the UI language (requires restarting DxO Optics Pro).
• Automatically check for updates (you must restart DxO Optics Pro if you activate or deactivate this option).
• I agree to participate anonymously in the product improvement program. The product improvement program sends
to DxO Labs a limited set of technical data about your system’s configuration and about your DxO projects without saving
any specific identification data. This program helps DxO to enhance its products and improve your experience. Choosing
to participate or not will not affect application performance.
Processing
• Use legacy (v2.0 and earlier) FilmPack color handling lets you revert to FilmPack v2.0 (and earlier) color rendering in
case you own and use FilmPack v3.0.
Requires restarting.
• Preserve metadata in xmp sidecars for RAW images lets you embed in your output images the metadata contained
in the xmp sidecar files stored alongside the input image (e.g., metadata created by a program such as Adobe Bridge).
Correction settings
• Save settings in sidecar file (.dop) automatically: Sidecar files are small text files (with .dop suffixes) associated with
image files. They contain all the information needed to correct an image. If you want to copy your image on another computer, you should both the image and its sidecar file. It is also advisable to have the sidecar file load automatically with the
image when the latter opens on the other computer (see the option immediately below). Alternatively, you can manually
load sidecars via the File > Sidecars > Import menu.
• Load settings from sidecar file (.dop) automatically loads the settings of an image from a sidecar file and associates
it with the selected image.
• Default preset for new RAW images drop-down menu allows you to choose the default preset to apply to new RAW
images while you browse the image directories. The default preset is DxO default.
• Default preset for new RGB images: Same as for RAW above, except that it applies to non-RAW files (JPEG, TIFF). The
default preset is DxO default.
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DxO Optics Pro database
• DxO Optics Pro database location displays the path and the location of the DxO Optics Pro database. If you click on
Browse, a dialog box will show you the location in the system.
Display tab
The Display tab is composed of three parts: choices that are common to different stages in image processing (Common); and
others which are specific to the Customize tab or the Image Browser pane.
Common
• ICC profile used for display lets you select the ICC profile of your monitor or screen among three options:
- The current profile of the display device, if you have calibrated it with a colorimeter.
- The generic profile sRGB (use this option if in doubt). If your screen has not been calibrated, this is probably the
best profile to use, as most screens leave the factory configured close to sRGB settings.
- Adobe profile (Adobe RGB): Use this profile only with a high-quality screen for which you know the specific Adobe
RGB range.
• Window background: The slider adjusts the brightness of the Viewer pane where your images are displayed. To revert
to the original setting, double-click on the slider.
• Display DxO Optics Module download window when images are found for which no DxO Optics module has been
loaded shows you a list of available Optics Modules that you can download and then apply to one or more selected images.
• Display the missing/ambiguous DxO Optics Modules dialog box before processing will display a dialog box to warn you
to resolve DxO Optics Modules ambiguities (i.e., when DxO Optics Pro presents more than one Optics Module that can be
applied to a selected image, you must choose which module to apply).
• Display the informative dialog-box when the processing ends notifies you when processing has finished.
• Display the confirmation dialog-box when stopping the current processing shows a dialog in which you must confirm
that you want to cancel the ongoing processing.
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Customize tab
• Overlay grid size lets you you adjust the size of the grid overlay (which you can position over the image to check for
distortion or keystoning).
Image browser section
You can choose among the following seven display options for each thumbnail: Always ON, Always OFF, and On mouseover.
• Processing status indicates if a file is waiting for processing or processed.
• Image name shows if the image is a RAW or JPEG file.
• Allow Processing displays red/yellow/green lights showing which images can and cannot be processed.
• Ranking stars let you rate your images and rank them by quality.
• DxO Optics Module status shows if a DxO Optics Module is available or not.
• Rotation buttons for rotating the photo to the left or right.
• Delete button.
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Performance tab
Cache
You can set the size of the cache, and also its location (via the Browse button). You can clear the cache with the Clear button. As
extending the size of the cache can improve the performance of DxO Optics Pro, we recommend that you increase it, especially
if your workflow often includes a large number of image files. Use the Clear button to clear the cache.
NOTE
You can display the tool tip that indicates the size of the cache by placing the mouse pointer on the cache size slider.
Display and Process
• GPU acceleration lets you make use of the graphics card (GPU) to speed up the display. You should disable this control
if it causes your display to be unstable.
• You can Enable OpenCL if your system allows it. If your hardware is not compatible, the option will stay inactive and
greyed out. Any activation or deactivation requires you to restart the program. Even if the CPU is faster, the OpenCL option
will still be available.
NOTE
If your graphics card is slower than your processor, you will see a message warning you about the risk of degraded performance if you decide to go ahead and activate this option. However, if your video card does not support OpenCL, that
option is grayed out.
• Noise reduction preview: DxO Optics Pro 8 introduces the possibility of previewing noise reduction below zoom levels
of 75%. Be aware that activating this option can seriously impact the performance and speed of your computer. If you use
older hardware, we recommend that you do not activate this option. If you do activate this option and you feel that the
program has gotten too slow, you can deactivate this option at any time.
• Number of images processed simultaneously: by default, the number of simultaneously processed images is 2, but if
your computer is powerful enough, you can increase the number of files to be processed at the same time.
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Appendix
7.1. DxO
FilmPack emulated films
More than 60 films can be emulated with DxO FilmPack: color-positive films, more commonly called slides or transparencies;
color-negative films, intended to produce prints; black-and-white films, and finally, cross-processed films, which are films
developed using chemicals not normally suited to their nature.
Color positive films
Fuji Astia 100F – One of the more color-neutral Fuji slide films.
Fuji FP 100C – An instant film by Fuji. ISO 100 sensitivity. Compatible with Polaroid 689 films.
Fuji Provia 100F – Touted by Fuji as having “the smoothest and sharpest performance of any 100 ISO color film in the world,”
Provia has effectively become a natural choice for many professional photographers. Less saturated than Velvia, it is more
suited to studio and portrait photography.
Fuji Provia 400F – A remarkably fine-grained film for this level of sensitivity.
Fuji Provia 400X – The successor to Provia 400F, with enhanced saturation.
Fuji Velvia 50 – The Velvia range of transparency films was introduced in 1990. Its extreme resolving power and fine grain
made it a direct competitor to the Kodachrome series, with easier to use chemistry (E6). Many discussions took place about
whether Velvia’s saturated colors were more or less “true” than those of Kodachrome. The fact remains that Velvia enjoyed
considerable commercial success and was considered by many as the newer reference in transparency films.
Kodak Kodachrome 25 – The successor to Kodachrome II, and thus a direct-line descendant of the original Kodachrome
launched way back in 1936. This legendary product is the first color film ever intended for the mass market. To reconstruct
colors, it used a subtractive method designed by Godowsky and Mannes. Its sharpness, extremely realistic colors, and archival
stability amply made up for its drawbacks — very low sensitivity and a complex developing process.
Kodak Kodachrome 64 – From 1974 onwards, the successor to Kodachrome-X. Both films had the notable advantage of
shooting at 1.5 stops’ less light than the original Kodachrome 25.
Kodak Kodachrome 200 – The only high-sensitivity member of the Kodachrome family (1986).
Kodak Ektachrome 100 VS – While Kodachrome was the reference in outdoor photography for both professionals and advanced
amateurs, Ektachrome has remained the reference for studio photography for half a century. Easy to expose, available in a
wide range of sensitivities and formats (including the largest formats of sheet film), and much easier to process (skilled
amateurs could manage the E series process chemistry), Ektachrome became a catchword for transparencies in general. The
100 VS is one of its ultimate versions, with “vivid and saturated colors” (Kodak).
Kodak Ektachrome 100 GX – A less saturated version of Ektachrome than the 100 VS, with warm skin tones and
extremely fine grain.
Kodak Elite ExtraColor 100 – A highly-saturated transparency film, well-suited to the contemporary preference for
vivid colors.
Kodak Elite Chrome 200 – The consumer version of Ektachrome films that could also be developed using E6 chemistry.
Kodak Elite Chrome 400 – Kodak describes this film as producing “rich and vibrant colors even in dim daylight conditions.”
Polaroid Polachrome – A transparency film for instant development. One had to buy a small hand-powered device that would
develop each image in a couple of minutes, after which the photo was mounted.
Polaroid 669 – A peel-apart Polaroid ISO 80 medium-format film for instant prints. Was also unofficially employed for
transferring photos onto paper or fabrics.
Polaroid 690 – A higher-sensitivity version (ISO 100) of the above film, both of which belonged to the large “Type 100” series.
Generic Fuji Astia 100 – This emulation corresponds to a very early version of DxO FilmPack when film calibration was
performed differently from the way it is today. The calibration process has been improved. (See Fuji Astia 100).
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Generic Fuji Provia 100 – See above.
Generic Fuji Velvia 100 – See above with regard to both generic emulations and the Velvia range.
Generic Kodak Ektachrome 100 VS. – See above, with regard to both generic emulations and the Ektachrome range.
Generic Kodak Ektachrome 64 – See above, with regard to both generic emulations and the Ektachrome range.
Agfa Precisa 100 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – A reputable transparency film which was developed using AP44
chemistry (a clone of E6 chemistry).
Fuji Sensia 100 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – The consumer version of Fuji Astia.
Lomography X-Pro Slide 200 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – A revival of the famous Agfa RSX II transparency film with
its saturated colors, extra-wide contrast, and distinctive tint when cross-processed.
Color negative films
Agfa Ultra 100 – First appearing in 2003, this film has very high saturation.
Agfa Vista 200 – An all-purpose film with an eye-pleasing color rendering and wide exposure latitude.
Fuji Superia Reala 100 – The Superia brand was aimed at mainstream amateurs, while the Reala range used pioneering
technology (a fourth sensitive layer) to achieve improved white balance — a combination highly appreciated by expert
photographers.
Fuji Superia 200 – A direct competitor to Kodak Gold, this is the member of the Superia family with the finest grain.
Fuji Superia X-Tra 800 – The fastest multi-purpose film in the Superia range.
Fuji Superia HG 1600 – The high-sensitivity film in the Superia range was used, for example, in concert photography by
advanced amateurs.
Kodak Elite Color 200 – This range of consumer films was intended to give a relatively strong level of saturation “without
sacrificing skin tones.”
Kodak Elite Color 400 – The high-sensitivity member of the Elite Color range described above.
Kodak Portra 160 NC – Aimed at professionals shooting portraits or marriages, this film has been constantly praised
for the quality of its skin tones, and the fidelity with which it reproduces clothing. A classic among classics. NC stands
for “neutral colors.”
Kodak Portra 160 VC – The “vivid colors” (VC) member of the Kodak Portra family.
Lomography Redscale 100 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – A very creative film whose strong orange effect is produced
by exposing the negative on the reverse side.
Cross-processed film
Cross-processed – Kodak Elite 100.
Cross-processed – Fuji Superia 200.
Black & white films
Agfa APX 25 – Agfapan 25, now discontinued, had a nominal sensitivity of ISO 25, and was used for decades for long-exposure
shots, such as in landscape or microphotography. Its grain was one of the finest ever. It appears here in its APX version, which
was Agfa’s answer to Kodak’s T-grain series.
Fuji Neopan Acros 100 – This film prided itself on delivering “the world’s highest standard in grain quality among
ISO 100 films.”
Fuji Neopan 1600 – A high-speed ISO 1600 film that has been prized for the “classic beauty” of its grain.
Ilford Delta 400 – Introduced in 1990, this is the first film based on Ilford’s “core-shell crystal technology,” the company’s
answer to Kodak’s T-grain films: more sensitive crystals without higher grain.
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Ilford Delta 3200 – The ultra-high-sensitivity product in the Ilford range, based on “core-shell technology.“ A direct competitor
to Kodak’s T-MAX 3200.
Ilford FP4 Plus 125 – A workhorse of classical photography, this film was available in many formats, including sheet. Ilford
described it as “unrivalled... for its very fine grain, outstanding sharpness and high acutance... with enormous latitude for
exposure error above and below its nominal sensitivity.”
Ilford HP5 Plus 400 – A classic arch-rival of Kodak T-MAX, Ilford characterized this film as a “medium contrast film (...)
especially suitable for action and press photography (...) which has been formulated to respond well to push processing and
film speeds up to (ISO) 3200.”
Ilford HPS 800 – A lesser-known ultra-high-speed film, the ISO 800 HPS was removed from the range in the late 1960s. It was
replaced years later by the Delta 3200.
Ilford Pan F Plus 50 – In 2004, the Ilford company described this as “an extremely fine-grain black and white film with
outstanding resolution, sharpness and edge contrast,” well-suited to mural-size enlargements. Many appreciated its
moderate contrast.
Ilford XP2 – Just like its rival Kodak BW 400CN, this ISO 400 film, which comes in both 135 and 120 formats, has the advantage
of being developed in any easy-to-find C41 processing lab.
Kodak BW400CN – Praised by its maker Kodak as “the finest-grained chromogenic film in the world,” this film is actually not
comparable to ordinary B&W films, since once it is developed, it no longer contains silver crystals, but dyes instead. The major
advantage of Kodak BW400CN is that it can be developed in an easy-to-find C-41 processing lab.
Kodak HIE (High-speed infrared) – Infrared light, not visible to our eyes, can be captured by specially-designed films. This
famous film, now discontinued, was difficult to expose, focus, and develop. But the creative images it recorded were often
worth all the trouble.
Kodak HIE filtered – Many infrared images were recorded using a dark red or even a black filter, which blocked the visible
radiation, and let only infrared wavelengths reach the film. The resulting images showed dark skies, black water, and a kind
of aura around highlights.
Kodak T-MAX 100 – The least sensitive film in Kodak’s T-Max range, with ISO 100 (pushable to 200) sensitivity and very fine
grain. A classic.
Kodak T-MAX 400 – The standard for fast B&W films, this one achieved the perfect combination of speed and grain. A favorite
among reporters.
Kodak T-MAX 3200 – With ample reserves of sensitivity (2 stops, to 12,500), 3200 has been used both for low-light press
photography and for surveillance purposes.
Kodak Tri-X 400 – A vintage look, and an illustrious list of achievements.
Polaroid 664 – A classic medium speed (ISO 100) film intended mainly for proofing of studio shoots.
Polaroid 667 – A very high speed (ISO 3000) black-and-white panchromatic film often used for scientific purposes.
Polaroid 672 – The ISO 400 reference in the Polaroid range.
Rollei IR 400 – A recent ISO 400 infrared film.
Ilford Delta 100 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – A tabular-grain film, with exceptionally fine grain, sharpness, and wide
exposure latitude.
Rollei Retro 100 tonal (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – Available in 120 and sheet format, a high-quality film for
experienced photographers and professionals.
Rollei Retro 80s (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – Like the Retro 100, this extremely fine-grain film is made by Rollei in
partnership with the Maco company. This particular film is derived from a film intended for aerial photography.
Rollei Ortho 25 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – Mainly intended for scientific and copy work. This film has extremely fine
grain with a 2-stop sensitivity reserve.
Agfa APX 100 (DxO FilmPack Expert version only) – Mainly intended for non-moving subjects (architecture, landscape, stilllife), this very high quality film is mostly used by professional photographers.
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7.2. Glossary
Calibration
A detailed measurement of the lens- or camera-specific defects of images under given shooting conditions.
DxO Optics Module
A DxO Optics Module is a file that stores the calibration data of a given lens-camera combination, which allows DxO Optics Pro
to automatically correct lens optical defects.
Full preset
A preset that contains all the settings of the settings stack.
ICC profile
A set of data that characterizes the color attributes of a particular device according to standards established by the International
Color Consortium (ICC).
Output image
The final image that DxO Optics Pro creates by applying the corrections listed in a settings stack (i.e., preset) to a source
image. The output image is in all cases a new file with a different name from that of the source image.
Partial preset
A preset that contains a limited subset of the settings in a given settings stack.
Preset
A collection of predefined settings stored in DxO Optics Pro that can be applied on demand to any image. A preset can contain
all the corrections of the settings stack (full preset) or only a fraction of them (partial preset). Users can manually fine-tune
the settings for both full and partial presets, and can choose to save any adjustments to settings as a new custom preset.
Reference image
By default, the reference image is the Source image. (In the case of a RAW image, the Source image is minimally converted to
make it readable.) You can change the reference image by selecting or creating a Virtual copy of the same source image, on
condition that the virtual copy has already been processed. The Reference image is compared in the Adjust tab to a simulated
view of the not-yet-processed image. In the Organize tab or the Customize tab, it is compared to the real output image.
Setting
A setting controls one or more parameters of a correction. You can adjust these parameters using a variety of tools, such as
sliders, numerical value fields, drop-down menu choices, etc.
Settings stack
A setting stack is the list of all the available activated correction settings (and the parameters chosen for each setting)
that have been or will be applied to an image. The setting stack is generally the same thing (and referred to) as a preset in
DxO Optics Pro.
Sidecars
Sidecar files allow you to transfer all the individual correction settings of an image from one computer to another or to share
those settings with other users.
Source image
Applies to any RAW or JPEG image that enters the DxO Optics Pro processing workflow.
Supported camera, supported lens-camera combination
A camera (or lens-camera combination) is said to be “supported” when DxO Optics Pro contains its calibration data.
Virtual copy
A virtual copy is a duplicate of a source image associated with distinct settings. You can create a virtual copy to test two sets
of corrections, one on the Source image itself, and the other on the virtual copy. You can create multiple virtual copies of the
same source image, each with distinct settings, so as to compare the effects of different correction settings.
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7.3. Keyboard
shortcuts
General
New project
CTRL + N
Cut
CTRL + X
Copy
CTRL + C
Paste
CTRL + V
Select all
CTRL + A
Undo
CTRL + Z
Redo
CTRL + Y
Paste (text fields)
CTRL + V
Select all
CTRL + A
Dock/Undock the Image Browser
CTRL + U
Online help
F1
Go to Organize tab
CTRL + F1
Go to Customize tab
CTRL + F2
Go to Process tab
CTRL + F3
Display preferences window
CTRL + Shift + P
Full screen mode
F11
Show/Hide the Image Browser
CTRL + F9
Refresh the Image Browser
F5
Rename folder/file/project/preset
F2
Project properties
CTRL + E
Fit on screen
F3
Zoom to 100 %
F4
Zoom in
CTRL + +
Zoom out
CTRL + -
Temporarily use the Hand tool
Spacebar (while pressed)
Go to previous image
Left arrow
Go to next image
Right arrow
Rotate image selection by 90° left
CTRL + L
Rotate image selection by 90° right
CTRL + R
Create virtual copy
CTRL + J
Ranking
CTRL + 0 to 5
Start processing selected images
CTRL + Alt + P
Image properties
CTRL + I
Project properties
CTRL + E
Remove image from project
Delete
Delete image from disk
Delete
Delete virtual copy
Delete
Print selected images
CTRL + P
Organize tab
Show/Hide the Source Browser
CTRL + F10
Display the file system tab content
Shift + F9
Display the database tab content
Shift + F10
Display the reference image (while pressed)
CTRL + D
Toggle list mode/thumbnail
CTRL + M
Hide all palettes
F9
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Customize tab
Display the reference image
Click (hold mouse down)
Hand tool
Space bar (while pressed)
Display corrected/original image side by side or front/back
CTRL + T
Hide/Unhide all palettes
F9
Fit on screen
F2
Zoom to 100%
F3
Zoom out
CTRL + +
Zoom in
CTRL + -
Toggle grid overlay
CTRL + G
Toggle Information overlay
CTRL + H
Overlay clip to white
CTRL + W
Overlay clip to black
CTRL + B
Tools
Move active slider (click to activate)
Left and right arrows or mouse wheel
v1.1
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