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April 1, 2006

DxO Optics Pro 3.5 Review

Professional and advanced amateur photographers are praising a new computer software release that acts as a customized digital enhancer.
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Nikonians are now sharing a detailed hands-on review of this latest offering from DxO Labs.
The Paris-based software company, specializing in digital image enhancement technologies recently unveiled DxO Optics Pro version 3.5, and Nikonian Neil van Niekerk has been testing it with images captured under a variety of professional shooting conditions.

His review, now posted in the Nikonians Resources library provides a step-by-step description of the software's ability to match specific camera and lens data with pre-set algorithms to maximize the digital yield from each frame with a few keystrokes.
The DxO Optics Pro Software acts like a virtual optometrist, correcting minor lens and camera deficiencies in even the most expensive and complex systems.
The "corrections" are made possible because the DxO developers have the technology to prove what professional photographers have known for decades. No lens or camera combination will ever be "perfect."
In his review, van Niekerk quickly points out the DxO software, which also corrects color shifts and light level challenges, is not a replacement for industry standard photo preparation software like Adobe PhotoShop or Nikon's Capture Editor.
"Even where some corrections are available in Photoshop, such as correction of chromatic aberration - you'd still have to manually do it by checking the image," he writes.
"DxO Optics Pro does it automatically for you depending on various factors such as the specific lens, the focal length it was zoomed to, and the focusing distance. The wizards at DxO Labs did your homework for you."
As a professional wedding and studio photographer shooting with both Nikon and Canon digital single lens reflex cameras and an assortment of lenses, van Niekerk heartily recommends the DxO Optics Pro as a "remarkable tool for the digital photographer."

DxO Optics Pro v. 3.5 at a glance:
- Nikon cameras currently supported: Coolpix 8800, D50, D2H, D2X, D100, D200, D70s and D70
- It runs on both Mac and Windows platforms, and works on raw or jpg image.
- There are three modes of operation: fully automatic, key controls and expert controls
- Using expert controls you can fine tune: Distortion, Chromatic Aberration, Vignetting, Lighting, Noise, Colour & Exposure (which contains WB / exposure / Curves / Hue / Saturation / Lightness controls), Image Information (which shows the Exif Data), Output Settings (which controls output file format and colour space), Sharpening and the Histogram.

Learn more from the DxO site at: www.dxo.com

Posted by flashdeadline at April 1, 2006 5:40 PM