dxo optics pro 8 user guide

User GuideMicrosoft Windows

PUSH THE LIMITS OF YOUR CAMERA

DxO Optics Pro 8

EN

2DxO Optics Pro 8 - User Guide DxO Labs 2012 - All rights reserved

Chapter 1 - Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Whats new in DxO Optics Pro 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Other new items and changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Registration, downloading, installation, and activation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Chapter 2 - The Organize Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10About the Organize tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10The Organize tab interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10The Command bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11The Source Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Browsing the computer file system (default) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Managing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

The Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Docked Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Undocked Image Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Image Browser command bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Image Browser messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Sorting images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Filtering images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Within the Image Browser: the thumbnail icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Installing new DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Managing DxO Optics Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Chapter 3 - The Customize Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18About the Customize tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Workspace basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Managing palettes and workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Using and moving palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Using ready-made workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Creating a custom palette (advanced user) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Creating a custom workspace (advanced user) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Image analysis palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Move/Zoom palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21Histogram palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21EXIF palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Correction palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23About the correction palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Light and color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Light and color - Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38Optical corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43DxO Filmpack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Contents


Using presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52About presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Ready-to-use presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Applying presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54Creating presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Preset editor palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Virtual copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Chapter 4 - The Process Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59About the Process tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Output settings panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

About the Output settings panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60File formats and their constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Creating and activating an output setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Processing the images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Chapter 5 - Print and Share . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Printing images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

About the print module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63Print module tools and settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Uploading to Flickr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66Exporting to Lightroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Chapter 6 - Menus and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78DxO FilmPack emulated films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81Keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

2012 DxO Labs . All rights reserved .Photo credits: Hector Martinez, Mike & Tamy Rice, Andrea Bagnasco, Constantin Foniadakis, Keith Cooper, Ian Coristine, Arnaud PinceminText: Gilles Thophile, L . MatthewsDesign: 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 .


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 lensesFirst 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 wont 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 .

Introduction


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 youd 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 hi-ghlights (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 non-

conventional (cylindrical or spherical) perspective methods .

While all of the above corrections and features are automatic (apart from perspective correction, which is semi-auto-matic), you can always fine-tune their settings to adapt them to your taste .

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.

NOTE

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 .


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 .

Because DxO FilmPack as a plug-in for DxO Optics Pro is wholly integrated into DxO Optics Pros workspace and com-mands, all its features are described in this user guide. Only the standalone and third-party versions have a separate user guide.

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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).

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1.2. Whats new in DxO Optics Pro 8DxO 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 LightingMaster the lightNew 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 8s 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 .

Interface and controlsRedesigned organization of controlsThe 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 reorganizationThe 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 Moir and Dead pixels controls, and the Optical corrections are grouped in their own palette . OutputPrintingDxO 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 .


PerformanceCaching of previews and thumbnailsThe 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-upThe image preview is much faster, thus accelerating the workflow .

Noise correction preview below 75% as an optionThe 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 correctionsImproved 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 managementProtect vivid colorsDxO 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 .

Moir slider: The automatic control of moir, 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. Installation1.3.1. 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 .


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 .

RegistrationYou 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) .

DownloadingOnce 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 .

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.

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Installation1. After the download is completed, the DxO Optics Pro installation program should start automatically (if not, double-click 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 .

ActivationOnce 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 .


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!

The DxO software License provides for the use of activated copies of the software on two different computers.

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Uninstalling1. Click on Start > Programs > DxO Optics Pro > Uninstall DxO Optics Pro

2. Follow the procedure for uninstalling .

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).

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2.1. About the Organize tabWhen 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

The Organize tab is composed of four panes:

The Command bar contains controls to navigate through your file system, to display your images, and to apply presets .

The Source Browser pane is used to navigate through folders (or projects) in order to locate the photos on which you want to work .

The Image Browser displays, as thumbnails, the pictures in a selected folder or project .

The Viewer shows the image selected in the Image Browser .

The Organize tab

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

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 .

The tab selectors, located on top of the command bar, allow you to select the Organize, Customize, or Process tabs .

Browse buttons let you select the file system mode or the Project database mode .

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 .

Image info overlay toggles on or off the information overlay on the picture displayed in the Viewer .

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%) .

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 .

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 BrowserThe Source Browser lets you explore the directories on your computer and its peripherals, and Projects in the Projects database .

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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).

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Projects can also be accessed from File menu > Open Project or Recent locations.

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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 .

You can hide or display the Source Browser in the View menu > Show/Hide source browser, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F10.

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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 .

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 computers file system, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, DVD, photo-card, or other medium.

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 ProjectsTo 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 ProjectTo create a Project with several photos, select the images in the Image Browser (Ctrl-click for multiple selections or Shift-click 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) .


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 doesnt 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).

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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 .

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.

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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 .

2.5. The Image BrowserThe 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 .

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.

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If you cant see the slider, enlarge the Image Browser window (click and hold the bottom right corner with the mouse and pull diagonally downwards).

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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 youd 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 .

2.5.3. Image Browser command bar

Selected folder name or active project name, and an active file name .

Number of active pictures in the Image Browser, and total number of pictures in the selected folder or active project .

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) .

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 .

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 .

Print: Opens the Print pop-up window that contains all the print settings and the print preview .

Export options:

Flickr: Export selected images to Flickr .

Lightroom: Export selected images to Lightroom .

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Images that are not displayed cannot be selected for the Customize or Process steps.

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A selected filter remains active at the next start of DxO Optics Pro.

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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 .

These messages apply to projects as well as to folders.

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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)

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)


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 .

Processing status iconsThese 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 .Module status iconsThese 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) .

Traffic light iconsThese 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 right-clicking 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.

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 .

FilenameThe 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).

Virtual copy identificationDisplays a Virtual copy sequence number (1, 2, 3, etc .) .

Ranking iconYou can use this icon to rank your images from 0 to five stars to facilitate sorting .

Remove iconDelete the selected picture(s) from the disk or remove a virtual copy from the Image Viewer .

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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.

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2.6. DxO optics ModulesDxO 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 .

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

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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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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 indi-cated) .

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 .


The Customize Tab

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3.1. About the Customize tabIn DxO Optics Pros three-part structure, the Customize tab is the second tab as well as the second step in image processing .

The Customize tab is divided in four panes:

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 .

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) .

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 .

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 basicsThe 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 .


3.3. Managing palettes and workspaces 3.3.1. Using 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 .

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 .

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) .

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.

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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.

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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 ones 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 .

It is not possible to delete the DxO First steps and DxO Advanced user workspaces.

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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 last-selected 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 .

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.

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3.4. Image analysis palettesThe Customize tab palettes are divided into 2 main categories: Correction palettes and the following three Image analysis palettes: Move/Zoom, Histogram, and EXIF .


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 .

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 HistogramThe 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 .

If your mouse has a scroll wheel, this is the fastest way to zoom in and out of the image.

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RGB and L channelsThe 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 .

ClippingWhen 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 areas 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.

While it is important to correct blown highlights in order to recover clipped image details, it doesnt 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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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.

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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 propertiesThe 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 editorThe EXIF editor lets you add author and copyright information to the output image EXIF data .

3.5. Correction palettes3.5.1. About 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 Moir, 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 .


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 .

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) .

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 .

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.

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.

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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.

NOTE

The white balance is the only in-camera setting that DxO Optics Pro takes into account.

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Zoom in on the image to facilitate picking a neutral area, which can be very small.

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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.

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To reset the slider adjustments, double-click on it. For both RAW or RGB files, it is not always necessary to look for per-fect 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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White balance Radius slider.

The Radius slider at the bottom of the Viewer pane lets you set the size of the sample area .

Fine-tuning the white balance of a RAW fileHowever 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 .


Exposure compensationAbout 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 tools 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 .


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 .

Correcting a JPEG or TIFF fileYou 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) .

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.

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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).

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DxO Optics Pro 7 modeWhen 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 .

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.

ContrastThis 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 .

If you need more information about the old DxO Lighting legacy mode, please refer to the DxO Optics Pro 7 user guide, pages 3741 (http://support.dxo.com).

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Be careful, as this global contrast correction can strongly interfere with the Tone curve correction.

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MicrocontrastThis 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 .

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 .

VibrancyThe 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 .

SaturationThe 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 .

Be careful not to combine strong vibrancy correction with an excessive level of saturation in the Color rendering sub-palette.

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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 .

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 imagesAs 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 .

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.

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The Intensity slider has no effect if the first drop-down menu is set to Generic renderings, which is the shooting cameras default rendering.

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RAW imagesBecause 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 manufacturers. 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 .


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 progre

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