DxO Labs in receivership?

Mar 25, 2011
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Talys said:
Chaitanya said:
Not a good sign that Lightroom might be missing another competitor(Apple killed of its Aperture) which might mean Adobe will slack off even more and be more appaling.

In my opinion, Adobe is like Canon in that it simply moves at its own pace, mindful of the competition, but just doing its own thing both in pricing and featureset.

Personally, I have been happy with Adobe's recent direction and their Lightroom product. The $10/month PS/LR is a deal and a half for me as I have a few PCs that I want to use both on.

You can only install on two pc's, unless you purchase more than one subscription. I have 5 pc's that I'd like to install it on, because I occasionally might use it on a different one, but I am limited to two. The mobile version is not limited.
 
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Nov 4, 2011
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neuroanatomist said:
AvTvM said:
hehehehe! i like ... 8)

Why? Customers potentially losing their choices. Employees potentially losing their jobs. Sounds good to you, does it?

yes. Stupid company. Phony all the way. From start to end. Deserves to go under. Employees ? Their problem. They decided to work for a whacko company ... I did not force them. Those who are any good will find new jobs, the others ... their problem. lol
 
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AlanF

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Aug 16, 2012
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AvTvM said:
neuroanatomist said:
AvTvM said:
hehehehe! i like ... 8)

Why? Customers potentially losing their choices. Employees potentially losing their jobs. Sounds good to you, does it?

yes. Stupid company. Phony all the way. From start to end. Deserves to go under. Employees ? Their problem. They decided to work for a whacko company ... I did not force them. Those who are any good will find new jobs, the others ... their problem. lol

What a callous post.
 
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Talys

Canon R5
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Feb 16, 2017
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
Talys said:
Chaitanya said:
Not a good sign that Lightroom might be missing another competitor(Apple killed of its Aperture) which might mean Adobe will slack off even more and be more appaling.

In my opinion, Adobe is like Canon in that it simply moves at its own pace, mindful of the competition, but just doing its own thing both in pricing and featureset.

Personally, I have been happy with Adobe's recent direction and their Lightroom product. The $10/month PS/LR is a deal and a half for me as I have a few PCs that I want to use both on.

You can only install on two pc's, unless you purchase more than one subscription. I have 5 pc's that I'd like to install it on, because I occasionally might use it on a different one, but I am limited to two. The mobile version is not limited.

You can actually install it on as many PCs as you want, but only 2 can be activated at once. It asks you which one you want to deactivate in a process that's painless if you have Internet, when you want to run it on the third (or sixth, or whatever).

It works really well for my home situation, where I don't need InDesign/Illustrator/etc. because mostly, it's 1 desktop I always use, and 5 or so laptops/tablets that very infrequently run Lightroom or PS on. For example, my Pixma is in a different room, and I just take my laptop there to print when I want to do that, but otherwise, I never run LR on my SB. I have LR/PS on 3 different Surface Pro's (SP3, 4, and current), but since they're so similar, I will usually just grab whatever is close and stuff it in my bag without wondering "Does this have Photoshop". Not like I usually use it anyways, but I want it there in case.
 
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unfocused

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Talys said:
You can actually install it on as many PCs as you want, but only 2 can be activated at once. It asks you which one you want to deactivate in a process that's painless if you have Internet, when you want to run it on the third (or sixth, or whatever).

It works really well for my home situation, where I don't need InDesign/Illustrator/etc. because mostly, it's 1 desktop I always use..

I do wish that you could mix and match the individual programs (Have Photoshop loaded on two PCs and then have InDesign or Dreamweaver on a third PC.) Unfortunately, it's all or nothing on each PC. Not a big deal, but more of a minor quibble.
 
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AvTvM said:
YES, i am 100% callous vs. companies like flickr. F' them all! I loved my ass off when Kodak went down. When Nokia went down. Will rejoice when Adobe finally swims goes belly-up. And maybe I will even live to see stupid Canon go down. Will love laugh very hard then.
From the bottom of my heart.
;D 8)

That’s not a terribly winsome approach - I hope you realize why your more cogent less offensive arguments are not generally well received... ::)
 
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Mar 25, 2011
16,848
1,835
Talys said:
Mt Spokane Photography said:
Talys said:
Chaitanya said:
Not a good sign that Lightroom might be missing another competitor(Apple killed of its Aperture) which might mean Adobe will slack off even more and be more appaling.

In my opinion, Adobe is like Canon in that it simply moves at its own pace, mindful of the competition, but just doing its own thing both in pricing and featureset.

Personally, I have been happy with Adobe's recent direction and their Lightroom product. The $10/month PS/LR is a deal and a half for me as I have a few PCs that I want to use both on.

You can only install on two pc's, unless you purchase more than one subscription. I have 5 pc's that I'd like to install it on, because I occasionally might use it on a different one, but I am limited to two. The mobile version is not limited.

You can actually install it on as many PCs as you want, but only 2 can be activated at once. It asks you which one you want to deactivate in a process that's painless if you have Internet, when you want to run it on the third (or sixth, or whatever).

It works really well for my home situation, where I don't need InDesign/Illustrator/etc. because mostly, it's 1 desktop I always use, and 5 or so laptops/tablets that very infrequently run Lightroom or PS on. For example, my Pixma is in a different room, and I just take my laptop there to print when I want to do that, but otherwise, I never run LR on my SB. I have LR/PS on 3 different Surface Pro's (SP3, 4, and current), but since they're so similar, I will usually just grab whatever is close and stuff it in my bag without wondering "Does this have Photoshop". Not like I usually use it anyways, but I want it there in case.

Thanks for the info.

I had tried in the past, but apparently did not go far enough. My computers are in different buildings, so I did not want to go back and forth.

I found this explanation, so I may try it next time I want to use a additional machine like my laptop for travel.

Another key benefit with Creative Cloud is that it does not use serial numbers like CS did – instead, you activate CC by logging in with your Adobe ID, thereby providing the ability to more flexibly manage your usage. So if you install the CC apps onto a third computer, it will ask you if you want to automati­cally deactivate the other two… Just hit “Continue” at the Maximum Activations Exceeded box, and it will handle activation of your new system and deactivation of the others for you. Afterwards, you can reactivate again on one additional machine. This can be useful if you’re moving around between computers, or if one of your earlier systems crashed, or if the software is otherwise inaccessible.
 
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Mar 25, 2011
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JMZawodny said:
I hope they emerge in one piece. DxO PL (formerly DxO Optics Pro) is SW I use on almost every photo I take. I would hate to find a replacement, because I do not think one exists.

You can be pretty sure that you are safe, but updates might not happen or be delayed while they get reorganized or sold.
 
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Talys

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Feb 16, 2017
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
JMZawodny said:
I hope they emerge in one piece. DxO PL (formerly DxO Optics Pro) is SW I use on almost every photo I take. I would hate to find a replacement, because I do not think one exists.

You can be pretty sure that you are safe, but updates might not happen or be delayed while they get reorganized or sold.

The uncertainty kind of sucks -- support for new equipment, from lenses to camera bodies, and especially new RAW formats. For example, CR3 support.

As AlanF said, DXO has an excellent high ISO algorithm, highly desirable on my 80D (though I don't use it very often enough at high ISO). I hope they make it in one piece.

Not to turn this into a controversial thread about subscription software from an ownership standpoint, but as a developer in the software industry, this is one of the reasons that subscriptions are highly valued, often more so than repeating and higher one-time revenue streams: knowing how much you're going to get each month, having reliable revenue, and not being at the mercy of the success of your next release makes it much easier to forecast revenues and avoid catastrophic problems.
 
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Talys said:
Mt Spokane Photography said:
JMZawodny said:
I hope they emerge in one piece. DxO PL (formerly DxO Optics Pro) is SW I use on almost every photo I take. I would hate to find a replacement, because I do not think one exists.

You can be pretty sure that you are safe, but updates might not happen or be delayed while they get reorganized or sold.

The uncertainty kind of sucks -- support for new equipment, from lenses to camera bodies, and especially new RAW formats. For example, CR3 support.

As AlanF said, DXO has an excellent high ISO algorithm, highly desirable on my 80D (though I don't use it very often enough at high ISO). I hope they make it in one piece.

Not to turn this into a controversial thread about subscription software from an ownership standpoint, but as a developer in the software industry, this is one of the reasons that subscriptions are highly valued, often more so than repeating and higher one-time revenue streams: knowing how much you're going to get each month, having reliable revenue, and not being at the mercy of the success of your next release makes it much easier to forecast revenues and avoid catastrophic problems.


A point well taken. I'm constitutionally averse to software subscription services. However, I might be able to force myself into subscribing to PhotoLab should it ever come to that, depending on price. I can't say that about Lightroom which I did use for many years. I find Photolab much better for my purposes. If things really turn turtle, I do have ON1 Photo Raw 2018, Luminar and Affinity Photo to fall back on since I own them all. Still, I use PhotoLab more consistently and generally prefer it. I suppose this really is an exampe of a first world problem.
 
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RGF

How you relate to the issue, is the issue.
Jul 13, 2012
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AvTvM said:
YES, i am 100% callous vs. companies like flickr. F' them all! I loved my ass off when Kodak went down. When Nokia went down. Will rejoice when Adobe finally swims goes belly-up. And maybe I will even live to see stupid Canon go down. Will love laugh very hard then.
From the bottom of my heart.
;D 8)

I guess you have never been part of a company that went belly up. Having been through this once (which is more than enough for a person), it is gut wrenching. Destroys your world, at least for a while.
 
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Feb 13, 2018
209
178
Talys said:
Chaitanya said:
Not a good sign that Lightroom might be missing another competitor(Apple killed of its Aperture) which might mean Adobe will slack off even more and be more appaling.

In my opinion, Adobe is like Canon in that it simply moves at its own pace, mindful of the competition, but just doing its own thing both in pricing and featureset.

Personally, I have been happy with Adobe's recent direction and their Lightroom product. The $10/month PS/LR is a deal and a half for me as I have a few PCs that I want to use both on.

Like Canon, Adobe pretty much owns their market and play from a position of strength. In the long run, i don't see any paid software as meaningful competition. Lightroom is simply everywhere but open-source solutions such as Darktable or RAWtherapee may improve sufficiently to merit serious consideration.
 
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Hi everyone,

Being French, and having friends who worked within this company, I felt concerned and touched when I read this news in my magazine "Chasseur d'Images". I am a long time user as well, since the version 5, back in 2008...I hoped for a long time now that they could replace lightroom, as I am completely and definitely allergic to its UI and ergonomics.

As far as Business Decisions go, they wasted a lot of money with the DxO one, in the Intellectual Property of the connector used, and in the licensing from Apple. I never saw this camera in the field, and a basic marketing study would have told them that targeting apple users who were thought of willing to pay a premium to get better pictures was a mistake. The value proposition of Apple is one integrated product (which has always been in Apple DNA, without needing to buy something else), not two or three... The quality of the camera is not in question, it is very good, but so was the samsung NX1, brutally innovative in 2014 and barely equaled now 4 years later. The quality of the embedded camera in the iphones are increasing, and having to bring along another piece of gear is not practical. I am really not a Apple fan, but to be trivial I think that they tried to make a Apple product, with a PC mindset.... :)

They should focus on their core business to strengthen their position, and now they might lack resources to do so. IMHO they are halfway of making a completely mature product. DxO PL is a fantastic piece of software, the light and exposition algorithm are top-notch, the Prime noise removal algorithm is great (beware of the tuning though), and no other soft can bring up shadows like DxO. The "clearview" is impressive too. But they lack serious colour management and ICC profile management. I didn't care before, but since I bought a second hand epson 7900 and some ink and paper, I focus on the colour management and keeping as much information as I can until the final data transmission to the printer driver. I found out that DxO use a in-house colour space for their processing, and you can't change it. This colour space is very close, if identical, to AdobeRGB. Good but not satisfactory since latest camera can capture more colours than AdobeRGB, and some large gamut printer (such as the epson 7900) have not tiny portions of their gamut outside Adobe RGB. You can save your work in Tiff16 bits with ProPhotoRGB out of DxO, but it is essentially AdobeRGB work save in the prophoto RGB colour space...useless. No big deal in real life, but intellectually limiting i think.
The print module is promising but not totally a finished product for me. A serious soft proofing approach would be a nice addition (comparing profiles and rendering for web, smartphones, papers...). Lightroom does not offer a satisfactory solution either as far as I know.

I would like to be able to digitally review, analyze, and import files. For me I really lack a serious editing software. I mean a serious review/selection and then catalog tool when you import tons of pictures. I want better analytic with the files : being able to measure the dynamic of the files, the acutance/definition, and select only the best one in a burst sequence for example.

For me they should focus on the software and productivity tools, and leverage their noise, light, exposition, clearview, and details/sharpening algorithm to the video segment. Develop a plugin for premiere or vegas, or a light app that can improve video taken with smartphones.

I don't think the solution will die, the product is too mature to be ditched, and has promising assets. But these assets have a limited lifespan...left alone, they won't be competitive anymore in a few months... They need to invest serious money in algorithms and AI. Simplify algorithms to use them in video and smartphones, expand their coverage outside the bayer matrix sensor family (welcome fuji, and other sensors, such as achromatic sensors like leica monochrom, or IQ3). It is not acceptable let down an entire part of the market. They should expand their market : down with the smartphones photo enhancing (maybe licence some tech with instagram...), and up with studio capabilities (better handling of Medium format raw files, offer tethered shooting capabilities which is no big deal to make). AI is a big subject too. Some friends of mine at Adobe are telling me their Sensei AI engine is really showing tremendous potential and they could let the competition miles behind in the next generation of software. But every software company needs to invest in AI, not only DxO.

If I win the national lottery, I would gladly buy the company (I am dreaming) !!

DxO people : stay strong and keep up the good work !
 
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Moving onwards...

First up, I wish all the DxO people I've had dealings with over the years all the best...

As someone who's written reviews of every single version of DxO Optics Pro (and now PL) - including the very first JPEG only version in March 2004 (yes really, no RAW) I really do hope this works out for them.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/fixing-your-lens-imperfections/

(one of my oldest reviews ;-)

It's still my RAW converter of choice when making large prints and I'm keen to see what they can do with the Nik plugins.

Perhaps the fact that it only ever was my converter of choice points to a basic weakness in the image processing market today?

I was asked to test the DxO One when it first came out, but my iPhone was (and still is) too old :-(
 
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