DxO Appreciation and Information Thread~

[Bert63]

I am a dedicated user of DxO Photolab and I was surprised to see that there were a few others here who also share my appreciation of this powerful little tool. I thought maybe we could share a little information about how we all use it and have it set up so maybe I can learn something to help me work through my photos.

As for me, I run DxO on my center monitor (32" 4K BenQ) and have the "library grid" running in my left monitor (27" 2K BenQ), and I keep the export folder open in my right monitor (a duplicate to the left monitor - a 27" 2K BenQ)

- I created my own workspace. I love the ability to do this EXCEPT I wish it was able to be exported so I didn't have to recreate it when I have to do a reinstall. I attached it so you can see what I use most often.



- I created my own preset as well, and I have it set up to be applied to every new photo added - it gives me a nice starting place.

I'm curious how you guys use it and if you've created any presets or other tweaks you've made to make your workflow easier.

Share what you think is important.

I love this program and think it's underrated across the board.

 

[zim]

Setup quite similar to you
Own workspace - you're so correct about being able to export/import to a new install. Actually I've always found their support quite well supportive so requesting a feature may not fall on deaf ears I know bugs don't.

I 'cull' images by first giving them all one star and setting a filter of only show one star and above. Then go through them un-selecting the star of ones i don't like. I know there is also a rating option but I've been using the stars since forever.

I have my own base presets for specific cameras, each camera to there own folder. Basically settings I'd apply to every image like prime, nominal sharpening etc. Then extensions of that base preset for the main subjects I photograph.

I have an export options set up for 16 bit tiff and appropriate ICC profile. I always export to a folder named 'edit' under the original file location. I only use a prefix if I'm doing multiple renderings of the same image ie when i want to play with different 'looks' in Affinity Photo

That's about it really, I keep things pretty simple!

 

[AlanF]

Thanks for the useful tips. It's a very good program and I find it much easier, faster and more intuitive than Adobe software. It's PRIME noise reduction from RAW, in my opinion is the best, giving more detail than the specialist packages or even a noisier DPP file. It's lens sharpness tool can over-sharpen, especially with the 5DSR. And, they do respond quickly to e-0mails.

 

[Bert63]

Do you guys export to TIFF for work in subsequent programs?

I just satarted messing with that and I think I've realized that my library is going to get some re-work...

 

[SteveC]

Do you guys export to TIFF for work in subsequent programs?

I just satarted messing with that and I think I've realized that my library is going to get some re-work...

Annoyingly, my version of DPP (which is pretty olde) it puts two images in the tiff file, one is a thumbnail apparently, so subsequent programs have to be told which one to use.

 

[AlanF]

Do you guys export to TIFF for work in subsequent programs?

I just satarted messing with that and I think I've realized that my library is going to get some re-work...

TIFF files are huge and I try to avoid them, doing what I can in RAW and then doing minor stuff on the outputted jpeg. Not technically the best, but life is a compromise.

 

[Bert63]

Annoyingly, my version of DPP (which is pretty olde) it puts two images in the tiff file, one is a thumbnail apparently, so subsequent programs have to be told which one to use.

Mine gives me the choice and I choose standalone TIFF.

 

[SteveC]

Mine gives me the choice and I choose standalone TIFF.

It's possible I actually have that option and didn't recognize it for what it was.

 

[Bert63]

TIFF files are huge and I try to avoid them, doing what I can in RAW and then doing minor stuff on the outputted jpeg. Not technically the best, but life is a compromise.

Up until today I did the same thing. Today I processed everything through as TIFF and didn't save to HQ JPG until the end and unfortunately there is a pretty substantial visible difference.

I used DPP to convert directly to TIFF, then into DxO, then into Affinity, then into Topaz/Nik - just messing around. I stayed in 16 bit TIFF and at final step I saved as JPG and the quality was better than what my normal export-to-JPG-and-minor-edit-and-save routine produces.

I also believe the lens sharpness in DxO is too powerful - I have my default setting @ -1.10 and work from there.

 

[HenryL]

I was just starting to play with DxO when I picked up the R5 and have been patiently waiting for support for it's raw files. This afternoon I received an update notice when I launched the program and was excited to finally be able to get back to DxO and pick up where I left off. Sadly...still no raw support for R5.

Bummer, I really thought it was an excellent raw converter and it's Prime denoise seem superior to Topaz. Not looking forward to waiting several more months for the next update. By the time that comes around, I think I'll be too used to the C1 workflow to bother (I had been learning both in parallel as a way of comparison).

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Steve.
There is no real reason not to upgrade (unless your pc is too old) to a newer version, it is free and easily downloaded.

Cheers, Graham.

Annoyingly, my version of DPP (which is pretty olde) it puts two images in the tiff file, one is a thumbnail apparently, so subsequent programs have to be told which one to use.