DxO Optcis Pro / NIK Tools Mashup: Meet DxO PhotoLab

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
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DxO Labs Unleashes... PhotoLab

This is the newest version DxO Optics Pro, but now "turbocharged" with what we once knew as NIK Tools.
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Escalation.jpg
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Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Of interest to current DxO Optics Pro license holders...

DxO Labs said:
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Can I upgrade older versions of DxO OpticsPro to DxO PhotoLab for a current customer price?

Yes, you can. Please log into your online account with us and click on the upgrade link for DxO PhotoLab. The system will walk you through the upgrade process and compute your discounted cost based on the version of DxO OpticsPro you currently own, your location and if any promotional pricing is in effect when you purchase the upgrade to DxO PhotoLab.
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Source

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So that's good news... A new license for PhotoLab will set you back $150 but, I have to say, that seems a LOT of processing horsepower for the money. Possibly a LR CC/Classic replacement some might find attractive?

EDIT: Seems it costs $69 to upgrade to PhotoLab from a previous version of Optics Pro... That's going to be hard for me to resist.
 
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Blacktop

Senior Member
Of interest to current DxO Optics Pro license holders...


Source

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So that's good news... A new license for PhotoLab will set you back $150 but, I have to say, that seems a LOT of processing horsepower for the money. Possibly a LR CC/Classic replacement some might find attractive?

EDIT: Seems it costs $69 to upgrade to PhotoLab from a previous version of Optics Pro... That's going to be hard for me to resist.

Would you be able to live without LR/PS with just this program alone?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Would you be able to live without LR/PS with just this program alone?
Well that's a tough question for me since I don't use LR; my workflow consists of Bridge -> Camera Raw -> Photoshop. Primarily because I prefer having my DAM, separate from my raw converter. LR's greatest strength, as well as its greatest weakness, in my opinion, is the "Libraries" approach it employs to manage image files. If that's how you want to fly, that's great; it's just not how I prefer to do things.

More to your question I think a hard-core LR user might find not having any DAM functionality confusing/frustrating. If we take Libraries out of the equation then I think PhotoLab could serve admirably as a LR replacement. But that's one mighty big "If".

PhotoLab will NOT replace Photoshop for me but it could, possibly, replace Camera Raw. PhotoLab will work with .NEF files natively, but I'll have to export to .TIFF in order to continue working in Photoshop. Kind of bummer... I guess.

I'm going to download a trial version of PhotoLab if I can and give it a whirl... I'm curious how, and how WELL, the U-Point technology is being implemented.

There's also a big ol' discussion on DP Review on this very topic but I'm not sure how management would feel about me linking to another forum. Searching on "DXO Photolab!" in their Retouching sub-forum will pull it up for you however. It's DP Review, so hopefully you know what you're getting into "over there". *gulp*
 

lokatz

Senior Member
I use all three (DxO Optics Pro, LR, PS). DxO's ClearView and Prime are very good and IMHO kick LR's butt. PS is a whole different animal, but with the addition of NIK's technologies, I could live without LR, I think. Will give the PhotoLab upgrade a try.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I downloaded the free trial of PhotoLab and gave it a whirl. The most important thing I found is this is NOT the mashup of NIK Tools and Optics Pro I, and I think many others, were hoping/thinking it would be. PhotoLab, from what I can tell, is really Optics Pro with U-Point Technology laid over it. In retrospect that makes perfect sense; U-Point is the Awesome Sauce behind Control Points and Control Points are the "crown jewels" of NIK. Control Points are what elevated NIK from just another set of filters you slap on, a la Instagram, et al. to a truly powerful and useful editing tool. I was thinking Photolab was going to be NIK's resuscitation, but ixO seems to have simply incorporated NIK's U-Point Technology and, sadly, nothing else.

The implementation of CP's is a little different in Photolab, as is masking them, but if you already know how to use positive and negative CP's and how to mask them in NIK, you should have no trouble figuring how to do the same things using PhotoLab. The GUI specifically attached to CP's is better in PhotoLab, I think, with a bigger set of adjustments to choose from, including things like sharpening. The sliders are arranged vertically, like the sliders on a stereo equalizer.

PhotoLab, to put it succinctly, appears to me to be Optics Pro with Viveza layered on top.

So, if you are a die-hard lover of NIK Tools, and by that I mean if you turn to it for Silver Efex Pro, Analog Efex, Color Efex, etc., you are NOT going to find those filters in Photolab and you'll probably be disappointed. If you're a die-hard Optics Pro user, you'll probably find the addition of CP's a nice addition to what Optics Pro already does.
 
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Danno

Senior Member
I downloaded the free trial of PhotoLab and gave it a whirl. The most important thing I found is this is NOT the mashup of NIK Tools and Optics Pro I, and I think many others, were hoping/thinking it would be. PhotoLab, from what I can tell, is really Optics Pro with U-Point Technology laid over it. In retrospect that makes perfect sense; U-Point is the Awesome Sauce behind Control Points and Control Points are the "crown jewels" of NIK. Control Points are what elevated NIK from just another set of filters you slap on, a la Instagram, et al. to a truly powerful and useful editing tool. I was thinking Photolab was going to be NIK's resuscitation, but ixO seems to have simply incorporated NIK's U-Point Technology and, sadly, nothing else.

The implementation of CP's is a little different in Photolab, as is masking them, but if you already know how to use positive and negative CP's and how to mask them in NIK, you should have no trouble figuring how to do the same things using PhotoLab. The GUI specifically attached to CP's is better in PhotoLab, I think, with a bigger set of adjustments to choose from, including things like sharpening. The sliders are arranged vertically, like the sliders on a stereo equalizer.

PhotoLab, to put it succinctly, appears to me to be Optics Pro with Viveza layered on top.

So, if you are a die-hard lover of NIK Tools, and by that I mean if you turn to it for Silver Efex Pro, Analog Efex, Color Efex, etc., you are NOT going to find those filters in Photolab and you'll probably be disappointed. If you're a die-hard Optics Pro user, you'll probably find the addition of CP's a nice addition to what Optics Pro already does.

Thank you for the test report, Paul. That is really informative. I have one additional question. Did you use it as a plugin with photoshop or was it separate?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Thank you for the test report, Paul. That is really informative. I have one additional question. Did you use it as a plugin with photoshop or was it separate?
I used it stand-alone. PhotoLab integrates with Lightroom as a plug-in, but NOT with Photoshop.
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
@canuck257

Do we simply have a difference of opinion, or did I report something factually inaccurate?

I was wondering about that myself. Might be just that he's disappointed about the way NIK is implemented in Optics Pro. I was hoping that we would have all the goodies available like Silver FX, Color Fx and so on. Although I'm sure that if one puts in some time to figure things out, one can make it work.

PhotoLab, to put it succinctly, appears to me to be Optics Pro with Viveza layered on top.


I could work with that.
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
... I was hoping that we would have all the goodies available like Silver FX, Color Fx and so on. Although I'm sure that if one puts in some time to figure things out, one can make it work.
Me too! There was no indication full-integration of all things NIK was going to happen, of course... I made that assumption when it became known DxO had purchased NIK Tools lock, stock and barrel and because I think of NIK Tools as a filter-set that uses Control Points. in retrospect it makes sense the Control Point technology is what DxO was actually after. I suppose future updates could include more NIK filters but I'm not holding my breath and I'm not eager to pay for any DxO upgrades at this (Control) point in time (HA! (I crack myself up!!))

I do like Optics Pro, I just have a hard time wedging it into my workflow. Not too mention NIK Tools always struck me as a spunky little start-up with "character" (allow for a moment that software can in fact have character, please, my analogy depends on it). Then big, dumb, infinitely corporate DxO comes along and picks NIK's pocket of it's best asset and dumps the rest?

And yes, I wax dramatic this morning; as I'm oft wont to do. *haughty sniff*
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
I agree with Paul. Not having the NIK filter-set in DxO makes this a non-starter for me as well. Hopefully DxO will see these complaints and add them in, otherwise I will have to stay with my Photoshop CS6 and NIK plugs for a while longer.
 

canuck257

Senior Member
@canuck257

Do we simply have a difference of opinion, or did I report something factually inaccurate?

Paul, sorry that happened and I did not notice the error. It was supposed to be a thanks/like. My satellite based internet has been very twitchy of late causing erratic delays in execution of mouse inputs. It also does not help that I am not the most patient person when it comes to twitchy technology.:)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Paul, sorry that happened and I did not notice the error. It was supposed to be a thanks/like. My satellite based internet has been very twitchy of late causing erratic delays in execution of mouse inputs. It also does not help that I am not the most patient person when it comes to twitchy technology.:)
Oh, no problem! Certainly no offense taken, I was concerned I'd missed something or said something totally inaccurate. Thanks for clarifying.
 

spb_stan

Senior Member
I never respond to spam with two exceptions, about 20 years ago, a start up selling a database development platform and today seeing the email about DxO changing to PhotoLab name for their editing program. I downloaded the trial and played with it 4-5 hours when I should have been doing something useful. It has some nice auto functions that seem pretty content aware. The NIK U-Point is implemented well but does feel as if it is not part of the overall program since the workflow is so different. A few standouts, included the ease of protecting highlights while using auto exposure, and how far the the unsharp mask could dig out details without halos. I tried a few RAW files in LR and other copy in PL and the results of some of the presets in PL worked really well on landscapes and architecture, and less so on portraits, but a lot easier to protect highlights and automatically bring up shadows. If you do the same thing often making a preset and batch processing this might be a real time saver
No the negative side, PL was much slower to show effects on the display and much slower rendering a JPG from the RAW file once edited. LR and PS are just more optimized for memory usage and it sort of reminded me of the way Capture NX2 used to slow down from memory leak as a session progressed. My 32 gig of ram was not enough to keep it running at a reasonable speed that is had in the first hour.
The Elite version is $159 and has a few of the most interesting features. I have NIK suite but seldom use anything but dFine.
Overall, I like LR and SP for the $9.99 bundle, it is mature well sorted out software, but missed some of the features of the Nikon Capture NX2, which was written by NIK but never supported well and never really finished. For a long time it was the only program that rendered NEF files well. In several ways PL reminds me of the work flow of NX2 that I liked. For those not interested in devoting a lot of time learning to be really proficient in PS(is takes years) PL does a lot of routine processes automatically so might be a more effective tool with less time invested. I would place it above LR for processing automation but far below the capabilities of PS with a skilled user.
It is a free trial for 30 days, and allows downloading optics module for all the common lenses. Try | DxO.com
They are offering a bundle of their filmpacks, Viewpoint 3 and Photolab for $189. For those doing architecture, Viewpoint 3 is the best perspective control software I have seen.
 
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