DxO PhotoLab review: The king of RAW editing?

DxO has rebranded it's RAW image editing software from DxO Optics Pro to DxO PhotoLab.

Prior to my full review of DxO PhotoLab I was completely new to it. I had heard many vouching for its RAW image editing quality over competitors such as Adobe Lightroom. Creating images with excellent sharpness, low noise and wide tonal range is supposedly straightforward, thanks to the prowess of its RAW processing engine. 

In this latest version, a big new feature has been added - local image adjustments.  It is now possible to make edits to selected areas within an image.  

So now you don’t need to go through the hassle of making general RAW edits to an image in the DxO software, only to then reopen it in different software in order to make localised adjustments. These are encouraging steps in the right direction for DxO. 

DxO PhotoLab starts at £99 and is available on the DxO website, though the Pro version is £159.

So what did I think of the software? Well, if your chief concern is the final quality of individual RAW image files, then you will struggle to beat DxO PhotoLab. It’s library of camera and lens profiles is perhaps the most comprehensive around and gives consistently excellent end results.

DxO PhotoLab pretty much does the basic RAW image adjustments job for you. On first opening images, those automatic edits are often bang on and I’ve quickly seen why many users swear by the predecessor, DxO Optics Pro. 

I’ve pixel peeped to check the automatic Lens Sharpening, Noise Reduction, Smart Lighting, Colour and Contrast adjustments and are really happy with the results. The new PRIME 2016 Denoise tool goes one step further than the existing noise reduction tool.

As for local adjustments, you wouldn’t know this is the first time that the tool has featured, it is right at home in DxO PhotoLab. The Auto Mask tool is highly intelligent and a big time saver, while other local adjustments offer all the features you might hope for.

The software handles really well too. I love the layout of the Organize and Customize screens, especially tools like the Split Preview. 

There are are a couple of downsides. It takes a little more time to work your way around the Customize window and it’s confusing to have the same tools in multiple sub menus (though this can be changed). The biggest downside is the slow pace of image exports. On the flip side, the overall editing part feels a little quicker than most.

All in all, DxO PhotoLab is very much a viable alternative to Adobe Lightroom and since reviewing the product I have started to use it for my image editing. For someone that has tried most photo editing software around, that says a lot.

Check out my in-depth review here.

Affinity photo v1.6 software review

You’ll probably know Serif more for its Windows-based editing software PhotoPlus X, but more recently Serif delved into Mac with Affinity Photo, creating what I think is a legitimate alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

In a relatively short space of time the software is now its sixth iteration, with version 1.6 launched earlier this month. Compatibility with the latest raw files is added regularly. The software has also been developed for iPad and for Windows too.

What is even more impressive is that the software costs a bargain one-off fee under £50. Not a subscription service in sight. That price is less than half the price of a year subscription to Adobe Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC. 

For those that have bought an older version of Affinity Photo, the latest one comes free. Free upgrades were meant to be a plus point for subscription services, so hats off to Serif for looking after existing users at no extra cost. 

Being low cost is all very well, but people will ask if Affinity Photo is any good. Well, I’ve been using the latest version (1.6) of the software since its launch and are happy to say that Adobe should start to sweat a little.  

When it comes to powerful photo editing software that is not chained to a subscription service, Serif Affinity Photo is up there with the best of them. Heck, you’d be hard-pressed to find something that Photoshop offers that you can’t find in Affinity Photo.  

Affinity Photo even looks like Photoshop. A switchover from one to the other is quite painless. The only real difference is that Affinity Photo has five workspaces called Personas, each with their own set of tools, while Photoshop has a single editing workspace and an accompanying raw editor. 

The missing link for Serif taking a bigger bite out of Adobe’s lion share is there is no cataloguing software, like Adobe Lightroom CC or Bridge CC. I’d happily pay another £50 should Serif launch such a software. 

You can see my full review over at Photography Blog and I would expect to see a few more Highly Recommended reviews of Affinity Photo v1.6 in the coming weeks.

Here’s a quick rundown of why I like Serif Affinity Photo 1.6 so much.

Ten reasons I love Serif Affinity Photo v1.6

• A one-off £48.99 is an absolute steal - with free upgrades.
• Regularly updated with new features and compatibility with the latest raw files
• Comprehensive editing tools for raw and JPEG images - anything Photoshop can do, Affinity Photo can do too
• Largely speedy operation
• Easy to switch over from Photoshop because it’s all very similar
• Suitable for beginners and experts
• Edits made non-destructively in adjustments layers, with blending modes available
• Instant previews of edits, with split screen/ mirror screen that displays image before and after
• Highlight/ shadow blowouts can be displayed over the image
• Optional extras for single-click effects

What’s not to like about Serif Affinity Photo v1.6

• Serif does not have a cataloguing element to the suite yet - you’re restricted to editing single images
• Switching between Personas can get a little tedious
• One or two minor lags, like moving around an image displayed at 100% and lengthier lags when switching between Personas
• Some limits to editing like exposure corrections limited to ±2EV
• A lot of export options, however you’re limited with batch exports

Serif Affinity Photo 1.6: Pricing and further information

For more information and to purchase the software, which currently costs £48.99 if you don’t own it already, please visit the Serif website.

In addition, Serif offers a companion graphic design software called Affinity Designer, which also costs £48.99. Handily, both programs share the same file format.

A full list of features new to version 1.6 can be found on the Serif Affinity Photo website.

Palette Gear Expert Kit review

A Palette Gear kit is a unique take on the MIDI controller (like a DJ mix desk), squarely aimed at - though not exclusive to - Adobe CC users.

Designed to speed workflow and make it more comfortable, a Palette Gear kit is made up of customisable hardware modules, including sliders, buttons and multi-function dials.

Typically sitting alongside your keyboard, the modules are placed together to taste and used to make photo workflow and editing adjustments. 

A Palette Gear kit is not restricted to photo software and the modules can be used as controllers for gaming, among other things. 

In one sense a Palette Gear kit is more flexible than a MIDI controller, because you build your own kit in the way you like by moving the modules.

What is more, Palette Gear uses its own software that is compatible with a numerous apps, including much of the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Final Cut Pro X and Capture One Pro, whereas a MIDI controller would make use of a separate third party software for each app.

Having used the kit with Adobe Lightroom CC for several editing jobs, I got on rather well with it.

All the modules are really well crafted and make individual adjustments quicker, but especially more comfortable than when using a mouse or trackpad. 

The Expert Kit which contains 7 modules, that when combined with Palette Profile Switching, provide the right number of controls to be useful before becoming overwhelming.

Familiarising yourself with what each module does in each profile takes a good bit of time though. To be useful, a Palette kit is not something to dabble with, but to invest your time in. 

Then there is the price. A Palette Gear kit is a tad on the expensive side. Casual Adobe CC users may struggle to justify such an outlay, but regular users will find the value in time saved and editing that is much more pleasurable.

I've shot a video review of the Palette Gear Expert kit which can be found on my Vimeo channel, clicking the link above.

To read my in depth review, go the Photography Blog website.

Capture One Pro 10 Review

I have been using Capture One Pro 10 a lot this year and have formed my experience into a review of the software for Photography Blog.

To see my review of the latest iteration of the high-end camera maker Phase One’s 'digital asset management' (DAM), raw converter and photo editing software, follow the link below.

Spoiler alert, I rather like it...

Capture One Pro 10 review

Adobe's 'DAM' software such as Lightroom and Raw are undoubtedly more popular than COP - I have primarily used Adobe CC for all my image editing and management for many years now.

Yet, through 'untainted' eyes and in fact in its own right, COP has become a great bit of software. In version 10, Phase One has brought COP to a point where it does genuinely compete with the big boys like Lightroom, while providing its own unique features (some genuinely useful) and advantages (tethered shooting being an obvious one).

Ultimately we are creatures of habit and bringing change to one's own image editing and workflow takes much persuading. I like COP10, but by default find myself using Adobe Raw. However for images I really like I tend to put the extra time in now with COP10.

Getting photographers to make the switch to COP is the big hurdle for Phase One to overcome. However, the hard graft has been done to make the software a credible alternative and I'd recommend it.