DxO Film Pack

DavidTO · December 9, 2006

I've been playing with DxO 4, and I'm slowly learning. So far it's definitely not the software to be banging out images quickly, but that could just be me.

Anyway, one of the things it has (made to make rutt cringe) is Film Pack, which mimics 20 types of film.

I played around with using for making B/W converions, and here are the results. I'm not gonna say they're great, since the shots weren't great to start with, and I'm just starting to muck around with it. But take a look at the grain and all, and let me know what you think!

#1

#2

#3

#4

For anyone interested, here is a 100% crop of the image so you can see the added film grain. There are controls for the amount, which I left at the default settings.

I also can't pass up the opportunity to sing the praises of DxO's optics correction, based on profiles written specifically for your camera/lens.

Here's an animated GIF showing the difference. Neither image is sharpened.

erich6 · December 10, 2006

David,

I have to second your assessment about DxO's optical corrections. This software package does a fantastic job removing optical blur and distortions. I'll also add the noise reduction to the mix which I think offers at least a two-stop gain on a well-exposed image. The lighting tool is also very good for shadow/highlight recovery.

I've also started playing around with the film pack and I have a few *initial* observations:

1. You have to be careful about the way different film types will stretch/compress the overall contrast of the image. I seem to be always having to adjust using the DxO curves module or exposure compensation. I see evidence of this in your B&W images (were these Tri-X?).
2. I still find myself wanting the finer control over tones, color, and saturation I can get with Photoshop. I'm not sure that's a fault of DxO specifically...this would probably be true of any automated software solution. Therefore, I think I will end up using this only as a quick "what if" coversion to see how some different treatments will make an image look. That said, I think there will be the occasional shot that will look OK "right out of the box".
3. The grain appears to look realistic.

I also think the DxO workflow is rather slow...mainly due to how long RAW images take to preview. DxO labs appears to recognize this and has improved preview speeds in the latest update (v4.1) but it's still nowhere as fast as something like iView Media Pro. If they could get that kind of performance for previewing I think this package would be absolutely perfect and without competition.

Erich

DavidTO · December 10, 2006

erich6 wrote:

David,

I have to second your assessment about DxO's optical corrections. This software package does a fantastic job removing optical blur and distortions. I'll also add the noise reduction to the mix which I think offers at least a two-stop gain on a well-exposed image. The lighting tool is also very good for shadow/highlight recovery.

I've also started playing around with the film pack and I have a few *initial* observations:

1. You have to be careful about the way different film types will stretch/compress the overall contrast of the image. I seem to be always having to adjust using the DxO curves module or exposure compensation. I see evidence of this in your B&W images (were these Tri-X?).

No, Ilford Delta 400. Yeah, I'm still working on getting the hang of it.

2. I still find myself wanting the finer control over tones, color, and saturation I can get with Photoshop. I'm not sure that's a fault of DxO specifically...this would probably be true of any automated software solution. Therefore, I think I will end up using this only as a quick "what if" coversion to see how some different treatments will make an image look. That said, I think there will be the occasional shot that will look OK "right out of the box".

Are you comparing it to ACR or PS? I think it has as much or more control over color as ACR, but I'm finding it harder to get at. I chalk that up to my learning curve. Neither ACR or DxO compare to PS, if that's what you mean.

3. The grain appears to look realistic.

I'm no expert, but it looks good to me (and certainly better than I could do on my own!)

I also think the DxO workflow is rather slow...mainly due to how long RAW images take to preview. DxO labs appears to recognize this and has improved preview speeds in the latest update (v4.1) but it's still nowhere as fast as something like iView Media Pro. If they could get that kind of performance for previewing I think this package would be absolutely perfect and without competition.

Erich

This is not entirely fair, since iVMP is rendering out a fugly image. DxO is previewing an image with corrections to (depending on which you choose): Optics, Sharpness, Noise, White Balance and Exposure, Color, Lighting, Geometry and Crop. OK, Crop shouldn't be a big deal, but still. It's doing a LOT of work. The questions is whether it's worth it? I'm still working through that. Certainly for images I really care about, the added detail and corrections to distortion are worth getting, even if you turn off the other corrections.

erich6 · December 10, 2006

Here's an example of what I consider to be a pretty decent B&W conversion. This image wasn't even taken with a camera for which DxO has a profile yet I think it did a pretty decent job.

Original from Panasonic FX-01 (no RAW capability so JPG to start with):

Conversion with Ilford Pan F Plus 50 and sepia toning:

Conversion with Ilford HPS 800 and sepia toning:

Here's a 100% crop of the Ilford HPS 800 to really show the grain:

...Ilford Pan F Plus 50:

...and the original:

erich6 · December 10, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

No, Ilford Delta 400. Yeah, I'm still working on getting the hang of it.

Are you comparing it to ACR or PS? I think it has as much or more control over color as ACR, but I'm finding it harder to get at. I chalk that up to my learning curve. Neither ACR or DxO compare to PS, if that's what you mean.

I'm no expert, but it looks good to me (and certainly better than I could do on my own!)

This is not entirely fair, since iVMP is rendering out a fugly image. DxO is previewing an image with corrections to (depending on which you choose): Optics, Sharpness, Noise, White Balance and Exposure, Color, Lighting, Geometry and Crop. OK, Crop shouldn't be a big deal, but still. It's doing a LOT of work. The questions is whether it's worth it? I'm still working through that. Certainly for images I really care about, the added detail and corrections to distortion are worth getting, even if you turn off the other corrections.

I was comparing to PS with layers etc.... You just get more control that way. I also think PS has better tonal control with its curves tool than DxO. Really not a fair comparison but in the end what matters is the final product and how efficient you were in your workflow.

I'm talking about the "organize" portion of the workflow should be like iVMP. I'm not looking for corrections...just my ability to sort through which images are the right ones to keep. Then when I'm starting to apply corrections I'd like to start applying settings and then only see the corrections I want when I want. Now everytime I click on an image to start applying corrections I have to wait for the software to load a preview. That's inefficient.

DavidTO · December 10, 2006

erich6 wrote:

I was comparing to PS with layers etc....

Yeah, I don't think this is meant to replace that at all. I still go through PS after DxO for most shots.

Andy · December 10, 2006

I'm knee-deep in three different color correction systems now, I2E, plus two others that are in early stage development. I don't have room for DxO in my brain right now but man, this looks cool

Stustaff · December 11, 2006

Was looking at the website! some great examples of what it can do for correcting out of camera!

Nice example here http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/image_masters/mark_junak/2001049/(offset)/0px

Might have to give this a go!

erich6 · December 12, 2006

What a coincidence...DxO is now offering their software bundled with iView Media Pro. The Standard version is $229. This is a great deal folks considering that iView by itself is $199.

Erich

Stustaff · December 12, 2006

Had a play with DxO last night very interesting! will post up a couple of results later.

TomaS · December 12, 2006

DxO looks like great software to add to any workflow. (But what I REALLY need is less work and more flow

).

Wondering if anyone is using it in conjunction with Capture NX. From reading the DxO site, it appears they do not play well together. That is, DxO will open but not save a NEF. And using it AFTER NX does not seem like a good idea to me.

det1rac · April 22, 2007

DxO vs. Exposure
just read the post....
I am in the market for a piece of software to emulate film grain however I haven't seen any reviews with a side by side comparison between different sets of application's or reviews comparing them.
Here is a photo I took with Ilford 3200 B&W film:
http://www.robertcain.info/gallery/2573134/1/129017692/Large

Anyone have any experience with any? Specifically maybe both theAlien Skin's exposure and DxO?

Here are a few I have looked at:
DxO Film Pack @ 69.00 (until May)
Alien Skin Exposure @ 199. (99 with discount)

Are there any others?

Maybe you can link to some reviews of the software?

Also, Andy if you read this you meantioned you were working on two color corrective software apps in December, any light?

DxO Film Pack

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