Macintosh users can download the free public beta for Mac starting today. Users are invited to log their comments onto the DxO Labs Web site

PARIS, France -- April 15 -- DxO Labs today announced the beginning of a DxO Optics Pro v5 public beta testing period for users running the software on the Apple Macintosh platform. The free public beta -- available in English only at http://www.dxo.com -- will run for several weeks. Users are invited to provide their feedback at http://www.dxo.com.

The public beta for Mac features the new breakthrough Raw converter and noise removal technology unveiled in the Windows version, support for the Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D300 and Nikon D3 camera bodies and improvements to the existing functionality of the software.

"Although both the Mac and PC versions are identical in terms of functionalities, Mac users will be especially pleased with the consistency of DxO Optics Pro v5 in the Mac environment," says Cyrille de La Chesnais, Sales & Marketing Director of the Photography Business at DxO Labs. "For instance, the palette and tab icons follow Mac OS X toolbar guidelines and the select tab reproduces the three viewing modes that Mac users are accustomed to using."

Demosaicing and noise removal breakthroughs

At the heart of DxO Optics Pro v5 is an innovative Raw conversion engine which includes a completely new demosaicing algorithm producing images with much more detail and fewer artifacts. The other key characteristic of DxO Optics Pro's new Raw Engine is that a newly-developed noise reduction is performed upfront, before noise has a chance to be amplified by the Raw conversion process and absorb important fine details.

Combined with other proprietary techniques, DxO Optics Pro v5's new Raw Engine produces both the most detailed and most natural looking images yet -- its very fine and homogenous grain translating into subtle shades and textures. DxO Optics Pro v5's new Raw conversion engine has been fine-tuned and optimized with the rest of the software's automated image enhancement features (optical corrections, color rendering, exposure optimization, highlight recovery, etc.) to produce best-in class results.

Pricing and availability

DxO Optics Pro v5 is available immediately on the company's e-store or from respected retailers for Windows users. DxO Optics Pro v5 final release for the Macintosh platform is expected later in Q2.

DxO Optics Pro v5 is available in Standard and Elite editions at pricing unchanged from version 4.5:

• DxO Optics Pro v5 Standard: $169

• DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite: $299

(All prices are excluding sales taxes.)

All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro v4.5 on or after Aug. 1, 2007 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 5. For customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro before Aug. 1, 2007, the pricing of upgrades is as follows:

• DxO Optics Pro Standard (any version) to DxO Optics Pro v5 Standard: $95

• DxO Optics Pro Elite (any version) to DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite: $125

Operating System Requirements

Windows:

• Intel Pentium 4 processor or AMD equivalent (Pentium Dual Core or higher or equivalent recommended)

• Microsoft Windows XP 32 bits Service Pack 2 or Windows VISTA 32 bits

Macintosh:

• Universal Binary (G4, G5 or Intel)

• Mac OS X.4 or X.5

All systems:

• 120-MB of available disk space

• DxO Optics Pro Standard Edition: 2-GB RAM recommended

• DxO Optics Pro Elite Edition: 2-GB RAM

About DxO Labs

DxO Labs offers products and solutions ensuring excellence in digital imaging. DxO Labs develops and licenses intellectual property serving the entire digital imaging chain: licensing of optics and silicon architectures for embedded still and video image processing; image quality evaluation and measurement tools and methodologies; image quality enhancement software for consumers. The company's key customers and partners include:

• Consumer electronics manufacturers such as digital camera vendors and cameraphones vendors;

• Imaging components suppliers: camera module manufacturers, sensor vendors and processor vendors;

• Demanding photographers, as well as photography journalists and imaging experts.

DxO Labs' product portfolio is steadily finding a place at the heart of advanced consumer electronics and world-class industry imaging systems where "Image Science by DxO" becomes a reference for quality.

For more information or a list of distributors and resellers, visit DxO Labs online at http://www.dxo.com.