DxO announces Optics Pro 5.3

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DxO announces Optics Pro 5.3
By Mike Tomkins
(Wednesday, October 22, 2008 - 04:00 EDT)

Boulogne, France-based DxO Labs has today announced that it is shipping a new version of its impressive DxO Optics Pro software that offers quite a range of new features - and to coincide with the launch, we've just posted a video preview recorded at the recent Photokina tradeshow.

DxO Optics Pro 5.3 brings dramatic improvements in Raw file processing, building on the previous release. In Optics Pro 5.2, DxO had changed its technique so as to perform noise removal before raw conversion took place, and the approach has been taken another step further in the new version. Noise is filtered before demosaicing, which prevents the effects of noise at each pixel location from spreading to neighboring pixels. Comparing Optics Pro 5.3 to its rivals Adobe Camera Raw and Nikon Capture NX, DxO says it has measured a 1 to 3 stop (2 to 9dB) improvement in signal to noise ratio, with a grain size of 1.4 pixels versus 2.0 pixels in the competitors. It should be noted that the versions of Camera Raw and Capture NX cited were superceded three and six months ago respectively, but nonetheless the results we were shown were clearly impressive.

Among the images we viewed at Photokina was a 1/800 second Nikon D700 image shot at night under street lighting. The camera was set to ISO 6,400 sensitivity, and deliberately underexposed by 3.0EV. This was then pushed to ISO 51,200 equivalent with DxO Optics Pro 5.3. The resulting image looked very useable, with good color saturation and surprisingly fine detail / low noise levels, relatively speaking.

Other changes in DxO Optics Pro 5.3 include support for three new cameras - the Nikon D700 and Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D digital SLRs, as well as Canon's PowerShot G9 prosumer compact camera. There's also now support for Sony's compressed cRaw format, and Optics Pro 5.3 can now detect focusing distance for Canon's EOS-40D, 1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III digital SLRs. Support has been added for both Windows Vista 64-bit and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.

Further changes include stability and user interface improvements, including automatic download of its lens/body-specific DxO Correction Modules, backup and restore of the project database, more pre-defined presets, and a new “neutral” color rendering option. DxO has also released 59 new Correction Modules, and we're also told that the pace of module releases will increase now that DxO has opened a second calibration facility, effectively doubling its production capacity.

Pricing of DxO Optics Pro 5.3 is available immediately and remains unchanged ($169 - $299 depending upon version). Customers who have purchased DxO Optics Pro since August 1st, 2007 will receive the new version at no charge.

Imaging Resource Managing Editor Dave Etchells recently met with Cyrille de La Chesnais, DxO's Director of Sales and Marketing, Photography to record an introductory preview to the new release of DxO Optics Pro. The almost twenty-minute video (which can be seen below) was shot at the recent Photokina tradeshow in Germany, and includes an introduction to all the new features, as well as a demonstration of Optics Pro 5.3 in use. Crops from some of the example images can be seen on the DxO website.

Original Source Press Release:

DxO Optics Pro 5.3 New Raw Conversion Technology Turns the Promises of Very High ISO (Up To 25 600) Into Reality

This major new release of DxO Optics Pro also adds RAW support for the Nikon D700, Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D, and Canon PowerShot G9, 64-bit MS Windows compatibility, support of Adobe Lightroom 2, numerous new DxO Optics Correction Modules, and improves user experience and stability.

New-York, USA and Paris, France - October 22, 2008 – As PhotoExpoPlus Expo is about to open in New York City, DxO Labs today announces the immediate availability of DxO Optics Pro v5.3, a major new release of its award-winning automatic image quality enhancement solution for digital SLR and compact camera users..

New RAW conversion technology turns the promises of very high ISO (up to 25 600) into reality
Most of the recent DSLRs feature impressive high ISO settings, sometimes as high as 25 600 ISO. But until now, these high sensitivities were of little practical use to photographers due to the very poor resulting image quality.

DxO Optics Pro v5.3’s new RAW conversion technology breaks this limitation. By delivering outstanding results in noise removal, detail rendition and color fidelity at any sensitivity, DxO Optics Pro v5.3 at last enables photographers to take full advantage of the ultra-high ISO of their costly cameras.

“The noise removal technology for RAW images featured in DxO Optics Pro 5.3 opens up exciting options to photographers providing them with up to a 2-stop gain at photo capture, as if digital grain never really existed,” says Cyrille de La Chesnais, director of the photography business at DxO Labs. “This translates into a dramatic increase in capture flexibility.”

Using DxO Optics Pro v5.3, photographers may choose to take advantage of this gain to freeze movement, increase depth-of-field or capture images in even lower lighting conditions than are possible today--or even get rid of their flash gun altogether! Alternatively they may choose to invest money in less expensive lenses with smaller apertures, relying on DxO Optics Pro 5.3 to compensate for the lower exposure. DxO Optics Pro 5.3 extends the range of usable sensitivity while maintaining color consistency and saturation, and bringing out the finest image details.

Support for 3 new cameras and for 59 new DxO Optics Correction Modules
DxO Optics Pro v5.3 adds RAW support for the recently released Nikon D700 and Canon Digital Rebel XS/1000D DSLRs, and noticeably for the high-end compact Canon PowerShot G9. Other recently announced DSLRs, including Canon EOS 50D and Nikon D90, will be supported by the end of the year.

DxO Optics Pro v5.3 features 59 new DxO Optics Correction Modules for a variety of cameras including the Canon 1D Mark III, Canon 20D, Canon 40D, Canon Digital Rebel/300D, Canon Digital Rebel XT/350D, XTi/400D and XSi/450D, Fujifilm S5 Pro, Nikon D300, Nikon D40, Nikon D40x, Nikon D50, Nikon D60, Nikon D70, Nikon D70s, Nikon D80 and Samsung GX20.

DxO Optics Pro v5.3 also supports cRaw format for Sony users.

Compatibility with Microsoft Windows 64-bit configuration
DxO Optics Pro v5.3 is now compatible with Microsoft Windows 64-bit platform, the configuration often preferred by photographers for its responsiveness when running multiple applications simultaneously and switching between them frequently.

Support for Adobe Lightroom 2
DxO Optics Pro v5.3 supports Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 further smoothing the workflow and increasing productivity for the growing number of serious and professional photographers.

Stability and user experience improvements
DxO Optics Pro v5.3 improves stability and numerous aspects of the user experience, including automatic download of available DxO Optics Correction Modules, automatic focusing distance recognition for Canon 40D, 1D Mark III and 1Ds Mark III, backup and restore of project database, more predefined presets, and better color rendering options including a new “neutral” color rendering.

About DxO Labs
DxO Labs offers products and solutions ensuring excellence in digital imaging. In addition to its PC and Mac solutions targeting serious and demanding photographers, the company develops and licenses patented intellectual property serving the entire digital imaging chain:

For consumer electronics OEM/ODM (such as digital camera and camera phone vendors): embedded software and silicon architectures for real time still and video image processing;
For imaging component suppliers (camera module manufacturers, sensor vendors, and processor vendors) as well as photography journalists and imaging experts: image quality evaluation and measurement tools;

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, visit DxO Labs website at www.dxo.com

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