Verdict: 3.5 stars DxO FilmPack 8 sets out to replicate the look of classic analog films and processes with true scientific and historical accuracy. Does it succeed? Yes, but while its renderings are faithful and evocative, the absence of local adjustment tools can give you some workflow headaches and it lacks the madness/genius of Nik Analog Efex.
DxO
Paris-based software company famous for its optical research, testing systems and software. It publishes DxO PhotoLab (previously known as DxO Optics Pro), FilmPack and ViewPoint, the Nik Collection and the PureRAW RAW pre-processing tool.
DxO PureRAW 6 review
Verdict: 5 stars DxO PureRAW 6 is like a RAW pre-processing tool that applies DxO’s trademark lens corrections and DeepPRIME denoising and outputs a RAW DNG file for other programs to use. Version 6 adds key improvements to an already excellent tool. The lens corrections are superb, the denoising and detail enhancement are exceptional and not you get AI dust removal too!
DxO ViewPoint 5 review
Verdict: 3.5 stars DxO ViewPoint 5 is a specialised distortion and correction tool which has some clever features but is a bit of an awkward fit with most editing workflows, partly because it can’t open and correct RAW files and partly because most applications you might launch it from have distortion and perspective correction tools of their own.
DxO PhotoLab 9.6 update: DeepPRIME XD3, compressed DNG files and ‘feathered’ AI masks
The DxO PhotoLab 9.6 update is not a major version release, so it’s a free update for existing PhotoLab 9 users, and a pretty substantial one at that. And there might be enough here to convince anyone thinking about getting DxO PhotoLab 9 to finally take the plunge.
DxO PureRAW 6 is announced, as DxO’s top-quality RAW processor gets major updates
DxO PureRAW is like a RAW file preprocessor, applying DxO’s now-legendary lens corrections and denoising to produce full-corrected DNG files that can be opened and edited as enhanced RAW files in other programs like Lightroom. And PureRAW 6 fixes a major pain point of its predecessor while adding a brand new and potentially game-changing new feature.
Save 20% on DxO software when you buy two products, plus free premium support
DxO’s Black Friday deals may have been and gone, but there’s a new Christmas deal where you can save 20% if you buy two products, so that’s any combination of DxO PhotoLab 9.2, Nik Collection 8.2, DxO PureRAW 5.5, FilmPack 8 or ViewPoint 5. You’ll also get between 3 and 12 months of priority support, depending on the size of your order.
DxO Nik Collection 8 review
Verdict: 4.6 stars Nik Collection 8 has some interesting new features for existing users, but mostly for those who use Photoshop as their main ‘host’ application for launching the plug-ins. Silver Efex gets a major interface overhaul, however. This is very welcome, though its actual capabilities are little changed. Otherwise, apart from some workflow tweaks, it’s business as usual for this epic plug-in suite. Frankly, the Nik Collection is already such a wide-ranging, powerful and inspiring set of photo-enhancement tools that it’s always a bit of a surprise to find DxO has found anything to improve.
Live in color, dream in black and white: Nik Collection 8 is here
Nik Collection 8 is the annual update and refresh to the DxO Nik Collection, which consists of seven different plug-ins for Photoshop and Lightroom Classic, but which can also run as standalone applications and work as external editors for many other programs. Silver Efex gets a significant overhaul in this version, but other the big news is enhanced and updated integration with Adobe Photoshop and its masking tools.
DxO PureRAW 5 review
Verdict: 4.4 stars PureRAW 5 brings an even newer, even better DeepPRIME XD3 denoising process, XD3 X-Trans sensor support in beta, new local adjustments for selective sharpening and denoising and new custom presets for export. The results are quite amazing, as ever, though it’s hard to see any visible improvement over the earlier DeepPRIME XD2 process and there are a couple of niggly little operational glitches.
I’m obsessed with the strange, chaotic and beautiful world of Nik Analog Efex
There comes a time to put the science to one side, to put the histograms and the eyedroppers back in their box, and to step sideways into a very strange and very different analog world. Analog Efex, part of the DxO Nik Collection, goes to places other effects tools don’t go. It’s richer, stranger and more random than just about anything else, and I love it.