How is it possible for the DxO ONE to capture DSLR-quality images? Can the DxO ONE shoot ultra-sharp 4K videos like the latest iPhone cameras? Will the DxO ONE impact either my iPhone’s battery life or storage space? Is the Lightning connector sturdy enough to hold my iPhone? How do the DxOMark scores for the iPhone and the DxO ONE compare?
Often people wonder if software really makes a difference. They may as well use Adobe CC or CaptureOne to process their images. Partly it's herd mentality. People just follow what 'others are doing'.
- Capture One is more picky about direct camera support, but it does support DNG, so you can always convert to DNG first and then import. DXO is the most cumbersome in this regard. First you must drag-and-drop files from the file system to a project, edit them and then drag and drop files from the project to the output queue.
- . Download trial versions of DxO PhotoLab, Lightroom and Capture One here What this comparison is mostly about is just how good each one of them is at processing RAW images, and to test this out I’m going to use compare the RAW image processing of files from a series different cameras, including a Canon EOS 6D Mark II, Sony A6000, Nikon Z 6.
- Capture One added plugins to their feature list with the release of version 12. Since the plugin eco-system is relatively new, there are not so many plugins for Capture One as for Lightroom. However, the number of Capture One plugins will surely grow as developers come to know the possibility.
- DxO PureRAW is now available for download on the DxO website for a special launch price of $89 instead of $129 until May 31, 2021. A free 30-day trial version is also available.
Sometimes software really is different. The original Final Cut Pro changed the post-production industry thanks to how much more usable, how much easier it was to learn and how much more affordable it was than Avid's Symphony. Adobe Premiere was around then but then as now, Premiere as a poorly integrated cross-platform video editor was relatively unreliable. All kinds of driver conflicts and crashes.
In photo editing right now, there is one piece of software which has a clear edge in noise reduction and hence in processing high ISO images.
DxO PhotoLab performs miracles with noise reduction. Lightroom is a distant second. No one else comes close. No Canon shooter should be without DxO PhotoLab. Adds two usable stops to any of their cameras. A 5D Mark III image looks clean at ISO 12800 instead of topping out at ISO 3200.
I've been asked to show an example and I'll pull one from a recent football match where I was trying out my 'new' Canon EF 300mm f2.8L IS I. It turned out my copy was delivered with a circular polarizer and not a placeholder filter, hence I was shooting about 1.5 stops darker than the lens normally would be. ISO was cranked out at 12800 on my Canon 5DS R and the image was still a bit dark. This is about technically the worst image I shot all season, but due to the content – compact Mario Marko stiff arming a much bigger defender – I wanted to use it. I made my best effort with each software program.
Here's how it looks out of PhaseOne's CaptureOne (C1) which is considered the professional benchmark for photo processing these days.
The above is a horrible image, barely publishable, somewhat embarrassing.
Here's what the same image looks like after DxO PhotoLab with Prime Noise Reduction.
Software does make a difference.
Here's a link to the full RAW file if you'd like to try your own post-production software on this image.
CaptureOne is not without its merits. For low and normal ISO images, the colour manipulation tools are much more powerful and useful than what DxO offers. DxO has colour correction tools while C1 offers the ability to do advanced colour manipulation.
Dxo Nik Collection Capture One
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