What are the most important improvements for v5?

If DNG support as input file would allow to use all the tools available for camera-generated RAWs (deep prime, white balance), it would be a major improvement.

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Hi,

For me the most important missing feature is the softproofing (I think DxO is already working on a print module coming with this feature).

For some photographer having this feature missing is already enough to switch to another software or not choose DxO in the first place.

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I guess there should be some kind of shortcut to recovery task, maybe automatic function that can be altered after auto. That procedure Mark describes sounds too convoluted.

Curves tool - there is no points picker - the sliders are fine but to be able to choose points on the tone curve rather than just set black/white points and adjust with gamma slider (keep this) but also add a proper curve points setter like PS, LR, C1, Aperture 3 along with histogram overlay within the tool would make it more useful.

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Hi Stephen: This is not an solution to your request, but a suggestion for a different way of working;

  • I find the Smart Lighting tool - in its Spot Weighted mode (used by placing rectangle[s] over areas of contrast) allows a very visual approach to adjusting tones - and provides a very effective result.

A note from PL’s on-line help: About the Tone curve
Note that you can obtain many of the same results by using the HSL palette or DxO Smart Lighting and Selective tone in the Essential Tools palette.

John M

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@SFTphotography & all

Yes, I second that. Missing an ‘integrated’ histogram, a picker/handtool and an indication of input/output values (also could be the elegant version from FilmPack 5)
– see Allow change to histogram & Tone curve backgrounds - #4 by Wolfgang
– see Levels adjustment - #29 by Wolfgang
– see Picker for curves - #9 by Wolfgang
The Tone Curve is THE essential tool.

Of course there are other tools, but why ‘to run around the block’ when there is a direct path …
Wolfgang

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… because Spot Weighted Smart Lighting allows one to adjust tones visually - with immediate results … rather than guessing via the Tone Curve. (Tho, I accept that’s personal preference).

John M

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Hi @John-M,

if the Tone curve tool was not ‘crippled’, like now … :unamused:

One would activate the picker / handtool, go over the pic to the part to be ‘modified’ and simply click & drag (works for any point, for highlights, shadows, mids).
Like this, the Tone curve would be built automatically – no guessing, but easy approach to the tool.

Wolfgang

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I would add :
9- Compare 2 photographs in fullscreen, not only two version of the same picture
10- Faster duplicate and reparation tools. I work on a 16 core CPU 2.9Ghz, 32 Go RAM and nvidia GTX 2060. It’s still be very slow for 45Mpix RAW ! An standalone application PhotoLab Repare only could be helpfull. I works on panoramas around 100 Mpx to 240 Mpx, Affinity is perfect for that.
11- Constant size for watermarking. Actualy, a crop in 45Mpix (ex : 12 Mpix) and a full size picture don’t have a constant size of the police

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Full-screen comparison of two photos, particularly synchronized scrolling of the two when zoomed in, would be tremendously helpful for selecting/rating photos.

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12- Indexing my photo hard drive with PhotoLab help me a lot. Thanks for that… I have about 2500 keywords in my LR catalog (cities, monuments, moutains, lakes, huts, ponds, animals, etc…). If PhotoLab could analyse LR Catalogs to import keywords, it would be a good one.

I think DXO staff will say : “What ? Again you !” :upside_down_face:

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The thread is long already, but here’s what I’d like to see in a new release of DPL:

No local adjustment sliders over the preview!

  • The filter functionality that works in the left dock to switch tools off and on could be used to make available the sliders that can be used in the selected LA.
  • For space saving’s sake, I propose that the sliders be located in one tool panel.

A possibility to override automatic module selection

  • Quite a few such comments are out there from different users
  • Automatic selection is fine, iff (if and only if) it’s spot on, or it’s a pain
  • Make DPL more tolerant to less than perfect metadata

Make all files viewable and customisable

  • Make DPL more universally usable
  • Get over the “It must be perfect” paradigm
  • Make DPL less snobbish against “alien” image files
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That would also solve the existing problem (for Win10 users) of it NOT being possible to adjust LA slider value with the up/down arrow keys.

John M

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I would still really like to see the Nik Collection and Export buttons palatable or someplace in the main interface (at least in the Mac version - not sure what things are like in the Windows version). Often my Catalog viewer isn’t front and center. Since so much is modular, to have the ability to add a palette that contains those buttons to other locations would be really convenient.

Many fine ideas already! I will not repeat too many.
I print, and I use QimageOne specifically for printing.

  • (performance /speed improvement is always welcome (although V4 is much improved over earlier versions)
  • 10 bits support please
  • if possible…soft proofing maybe?
  • ofcourse full support Apple M1 natively
    Thnxs

John-M,

Your #1 request, this is badly needed. It is very difficult to move those sliders, with any precision, with a mouse!

The rest, yes, I agree those improvements are needed as well.

I’m on Windows 10, Ryzen7 processor.

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There are two things I feel are needed in DPL.

  1. As a printer, I’d like to see DPL 5 support the Prophoto color space.
  2. As an abstract photographer I rely on vertical and horizontal image rotation and would like to see them both included in DPL 5.

I agree regarding performance. Anything possible should be done to speed up the processing time.

I need native support for pixel shift images of Pentax (and other cameras). This is very important feature for me and a real advantage. Please!

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I’m only trialling PL4 but I have a few suggestions:

  1. Performance: especially “correction preview” and “export” which are noticeably/much more laggy than any of the other top raw processors (I’m using a maxed-out Mac Air with the M1 chip)

  2. The tone curve (an essential pro tool) needs work. Histogram background; better/smoother curve control with the option to delete specific points on the curve; sliders for quartile/quintile ranges; a combined ‘R,G,B’ curves display (in addition to luminance). PL4 is not at the same level as other ‘pro’ tools. Also, an AUTO setting for e.g. med and strong contrast as in LR.

  3. The local adjustment tool inherited from NIK is neat as far it goes. But it is very primitive in an important respect: you can select & adjust only regions not luminance or color (as in LR and C1 for eg.). This is a significant deficit.

  4. The interaction between “Smart lighting” and all of the other tone tools is too obscure I’d prefer DXO dropped the smart lighting’ marketing name and explained the parameters or included them as a set of operation in other tools. AFAIK ‘smart lighting’ is a combination of reduced (selective?) mid-tone contrast and a non-linear mid-tone exposure boost. It’s certainly part of the DXO ‘look’ (sort of ‘low-key HDR’) but it needs more transparency (in the information sense of the word) and to be better integrated with other tools.

  5. I have no problem with PL using the file system as the image ‘database’ but the “Photo Library” is not as functional as it could be. There seems to be no way to ‘include images in subfolders’ when viewing a folder. Some of the filters that are available are inscrutable: images that I have processed show up the ‘ready to process’ filter etc.

  6. The accuracy/predictability of clone/repair needs work (as it does in LR, C1 etc). It seems the XMP (non-destructive) editors will never match the pixel editors for this procedure. But perhaps there’s a role for machine learning in the choice of ‘gloop’ that is used to re-fill a repair. Maybe too ambitious for PL5.

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