DxO PhotoLab 9: testing a no subscription RAW converter
If everything DxO did were as good as its noise reduction, this would be a no-brainer recommendation. But sadly, you’ll have to decide what’s most important to you.
Along with Capture One, DxO PhotoLab is one of Adobe Lightroom’s most prominent competitors. As well as one of the most expensive. DxO charges 260 francs or 240 euros for its RAW converter. Users of version 7 and 8 can upgrade to the latest version, PhotoLab 9, for half the price. Unlike Capture One, there’s no subscription needed here.
You can try PhotoLab at no cost for 30 days. I recommend doing this before you buy. This way, you can test the things that matter to you.
Operation and user interface
Like many RAW converters, the software’s divided into a library and a customisation section. You can export images from either area, and both offer a comparison view with a variety of options: side-by-side, split-screen and both horizontal and vertical layouts. In the library, you can also set an image as a reference pic and compare it with other snapshots.
You can also display thumbnails and a full-size image at the same time. No need to switch back and forth. You can also easily view more or fewer thumbnails in the library by scrolling up or down the relevant section. All the way down to no thumbnails at all or no individual images. The image browser can also be displayed in a separate window.
Overall, I really like the interface, and it’s easy to understand too. A nice bonus is the display of key EXIF data as icons, just like on a camera screen.
DxO isn’t as customisable as Capture One. You can only change the background colour for a single-image area; the rest always remains dark grey. The basic structure of the interface can’t be changed, and keyboard shortcuts remain the same.
Image management without catalogues – but there’s still a problem
The image management features in DxO PhotoLab are generally solid. They include all the standard functions, such as star ratings, accepting and rejecting, keywords and virtual copies.
However, PhotoLab doesn’t support any sort of catalogues. Images are organised in the physical folder structure. Inside a project, you can compile photos from any folders – it’s basically a virtual folder. There’s no equivalent to Smart Albums from Lightroom. These would be virtual folders that fill themselves based on specific criteria.
And with no catalogues, an import function isn’t strictly necessary. It would still be nice to have one, however. Instead, I have to manually copy photos from my card using Windows Explorer or the Finder. Choosing the right shot, however, is much more difficult. Some people create a folder on their memory card for each project. I’m not a fan. I don’t want to manage my files using the camera; as far as I understand, that’s the job of a RAW converter.
PhotoLab doesn’t display images in subfolders. To me, it’s the biggest drawback of the system, since it severely limits the usefulness of filters. My photos aren’t all in a single folder; instead, they’re organised hierarchically. For example, I can’t filter all five-star photos from my collection.
Fortunately, searching isn’t merely restricted to the currently selected folder. It always covers your entire library. However, in this case as well, I’d prefer parsing the selected folder along with its subfolders – that way, I could specify search ranges myself.
To display images quickly, PhotoLab creates a cache with a size you can set yourself. This way, I can sort my library efficiently. The app saves changes to a central database and, if desired, to an accompanying file as well.
From the library, you can apply presets as well as copy and paste settings. I rarely use presets, but they seem useful since they aren’t overdone or gimmicky. In the customisation section, you can also create your own presets. There’s no global, fully automated image optimisation feature that can be applied directly from the library.
Editing: comprehensive and polished
As with all RAW converters, I haven’t systematically tested every feature. Instead, I got a general overview of the features and took a closer look at some.
It has all the essential functions, there’s really not much missing. As far as I know, DxO was the first manufacturer to offer automatic lens corrections using profiles. That was over 20 years ago. Today, this is more or less standard, but there are still RAW converters that can’t do it, such as Photomator. DxO offers profiles for a huge number of lenses. If there’s no profile available, manual lens correction is also an option.
There are three controls for tone correction. Smart Lighting automatically brightens dark areas and dims lights. The math here is based either on the entire image or a user-defined section. This isn’t a one-click fix; it’s a slider.
In addition, you can use four sliders for different brightness ranges to manually adjust the tonal range. Even small adjustments to the controls can have a big impact, so you’ll need to be very careful. It does take some getting used to, I’d say. This definitely makes it easier to go overboard too.
The third option for tone correction is the gradation curve, where you can also set a gamma value. These three methods work independently of one another and can be combined.
In addition to the Contrast slider, there’s also one called Microcontrast – similar to Clarity in Lightroom. Colour correction works very similarly to how it does in Lightroom.
DxO Clear View Plus is roughly equivalent to Remove Haze in Lightroom. The feature highlights parts of a landscape obscured by haze. Unlike Lightroom, however, it also enhances objects in the foreground. This sometimes feels unnatural. In the example below, the focus should be on the distant mountains. However, I don’t like how the grass in the foreground stands out.
Disappointing object recognition for local correction
This is exactly why local correction exists. I select the sky and faded hills and apply the transparency slider only to those areas. But this is where one of its biggest weaknesses compared to Lightroom becomes apparent: selecting the right areas is significantly more time-consuming and difficult.
The sky is the only part of the landscape that PhotoLab can automatically detect. In the extremely simple example above, it works. But it fails miserably with the challenging test photo I use for all RAW converters. The selection was wrong in numerous other tests as well.
There are various tools available for local adjustments, such as gradient filters and luminance masks. An automatic brush that traces along contours is also available. You do end up at your destination somehow – it just takes much longer than with automatic landscape detection, and the result is usually less accurate.
In many cases, PhotoLab can perfectly separate a subject from the background. In my test image, the software also correctly identified a person. However, it didn’t recognise hair, and unlike in Lightroom and Capture One, there isn’t a function for other facial features at all.
Excellent noise reduction
Mind you, DxO PhotoLab really shines in one AI-powered area: noise reduction. The DeepPrime feature – at DxO, all functions have fancy brand names – is one of the best I’ve seen so far. If not the very best.
Even my extremely noisy test image shot at 12,800 ISO comes out completely clean and razor-sharp in PhotoLab – there are no strange artefacts either. Of course, even PhotoLab has its limits. With even noisier images, the blur is sometimes interpreted as texture and not removed as a result. Overall, however, the results are so good that sports and wildlife photographers can do without specialised software like Topaz Photo AI.
Another plus: automatic alignment
A feature I use often is aligning the horizon so that, for example, the sea level is straight. In Lightroom, I often do this manually since the software’s automatic settings come up with some truly bizarre ideas. It’s all the more gratifying to see that DxO PhotoLab usually does the job.
But apparently, correcting the perspective – such as straightening converging lines – is a real struggle. Even the best automated systems regularly fail at that. Doing it manually can take quite a while. Happily, DxO scores another point in this department – the lines are straightened correctly more often than not. This works even in a complex setting like my test image, with diagonal lines running in all directions.
In a nutshell
A good, somewhat expensive overall package
DxO PhotoLab is a truly solid RAW converter with many strengths – but also a few weaknesses I didn’t expect given its high price.
Thanks to a simple, intuitive user interface, getting started is a breeze. But when it comes to image management, I’m missing an import function as well as the ability to view and filter photos using subfolders. Regarding editing features, I’m particularly impressed by the excellent noise reduction, but the automatic alignment works exceptionally well too. DxO is less effective when it comes to AI-assisted selection of landscape elements or facial features. As a result, local corrections take longer and are less accurate.
Given its noise reduction feature, DxO feels more like an interesting alternative or complement to me, particularly for sports and wildlife photography. But when it comes to studio photography, I think Capture One has the edge. For quick and precise edits on landscape photos in turn, nothing beats Lightroom – despite the subscription.
Pro
- User-friendly operation
- Comprehensive editing features
- Fantastic AI-powered noise reduction
- Perspective correction with solid automation
- Available as a one-time purchase
Contra
- No import feature
- AI detection of landscape features is disappointing
- Image management doesn’t scan subfolders
- Expensive
My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
