I just tested the new Photo page in DaVinci Resolve 21beta with the new DNG compressed files and happy to report that it works really well and fast.
The editing facilities in DV21b are really amazing.
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Have you tried PhotoLab before? Could you say how they compare against each other?
I have been using PhotoLab since version 1. DaVinci Resolve can easily replace PhotoLab but lacks the lens correction facility and noise reduction is not as good as PhotoLab.
PureRaw and DaVinci Resolve provides everything PhotoLab provides and a lot more too.
If you already use DaVinci Resolve and want to edit photos then you now can with excellent results.
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I currently use PhotoLab with its integrated FilmPack and ViewPoint features. I use those added features heavily. Can you say how this compares to using DaVinci Resolve with PureRAW or PhotoLab? I’ve only ever used DR for light video editing, and that was several years ago.
I have tested DR paid version with PL and can report that results from DR using either PR’s or PL’s new DNG export provides just as good results. With DR you get ALL the effects, film looks, and far more advanced colour grading than PL.
If you have PR and use DR then you don’t need anything else as the results are essentially the same.
If you want to use DR only then you will need to get the paid version to get the latest AI noise reduction and AI sharpening. The AI noise reduction is not as good as PR or PL but the AI sharpening is just as good. You will also not get lens correction.
Hope that helps answer your questions.
EDIT: ViewPoint functionality is also fully supported via the Effects Library. EDIT 2: Perspective is available but not actually working yet.
For low ISO photos you won’t even need PR or PL as noise correction is just as good on lower ISO photos.
Thanks for these overviews Keith, it looks like DxO has some real competition here.
I prefer not to use multiple programmes in a workflow if I can avoid it - PhotoLab has been conveniently AIO, but some what slow and I do find it lacking in some areas like colour grading.
Seeing how Capture One, Lightroom, and apparently DR handle colour, it makes me wish PhotoLab would… evolve. Those first two at least have had shadow, mid-tone, and highlight grading options for years now, where you have to pay DxO to get split highlight/shadow colour grading as it’s locked away in IIRC FilmPack (!) There’s no mid-tone grading at all.
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It seems it will be quite a learning curve to try out DR, coming from PhotoLab. None of my micro four thirds RAW formats are supported, so I made a test project of TIFF files and started trying to edit one of them. I made an adjustment, and after seeing no change pressed CTRL+Z to see if that would undo it. With no warning, that turned all of DR into a blank slate. Edits aren’t being recorded in history and the Effects adjustments aren’t even selectable - just basic photo sliders. So far, no good. Certainly not intuitive.
Greg, look at YouTube tutorials on colour grading and you will find out how to use the tools in the Colour page, including nodes.
Nodes allow you full control over edits including the order they are applied and you can turn them on and off at will.
Yes, there is a steep learning curve but there are a huge number of resources available on YouTube.
Here are some of the best channels to go to:
https://youtube.com/@darrenmostyn?si=8Ichg43pjpmgzA3K
https://youtube.com/@mralextech?si=lXLgHa4zKPR3SV_M
https://youtube.com/@jorishermans?si=HBJ1ssQCJJajlwua
https://youtube.com/@caseyfaris?si=Sps0HtE_ZHcm09aT
Although these are for videos, the tools in the Colour and Fusion pages also work for photos.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you, Keith. I’m getting the hang of it after more playtime and watching some videos that are focused on photo editing. I’m also giving Nik Collection 9 a trial run. I’ll refrain from evaluative comments for the time being.
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So… DR can do luminance curves, spot-based smart lighting, Clearview, retouch, and complex local masking?
Also, a lot of the media buzz is around the free version and it was my understanding a lot of the cool stuff is in the $300 version. And then the media point out that the $300 is a “one time charge”. So is PhotoLab. What is DaVinci’s history of paid upgrades?
DR has all these but implemented in different ways. There is also Depth Mask and many other effects. Local masking is far more advanced than PL
$300 one time charge currently includes all upgrades. V20 to V21 will be free. Going forward this may change. In the past ALL upgrades from V1 to V20 have been free. As long as people keep buying DV and it is enough to support development then upgrades should be free.
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Unlike DxO, the Blackmagic one time charge for DaVinci Resolve has been a one-time fee. I bought with the paid version at about the time of DaVinci 9. Thirteen years later, there’s no upgrade charges. Current version is DaVinci Resolve 22.
At this point, I would have been totally understanding if Blackmagic had charged say $50 to add the photo module feature to one’s Resolve install.
On the other hand, Blackmagic’s steady hand has resulted in the sale of two capture cards (PCI, and USB-C) to me, as well as a Blackmagic Mini Panel and Speed Editor.
So generosity and spread the wealth often does pay off. DxO could take lessons: allow users to upgrade older versions of the software at a discount (make it slightly smaller, 30% off instead of 40%). I’ll never upgrade my Nik 3 collection as I’ve paid three times for the plugin already. Not allowing me to upgrade at a discount makes me very cross, now I see enough upgrades to bother.
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That, and putting certain necessary features (e.g. lumo-masking) in “optional” add-on packages, as DxO has done.
I recall last year’s Black Friday sales not exactly astonishing either.
I wouldn’t expect DxO to offer free upgrades between major versions yearly, but there’s little reward here for customer loyalty, and a few little gestures go a long way.
Perhaps a staggered discount system where you get an increasing discount for every year of upgrades purchased? (A bit like an insurance no-claims-bonus). Or perhaps something like air miles, where every product you buy gives you points and once every 3 or 5 years, those points equal a free upgrade across the board.
Anything that says “we appreciate your ongoing support” rather than “give us another £150-200 for a release that won’t entirely work for 6 months”.
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