Comparing images is more the province of DAM/triage tools. As DxO rather ambitiously would like position PhotoLab as a DAM, yes compare should be there.
The half-baked DAM which runs contrary to the functionality of a RAW editor will continue to create no end of trouble for DxO. Travelling on roads with a heavy truck where one needs a four-wheel drive vehicle only ends up in a very bad ride for the passengers and broken axles.
I’m not against a DAM but it should be made to pull its own weight as an add-on like ViewPoint or FilmPack and should be fully developed and high performance piece of software not the half-baked clumsy tool it is now, which shames DxO’s reputation as the developer of a first rate RAW development tool which is unequivocally the best high ISO RAW development tool in the world.
In LR just select two images and press the C key to compare, in C1 select the ones you want and press the G key. I don’t see how it would affect the workflow, it’s just a matter of discarding images that look similar to each other. We don’t need to use the RAW files for this, just the embedded JPGs.
But maybe I’m wrong…
That’s where the arguments start. PhotoLab users are accustomed to getting rendered RAW and that’s what they want. Any time you give PhotoLab users pre-rendered previews and remove the ability to edit, trouble starts.
The PhotoLab render engine is not particularly fast. Certainly not fast enough for a DAM. A whole new infrastructure based on saved jpeg previews is required for DAM/triage. Comparing images is really more a process for triage (FastRawViewer which is $20 and is mostly cross-compatible with PhotoLab 5: ratings yes, exposure adjustments no) does allow image comparison.
If you are talking about image comparison of finished images, DeepPRIME which is essential for any images over 1600 ISO does not show up at all in previews. An artist or serious photographer who wants to see the final results before approving PhotoLab edits, exports his/her finished edits for preview. Once the images are exported for preview you can compare with the tool of your choice. FastStone is very good on Windows. There isn’t a great choice on macOS for comparing similar images. The best viewer LilyView only showcases singles. LilyView flips so quickly between images and keeps them perfectly aligned so it’s quite possible to compare versions just with the arrows.
If I really need side to side comparison, I usually end up opening both images in Preview if I need side to side. Side-by-side in PhotoLab would be fine if it’s simple (none of this rotating between a set of eight geek nonsense for software engineers). Still side-by-side in PhotoLab is almost useless for finished images as the processing can only be fully previewed in rendered masters.
I’m obviously not a computer engineer, you know much better its inner working, but PL has two tabs, PhotoLibrary and Customize, and I’m not sure that in the first one I’m looking at a raw and not a jpg, otherwise it seems a waste of resources…
Yes IF it is pixel based. Tiff or jpeg. DxO PL works in a modes that demosiacing is realtime effected by some of the correction tools so every flip or skew or rotation is a next step of the ladder after demosiacing. (you don’t want a sluggy preview do the fact that has 10 steps after pixalizing to apply.) If i am right in memory they first needed a compleetly new preview engine and working colorspace so they can build on that frame al other bells and whistles. And the deepprime’s algoritm and microcontrast and other first base corrections are have to be changed too in that new colorspace (also a old request.) and preview engine.
So with that in mind the last 2 years are quite buzy for them.
I am with PL from the start and every time they had a gift on the new version which looked not really important but after a wile it was an other brick in the wall.
Wow… PL6 just came out with no requested quality of life improvements from their users.
An “upgraded” DeepPrime engine, a clone tool, better… colours?, soft proofing mode, and… an improved file manager with colour flags, expanded metadata, and now you can have project subfolders.
No grid overlays, no comparing 2 images, no customizing the hotkeys, no rotating, no flipping images horizontally/vertically. And I’m not complaining that they’re not granting my wishes, as I pointed out there have been many people in many threads asking for these features. AND it still fails to deliver on DxO’s promises and is practically false advertising. This is not a complete, end-to-end RAW photo editing software. It’s lacking in a lot of key areas and they are outright ignoring us, their customer base that takes the time to give them feedback.
And they expect people to “upgrade” from PL5 to PL6 for $99? Why? What’s the incentive, if they won’t fix any of the issues we’ve requested for the launch of a major update, PL6?
Forgive me if I missed them, I only saw a quick review from Peter Forsgard and read the DxO PL6 ad in their website and didn’t see anything, but I haven’t upgraded nor used it myself. Which 2 bullets were addressed?
It’s somewhat baffling that DxO don’t pick-off some of the simpler requests (with a high level of support) and include a few of them in each new release.
like TomDX wrote these two are also long time adressed points.
And the new deep primexd in my opinion isn’t a game changer for a non professional like me not taking many photos with high iso.
I will make some more test with the new repair tool and other little changes, but at the moment I will stay with version5, and also wait for all the statements for DAM functioons.
Did not have time to test by myself.
Each user gives a different importance to the various characteristics, for example the library does not interest me because I use another program for DAM function., I have no interest in comparing two images, in customizing hotkeys or using PL with jpegs, but I appreciate DeepPrime XD and the new wide color space, they are valuable features for me
From the list in the first post I would like only the possibility to move local adjustments and maybe an auto-mask
Asking the same question in different, unrelated threads is not the way to get anything done. These are primarily user forums. You will get more attention you write directly to DxO.
