In my case, almost all of exported images in low dimension (less than 1000 pixels on longside) are used for non-serious, general sharing through WhatsApp, web album, etc. On my Intel i7 machine with 8GB RAM and SSD storage, it takes around 40 seconds to export an image (RAW from Nikon D850) to JPG format. It takes huge amount of time to complete export in a batch of hundreds of images. Is it possible to have a express export mode to reduce time consumption?
In my crazy idea, when finishing all retouch, just press “print screen” and crop it in MS Paint and then resize, I got the JPG image what I need. Of course, this is a manual process and will not take less time and effort in practical. I raise this crazy idea just want to inspire development team to consider a simple way to export if non-serious export image is demanded.
When you want to create a reduced size file, very single pixel in an image has to be evaluated in its context to see if it needs to be combined with its neighbours or deleted - not a simple process.
Add to that you are using a 45Mpx camera and you are starting to deal with some pretty large amounts of data manipulation. I regularly export images, from my Nikon D810 (36Mpx) for the web at 1536 x 1024 pixels (1.5Mpx), which means the export algorithm has to work out which 34.5Mpx of the 36Mpx to throw out.
OTOH, if I work on pictures from my old Nikon D200 (10Mpx), it takes a lot less time.
On a Mac, doing a screen capture of a selection takes a second and I have a jpeg file ready and waiting.
In these days of fast computers, there seems to be an expectation that things should happen instantly, without the realisation of just how much work is being done and how long it would take a human being to do the same work.
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m-photo
( Marc (macOS Sonoma on MBP16" Intel))
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So this express export would merely be a screen grab of what is displayed in PL window… but to make this happen for a batch of pictures you still need to switch from one pic to the next and process the preview… and it takes time.
Thanks for your reply! I agree with you that my RAW file is large and huge amount of data should be processed while export. What I desire is a less-serious algorithm to reduce time consumption. Of course, quality is trade-off, I understand.
I also understand if I get a faster machine I can get the export faster. In fact, I’m considering to purchase a new one. Do you know whether CPU or RAM I should invest most in order to improve the performance of export?
I agree with you that D850 images may be quite long to process, but if like me you like images from this camera, it’s mainly to be able to process them with the highest possible quality, and PhotoLab is well tuned for that.
Now, if your main goal is to produce quick and dirty and small jpg, I think that there are better workarounds than DxO team to produce them:
In your D850, define outputs as RAW+JPG low to use these last ones for web.
Use Nikon View NX-I or Capture NXD to produce these low jpg.
and then use DPL only for those which require a much better definition.
Let me explain my need in details. I will keep my final version (from RAW format) after touch by PL. I also need to have a low-res JPG format for social media sharing and web album. So my idea is just a simple way (and quick way) to have a low-res (less serious in quality) of the retouched version. As I said before, even the screen capture of preview from customize tab meets my need. So my feature request is a simple and quick operation to obtain an export JPG file in near-screen-capture quality (what I called is “Express Export”).
I don’t know if this is feasible within DPL as you’ve understood from other participants that unless your express process could be developed, we try to find workarounds.
Another one maybe could be to start from your final version (jpg?) within a browser/finder/catalog to export reduced small jpg.
For instance, being on Mac, I’m using Photos as catalog for my exported jpg, and I can export quickly small jpg for the web.
That being said, I understand also your request to have it directly from DPL, but for me it’s not in my priority list.
After working with PL4, I usually export a high quality jpg as the final result.
If I need low quality / small size suitable for social media I simply use the free FSResizer. It allows you to add multiple files from different folders and then select quality/size desired (e.g. 1000px on one side) for output.
I think that @JamesWong may have an interesting idea…
What he’s saying (if I’m correct) is that he’d like to have some sort of “ultra-fast export” which is only used for low-res/small size images targeted to social media.
Why process a whole 45Mpx, then resizing it to 1000px if at the end a “snapshot” will probably be very close (or indistinguishable to the eye) at such a small size?
Exporting a JPG directly from the camera is not an ideal solution @Pathal, because when you are back in PL, working on a JPG will offer fewer possibilities to work on…
@JamesWong the only thing (with your idea) that would be lost is advanced denoising, because only HQ denoising is shown on screen (Prime and DeepPRIME offer a preview in a small window and are fully rendered only when exporting an image…).
Yes, I understand your suggestion, but I guess that @JamesWong wants to edit in PL first, then export the result as a “fast screen-jpg”…instead of the “common way”…
Your understanding is correct. What I need is a “ultra-fast export” low-res JPG of the retouched image. Let me explain the reason behind.
I’m not a professional photographer but a frequent traveler who takes lots of pictures. After a day trip, I usually select some images (from dozens to nearly hundred) to process in hotel room. After finishing retouch, I export to low-res JPG files and upload to web album or send through WhatsApp to share with others. The problem is the long export process (around 50 seconds for each on my Intel I7 8GB RAM SSD notebook). Exporting low-res JPG doesn’t mean I give up a high-res format. In fact, I feel OK to wait 1 to 2 min in order to get a high-res JPG image but for low-res ones, I hope a quicker option is available.
For Prime and DeepPRIME denosing, if it is a trade-off to have a “ultra-fast export”, I think I’ll accept it.
!