Photo Lab 7

DxO PhotoLab
20

I am talking about a floating palette, just one that is slightly translucent.

Mark

21

And yet, there is no way to adjust the sliders on the equaliser without hiding it first, whereas a floating palette can be moved, allowing the uncovering of a relevant part of the image and allowing access to sliders.

22

some examples …

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In addition to Control Points we now have Control Lines, both combined with Luminance & Chrominance settings – and an interesting “Diffusion” slider, which can help to solve some ‘bleeding’.

It depends on the tool / intended use, which sliders (connected to CP & CL) are available.

23

Perfect thank you soooo much.
Are these your examples or part of a DXO how to sheet ?
if so where can I go to learn more?
Thanks again
Constie

24

yes but there is too much moving the thing around which is ok on my large screen but a pain when working on a16inch `Mac on the go with just the trackpad

25

Sorry I forgot to ask just for final clarification does the latest version of NIK Silver FX co exist with previous version or does it override it that is the most crucial thing for me because the last version works very well for me and i dont want to get any nasty surprises

Thanks again
Constie

26

Nik 6 can coexist with e.g. Nik 5. in that the installer does not remove an existing Nik installation. This means that the Nik apps can be used standalone and that some applications show all plugins, but some don’t. Moreover, the exchangeability of settings could be limited. leading to limited usefulness of going from one version of a plugin to the next and back. Not necessarily because of the effects baked into an image, but due to operational differences. Use the trial time wisely.

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deleted by user

28

Hi all good news. They have left Silver FX alone and the NIK collection cohabits the Applications without trouble, which is a relief.

Now the next battle is how do I get the Local Adjustment sliders to work on the image rather than haveing to be cross eyed between the point and panels. cant fathom why can be made to work in FX but not on the main application or at least give the option to turn them on… I have tried all suggestions and been all over youtube with no luck…perhaps this is a Mac glitz ? I

29

This is not a Mac glitch. They are gone. Local adjustments in other software uses sliders in panels rather than on the screen. Global adjustments are also done using panels. I don’t think too many people complain about getting cross-eyed. I believe you’re just used to doing it a certain way. More and more new features like the new color wheel will be added to local adjustments and the on-screen equalizer was no longer up to the task. There were also a number of usability issues with it. For many of us, the demise of the on-screen equalizer was long overdue.

Mark

5 Likes
30

The control point changes are the red line, that refused me to update to Photolab 7. I had a glimmer of hope when the control lines were introduced that DXO understands what technology he bought. But this decision is the decision of people who are trying to find the wheel. I bet beta testers don’t edit images with more than 10 different control points, and they don’t do it daily with dozens of images. Yes, Photolab is not a pixel editor and any quirks with local corrections can be partially justified, but with this move Photolab is further away from me. I have been using this tool for more than 15 years and I know which way is more comfortable for me.

31

While you may have been using DXO products for 15 years, control points were only added in PhotoLab 1 in late 2017.

I would appreciate it if you would avoid making assumptions about PhotoLab 7 beta testers since you have no actual knowledge of how they tested it or the extent of their participation. If you are interested in knowing, I suggest you become a beta tester yourself.

DXO’s current implementation of local adjustments is still a work in progress. There are a variety of issues which need to be addressed, and will be addressed over the coming weeks and months. The on-screen equalizer was way past due to be replaced. Not only were there issues with regard to usability, but that old paradigm no longer supports the current and future plans for local adjustments. The current implementation in PL7 is not as smooth and easy to use as any of us had hoped, but I’m confident that the issues will be resolved to the satisfaction of most of us.

Mark

3 Likes
32

Dear Mark, I have no idea what Beta testers are. My issue is with DXO as a long time paying customer. I have been given the opportunity to air my views by the Brand. I do so in a respectful way. As a user, as a retail designer, as a brand designer and as a photographer for over 40 years I have a very good understanding of how products develop, how they are marketed and most importantly how customer input benefit the outcomes. In 2021 or there about, this whole discussion of the sliders on the U point was aired over several weeks when they suddenly vanished for Silver FX. I put my views forward nothing happened and I left the brand and went elsewhere until suddenly everything that I had suggested reappeared in FX and I returned. All was good. Then once again with PL 7 at LA the sliders suddenly vanished… and once again all the same points have been copy pasted… like other platforms do it we must move on blah blah. No we do not have to do that. The new and improved tech live underneath the method by which it is applied. It can be floating panels or sliders on the u point or a foot pedal if that was useful to someone. The issue is usability. We all do different things and for that we need different tools. We do not have tp conform to one method. We do not have to be Lightroom or Photoshop in fact some of us use DXO precisely because it not any of those. When I work on large screen I do not wish to go hunting to the sliders for example I like it in front of me. So lets develop customisable tools with a tool preference panel swith of what is not used very often and how it is applied U point vane or floating panels… So I thank you for your good work but I know what works for me and quite a few others so help develop a great product not just a good one.

33

Photolab is not the first software to offer control points. And not the best example. This technology is created by NIK software. And it is best realized in the joint project between NIK and Nikon - Capture NX2. It’s a shame that after so many years someone is trying to find the hot water with haphazard moves. If the team had studied Capture NX2, they would have known that you could have both at the same time. There you can use both color control points (similar to the old versions of Photolab, but much better done) and selection with control points and use it practically with every edit.
Statistically speaking, brightness, contrast, saturation correction is most often used. Much less often RGB correction. And exotic fixes are less than 1% of the time. I’m talking about the photos that pay the photographer’s bills…including the photolab license.

I will not become a beta tester. I am a professional photographer and do not have the necessary free time to devote to such a project. Even more so after the negative experience in the forum of DXO, where I saw how much is written with almost no result.
I don’t know who makes the decisions in the DXO team and how important beta testers’ opinions are to the developers. But the result is shocking. Years ago I would address my opinion to the DXO team, but they stopped participating in this forum. Therefore, the only way to convey my frustration is through the beta testers… if their opinion matters at all for the future of the software.

Personally, I’ll vote with my wallet… and continue to use PhotoLab 5.

34

Same here, my only interest is a final printed photograph in the easiest possible way…
PL6 work for me so that will be that…They do have a tendency to listen in a delayed kind of way.
Bete testers sound a bit like beta blockers when people start say or but the sector leader does this or that you know they are sort of innovative thinking, perhaps they should employ some user experience people with no interest in the tech… just what it does and how…I will try and communicate with the DXO marketing team perhaps they understand customers needs better

KBO as Churchill use to say

35

GREAT – good luck!

36

It is personal preferences in the end. Making adjustments to images where the Equaliser obscured the view of the image was sub optimal. At least we can now see the image clearly and make our adjustments easily and use more tools like HSL and hopefully soon curves. Implementing these new adjustments in the Equaliser method would have been very difficult. So stick with the old method and limit functionality or adopt a better system? Choice is yours.

I see the new UI as easily as efficient as the old Equaliser but you do need to adjust your working methods to use the new tools.

Once you have your layers added to the image it is easy to click between the layers in the Local adjustment palette making your adjustments and balancing the impact of these adjustments to fine tune the image with a perfectly clear image to assess the effects.

As Mark said the UI is not yet perfected but hopefully this will be addressed in point updates to V7.

DXO doesn’t have to be Lightroom but it does have to be competitive. Lightroom has only just added Curves functionality to Local adjustments and DXO are now well placed to catch up, ideally in a point update of V7. They would not be in this position if they were still restricted by the Equaliser UI.

3 Likes
38

Ok you say it is a personal preference, so we are in total agreement with that. The preference is born out of need.In my case speed and efficiency. I can dodge and burn images in matter of minutes with the tools available. Particularly in B&W. With the film pack now available, I was hoping I would not even have to go to FX. For some reason, all the tech people seem to suggest that having to place a point at an image and then move your gaze to find the tool to adjust ( which in many cases is a trial with a couple or so ) is some how ergonomically efficacious. Well I would like to see some eye tracking and hand coordination evidence on this. Put that scenario on a point at the top left hand corner of an image on a 30+inch monitor and then try and find your adjustment on the right there is no way this is more efficient. As floating panels go, which are black, they are really distracting on black and white images and on dark images the blend in obscuring the overall assessment of the image… then having to move them around the image tiresome to say the least. You say it is difficult to implement. Difficult is not same as impossible. It suggests more of a weakness to achieve rather than a strength to overcome. The tech is the tech, the methods by which it is applied can vary. As I mentioned before. Have a preference suite for the user to pick the method, then activate or deactivate which adjustments are most useful. Historically Vectorworks the CAD software for example did this very well as do others. Its success was that it did things differently for AUTOCAD the market leader. On competing with other brands, it is highly unlikely that Adobe can be conquered but a unique product that does things differently and well, will enjoy loyalty and will always have a prominent place in the market. Leica will never beat Canon but its quality and single mindedness are worldwide brand identifiers and enjoys unparalleled following. I appreciate your work, I truly do. This whole string of discussions are for encouragement not a criticism. If I was to be critical, I would say than marketing a new version without mentioning things that have been changed and only amplifying the shinny new, is misleading and this has been happening for a while. I wasted money when FX dropped the adjustment vein and now again with PL7 and LA changes, Thank you

2 Likes
39

I agree with all the answers. Leaving the sliders out of the image had been asked since a long time as sometimes they were obliterating a part o the image that had to be modified. The floating palette is a good way to get it back at the place you need it and to shift it when required

1 Like
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In the end it will be what it will be. What I find difficult to fathom is the resistance to customisation so both methods can be available. it seems strange that there is an undertone, particularly from those who like the panels, to wish to impose their way, as the only way. I have never advocated for one solution. Back in the day when they dropped the sliders from the u point in NIK FX I had suggested that both options are possible. A slider is just a way of manipulating the tech. The tech does not care, if its a panel or a vain attached to the U point. (in any case they brought them back a year later pretty much as I had suggested for FX ) now they dropped them from LA. They worked beforeso the code was already there. The drop was a choice not a necessity. It would be a better product if both were available through a preference window or a workspace option. I am delighted that those who like panels and sliders are catered for I do not in anyway wish them to change if they do not see ergonomic efficiency benefits between eye and hand coordination but that is not for all. Some of us are more efficient or simply prefer the on picture sliders.

1 Like