Finally downloaded the PL4 trial to see if there is anything worth upgrading for, and there is not much. Watermarking is not something I care about, but they have added a color picker to the new HSL tool and that seems like something worthwhile. There is also a new separation mechanism for adjustments, moving stuff to tabs like Capture One.
Not much to hang an upgrade on for me, but perhaps the color picker will make the HSL tool more usable as I did not like it before.
I guess it would depend on what is important to you. I’m using all of the upgrades listed below…
Deep prime is much better then prime.
Much more detail and less smears and artefacts.
That alone is a upgrade wordy in highiso image’s.
Historypanel is also interesting if you like to go back and forward wile editing to see which way you like to go fitter.
HSL colorpicker is a faster way to select then guesing the color and use full desaturation to home in.
Watermark was asked by many…
The new shortcut menu looks maybe a non issue, but when you setup your workspace right and use those it works great.
I was used to create partial presets for copy paste in a more selective way to avoid unatended pasting of corrections. Now you can copy and paste different things on different images. Selective pasting.
Edit: Never used by me but a new type of DNG export.
Much less color changes then the old lineair DNG.
So if you use dxopl for optical correction and deepprime and develop from there in an other application i think they are happy.
The UI is vastly improved with the clearer fonts and tab tool layout. Everything is personal but for me you spend a lot of time in the UI and the new version makes for a hugely better experience.
The HSL colour picker is great as is the selective copy and paste.
DeepPrime now makes use of the GPU as so is significantly faster for me.
The advantage of perpetual license software. If a version doesn’t offer you something personally then just skip it and save money. If it does offer features you want then great. It’s a win-win.
Upgrade cost is also reasonable for me as well.
And it still works when you stop paying your rent* !
*as long as you do not need to upgrade your computer or operating system.
I hope i am right but you can ask dxo support to release the licence key from a system and reinstall again on a new.
Besides elite has three(?) instals mac or win.
I am sure that many of these new features are useful to a lot of users, but I don’t use DNG or watermarks, have no need for a batch rename inside of PL and don’t use keywords so much of the upgrade does not impact me.
I have been playing with the color picker for the HSL tool and clearly I need to read the manual since when I pick a second color PL resets the first color back to its original setting. I need to figure out how to adjust several colors in a single photo.
Hi Mike - Good to see you’re back …
This implies that you might be renaming images from outside PhotoLab (?) … in which case, be very careful not to do so whilst PL is running/active … Otherwise, it’s very easy to create sidecar/.dop “orphans” and/or to end up with database corruption - esp. if you’re using File Explorer/Finder to do so.
A “biggie” in this release is the new DeepPRIME algorithm for noise reduction - - It’s significant.
This might occur if the 2nd colour you select is in the same colour range as the first one; such as two close shades of red. Otherwise, tho, you can readily move from colour to colour (Red to yellow, etc).
HtH - John M
> Hi Mike - Good to see you’re back …
Thanks. Yes. I have been away for a while, and it is good to be back.
> and/or to end up with database corruption
That is an interesting comment since I had a problem with database corruption. Perhaps it was because I was using Finder to change names while PL was running. I will have to see if this recurs now.
> A “biggie” in this release is the new DeepPRIME algorithm for noise reduction - - It’s significant.
Some time ago I traded by big FF Canon for the smaller Olympus M4/3 E-M1.2 and about a year ago bought the even lighter E-M5.3, which has become my main walk-around camera. Along with that I bought some small primes and smallish wide angle and minor telephoto lenses. Because those lenses are relatively large aperture I find I don’t do any (or at least not very much) low light photography and have not had to use even Prime in a very long time, and that is why I said that the new NR functionality is not of any real use for me.
I will, however, take some low light shots and see how it works.
> This might occur if the 2nd colour you select is in the same colour range as the first one
In trying out PL4 I opened a raw photo, used the color picker to select the sky, adjusted it with the sliders and then clicked on something else, perhaps trees or other foliage, and the sky returned to its original color intensity and brightness and the slider adjustments were applied to the new color. That is what I meant when I said I had trouble.
However it appears that the proper way to do this is to click on the color picker twice after the adjustment to allow it to understand that I want to adjust a new color. I did read the manual but it does not explain that at all.
I have also found the History list to be helpful, and need to spend more time with it before I “write off” some of this new functionality.
Yes, quite possibly. Any changes to image names must also include the exact same change being made to its associated sidecar/.dop file (assuming you’re using sidecars?) - - and, if PL is running at the same time as you’re making these changes then (because PL is continually monitoring for “new” images in the current folder) PL might detect a newly renamed image before its associated sidecar file is renamed - - so that it sees it as a new image with NO related sidecar … and your corrections will be lost !
Interesting: I’ve recently acquired an Olympus M4/3 E-M1.3 - but have also kept my Sony a7iii. The E_M1 is an impressive camera … I’m very happy with it.
Yes, I’ve noticed that too … One needs to be sure the new colour (of a completely different colour range [if that’s the correct term?]) is selected before making adjustment changes.
John M
The Olympus cameras all seem quite well done. Except for the loss of the high ISO functionality on my Canon 5D3 I have not missed anything with either of my Olympus cameras, and I appreciate the lighter load of both the M1.2 and the M5.3. Especially the lighter lenses.
I have a small and light 12-30mm lens that has become my main walk-around lens and the M5.3 will actually fit in my pocket with that lens attached, and I have a nice small f/1.4 12mm lens that is perfect for indoor shooting and that seems to weigh almost nothing. I got the Olympus because I was tired of carrying the Canon FF around with me up and down the National Park hiking trails but I now find I really, really like it as a camera, not just because it is light and easy to carry.
Yes. My initial assumption was that using the color picker on a new part of the image would automatically create a new layer, even if invisible, and thus color adjustments would be completely independent. That is clearly not true on PL4, although it would be a good addition if they would do that.
The only problem I have now is that I do not see any way to make multiple adjustments of very similar colors - for example the blue in the sky and the blue in the reflection of the sky in the water.
Still, the more I use PL4 the better I like it and the more likely it is that I will upgrade.
Adding color wheel functionality to local adjustments is in the backlog but its not clear when it will be implemented.
Mark
That would be a really helpful addition.
Based on various discussions in the last year, I believe DXO’s goal is to add a number of additional features and functionality to local adjustments. Whether we’ll see any of these new features in a PL4 point upgrade, or in PL5, I can’t say.
Mark