Without wanting to invoke yet another argument…
I found this tutorial on Nik 7 SFX …
I followed the example steps, but using PL and FilmPack. I couldn’t find anything in the video that I couldn’t do in FilmPack - apart from adjusting Control Point and Line local adjustments from an equaliser on the image, but SFX now has a copy of the equaliser sliders in the sidebar, just like PL.
It was easy to identify certain adjustments which were named differently. Interesting 
Hi John!
Back from my trip and have been looking at some review-videos of Photolab 8 and comparisons between PL 8 Deep Prime XD2s and XD and even for example Topaz Photo A! 3 and new the Lens Softness Correction tools.
First I have to say that I have found Topaz very good from time to time (especially with old repro photos of color slide film where PL 7 have been pretty hopeless) but not really as steady and reliable as even old XD has been, when it comes to digitally born camera pictures. Usually I have just left XD on at default (40) with digitally born camera pictures and it almost always improves the quality reliable, usually without any more obvious side effects. I can´t say the same about Topaz AI Denoise and especially the “Face Recovery” that often is “hit or miss”. Sometimes the Topaz Denoise process gives very disturbing artefacts too.
I have just done a few tests by my own with PL8 XD2s but have already there seen visible differences and improvements compared to old XD which is just fantasttic really, because I didn´t expect them to have pushed it even further than in PureRaw, that earlier was a step ahead of Photolab.
When I was in Greece I just brought two prime lenses: my own 10 year old Sony Zeiss 35mm 2,8 and my newly (for this trip) accuired Sony Zeiss 55mm 1,8, which is to days date one of the absolutely sharpest lenses ever made all cathegories (according to DXO Lens DB I think it gives over 60 in perceptual sharpness on a 60 MP A7rIV or V). Normally on trips I use a more lazy alternative in my Sony G 24-105mm which is a really good too, but still is a little boring travel lens though.
I have just started to process some of these images with the testversion of Photolab 8. I think the new XD2s will be a terrific complement to my A7 IV and these lenses. My old 35mm has a long time been my favourite lens and I have a long time thought it adds something I can´t really put my finger on compared to the 24-105mm zoom and the slightly faster 55mm lens ens adds even more character too with its more shallow depts of field. I´m really a little surprised by myself to say that I have decided to upgrade to Photolab 8. I really didn´t see that coming despite I have seen this a little bit strange, dizzy and newly awakened interest in the image quality of Photolab from say Tony Northrup och quite a few others on Youtube.
I just don´t understand that the Lightroom users shouldn´t have seen that before when it was even more obvious when PureRaw was released as a Lightroom plugin some years ago - that difference was even more manifest then before Lightroom improved their denoise a bit but now they are very clearly behind again according to quite a few comparisons on the net.
Just look att the bird examples in the videolink below. Pretty impressive and informative examples
DxO PhotoLab 8 - Fantastic Noise Reduction, Lens Softness Correction, and more (youtube.com)
I am sure it’s coming (now that DxO finished rewriting all the code).
It just take (a lot) of time.
Because THAT might bring some new customers for PL too.
I’m sure that if DXO made a version of PL with FP+VP+NC integrated, it will bring more people.
PL is already a code with those things integrated …
so rephrase it like “I am sure that if DxO will sell one license for everything AT ONCE and FOR LESS money than all separate licenses together, it will bring more people”…
Yes completely 