I noticed that I get massive color shifts when trying to recover strong highlights when using DNGs processed with DXO PureRaw 3. These shifts aren’t a problem when working with the RAW.
The image above is a crop from a Fujifilm X-T5 using Develop RAW’s DNG processed in Neo with -0.8 exposure and -100 highlights. I have a picture of Neo’s effects on the RAF; it looks fine.
This very well may be a Luminar Neo thing, but I’m curious to see if there’s anything I could tweak in PureRaw 3 or if others have experienced similar issues with PureRaw DNGs or have any idea what’s going on in general.
Thanks in advance.
P.S. The same behavior occurs with DNGs exported from PhotoLab 8 if that helps at all.
you can post a raw file and somebody will dig in it… but if you search the forum you might find a number of bugs ( fixed or not ) related to magenta skies - not saying that this is one of them, but posting raw file will help you to get an answer
That’s Luminar Neo’s fault, I struggled with it about a year ago. I no longer use Luminar Neo, it was replaced by Capture One.
Pure Raw 4 + Capture One works with lights/shadows perfectly.
Thanks! It’s not that the detail’s being lost, but there’s a massive magenta shift when lowering shadows. But, as Joanna found below, the shift doesn’t occur in PhotoLab, although those are two DXO products working well together. I’m more curious if other non-DXO products like Lightroom, Darktable, or Capture One would have similar problems with the PureRaw DNG.
Thank you, Joanna! I forgot to mention that I am currently trial-ing PhotoLab 8 and I indeed replicated your results: no problems.
I’m curious to see if non-DXO RAW editors like Darktable, Capture One, or Lightroom have the magenta shift or not. That would help indicate whether it’s just Luminar Neo or whether other RAW editors would have the same problem with PureRAW’s exports.
I find the RAF behaves pretty well in both Neo and Photolab. Here’s the area in question in Neo with the same adjustments applied in Neo as in the OP (-0.80 exposure, -100 highlights). No magenta shift like the PureRAW export:
I started out as a Neo user a couple of years ago when I started as a hobbyist photographer since it was easy and subscription-free. When I got my first mirrorless, I was used to Neo, but added PureRAW to my workflow since it vastly improved image quality.
I never used the highly gimmicky features in Neo like Sky replacement, but certain tools of theirs (e.g. Super Contrast, or accent AI if I’m lazy) made sense and made RAW editing pretty quick and simple.
But recently I’ve been seeing the limitations of Neo and wanted to try a higher-quality alternative. So I’m now on day 15 of my 30 day trial with Photolab. So far, I’m finding the workflow in PhotoLab to be slower than Neo, but with much higher control and higher quality output.
I’m trying to decide whether to purchase Photolab at the end of my trial, or whether PureRAW + Neo is good enough. And that’s what led me to the problem we’re chatting about.
I have been using PhotoLab since v1 and honoured to participate in several beta tests. I have to say that PL8 has excited me more than some other previous versions. The noise reduction is nothing short of miraculous. I regularly print to A2 size (59.4cm x 42cm) and, combined with printing on a Canon Pro 1000, I am constantly amazed at the quality, to the point that other experienced photographers keep on asking me if they were taken on a large format camera.
And, no, I don’t get a cent from DxO for promoting their products
Nice! Interesting that you used the RGB and luminescence curves simultaneously. What was your reason for using both?
Here’s my DXO PhotoLab edit that I made of that image for comparison since we’re sharing. I did it before I saw yours. I’m still learning so happy to hear constructive criticism if any! I tried linking to the DOP file but my post got flagged as spam when I did that so I can’t right now.
It probably is, I have never experienced that problem with DNGs from PureRAW 3 or -4 when edited in the free Darktable. The tools FilmicRGB and Sigmoid in Darktable are very good at dealing with blown out highlights. The same is the case for the raw editor Rawtherapy, also a free software.
