DxO Optics Pro has been upgraded to 3.55a as a free update.

Most of the new changes are cosmetic/UI changes:

• New configurable “docked palette” mode for easy access to all adjustment tools;
• Improved configuration wizard;
• The “Automatic” mode of DxO Optics Pro is now easily and fully configurable thanks to a “Default preset”;
• Option to save or not .dxo sidecar files;
• Option to set application level output setting preferences (can be locally overridden);

As you might know from my previous article, I simply cannot rave enough about this product. If you are lucky enough to have a supported camera and lens it is a must-buy.

I guess that’s why it recently won a TIPA Award for Best Photo Software.

RAW processing parrots

When people ask for advice on RAW processing software, others recommend Adobe Camera RAW or other crap. It speaks a lot about how many enthusiasts just parrot what they hear is good instead of actually trying to discover alternatives. It’s like they’ve never seen a RAW processing program the way it was meant to be—one that actually compensates for lens and body defects (as much as possible), and has easy application of custom settings, denoising, and dodging and burning.

Come to think of it, they probably haven’t.

So download a free trial and do a side-by-side comparison of your favorite RAW workflow tool vs. DxO Optics Pro. You can bitch about camera/lens support, speed, integration with your workflow, custom curves and settings (if you use Nikon Capture, but not if you use other vendors). But you can’t bitch about quality.