I don't understand WHY DxO doesn't have lens corrections for the Z 100-400! It's been out for over a year...............
Any DXO Photolab 6 users out there?
- Thread starter bleirer
- Start date
If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).
So in your view camera settings aren’t required in that case because you probably don’t get them with DNG right?
I think If you apply just the denoise and lens corrections your other camera matching settings should still be there in lightroom. The complication is that Photolab is also a Lightroom replacement if you choose to use it that way. You choose when you exit Photolab back to lightroom if you only want to apply denoise and lens corrections or if you want all Photolab corrections applied. It has its own sliders for everything similar to lightroom if you want to go that route, or you can stick with Lightroom and just use Photolab for denoise and lens corrections. This is all assuming the camera and lens are supported.
Thanks - when/where was DXO support for HE files announced. I can't seem to find any hard info on this topic. PhotoLab is terrific at many things, but I'm shooting HE/HE* files for wildlife and sports, and using Capture One when I do. PhotoLab has great color and detail renderings, and its lens corrections are next level. That said, I'm a Nikon shooter, and their lens support for Z lenses has been woefully inadequate. Some basic lenses are not covered years after they've been on the market.
No HE* support and they are vague when you inquire. Still no 100-400 support as well as others.
The 100-400 They said March. The HE I would shoot raw and call it a day until it becomes more established.
March of which year???? I seem to remember them saying March back when the 100-400 came out.
Profile for Nikon Nikkor Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S
When will the profile for the Nikon Nikkor Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S be available? So far, the camera and lens are recognised in PhotoLab, but no corrections are made. The lens has been on the market for a while, so the profile could slowly appear.
feedback.dxo.com
In general, lens profile releases have slowed considerably since the company split into two different entities - one for DXOMark, and another for software (NIK and PhotoLab).
FWIW. Just got an email. Topaz will start HE* testing next week. Might get DXO off their butts.
I rarely jack the Lens Sharpness all the way up. I play with some sharpening to make sure I don't get outlines etched in too deeply - if I'm looking for a bit extra feather detail on a bird for example, I will also try to add some Microcontrast. Careful with that slider. ;-)
I’ve read that DxO is making Z 100-400 lens modules available for downloading on March 8 or so. Will also include 100-400 combinations with the TC14 and TC20. Nothing yet for the 400/4.5.
Thanks, James. About time. LOL!
Sharing some feedback on this thread from a few weeks ago. Having taken a suggestion from Brad Hill. I’ve bought a full paid license for PhotoLab 6 Elite (PL) to have access to DeepPrimeXD. Current version is 6.3.1. Still sorting an acceptable workflow using Capture One 23 (CP1) and PhotoLab 6.3.1. For now I have created a Keyboard shortcut for CP1 to export an unprocessed Nikon NEF Lossless Compressed file out of CP1 to a folder on my Mac called “PhotoLab Work”. DxO does not yet support Z9 HE* or HE NEF files. I am only exporting selected (after careful culling) very high ISO files that, when reviewing in CP1 that need serious noise reduction work. I don’t use Lightroom so I cannot comment on that.
So, I launch PL and select from the library the PhotoLab Work folder the NEF files - one at a time- for PL processing. I am only processing for noise reduction and sharpening In PL. No color adjustment. That gets done when the resultant DNG file gets back to CP1.
Full disclosure, I really don’t know the best choices for these two functions. Therefore I just use the default Auto setting for noise reduction and for sharpening (unsharp mask). Hit the Export button, choose a destination which in my case is the original folder that had the NEF file when I first imported files into CP1. I choose DNG, not Tiff as DNGs are smaller.
OK, I will be the first to admit that the workflow is not the most smooth or efficient. Clumsy perhaps. Lots of steps involved. I think the basic issue is that Photolab 6 cannot be set up as a PlugIn in CP1. Yes, one can select PL to Open or Edit in CP1. The problen is that PL is looking for the RAW file from CP1 but CP1 is only offering either a Tiff or PSD files which PL will not open. That’s why I simply export from CP1 a duplicate unedited Raw file to a separte folder. I don’t see a way at present for somone to batch process multiple files if time is limited. The DeepPrimeXD noise setting will cause PL to be slow when processing the file and outputting a DNG. On my Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro with 32gb of Ram a 45mp file from a lossless compressed NEF Z9 file takes about 58 seconds on average. As a hobbyist I don’t care about that, but a working pro likely will.
While the workflow is not great, at least there is a way to treat very high ISO raw files with lots of noise issues and get them back to a raw editor for color adjustments. PL in my time-limited testing is vastly superior to DeNoise or the noise reduction function in CP1. As a result of what I am seeing that PL can do, I have raised the Maximum Auto ISO for my Z9 and Z7-II (even though I will not likely need it for the Z7-II) to 12,800. These DNG files from PL are really good.
So, I launch PL and select from the library the PhotoLab Work folder the NEF files - one at a time- for PL processing. I am only processing for noise reduction and sharpening In PL. No color adjustment. That gets done when the resultant DNG file gets back to CP1.
Full disclosure, I really don’t know the best choices for these two functions. Therefore I just use the default Auto setting for noise reduction and for sharpening (unsharp mask). Hit the Export button, choose a destination which in my case is the original folder that had the NEF file when I first imported files into CP1. I choose DNG, not Tiff as DNGs are smaller.
OK, I will be the first to admit that the workflow is not the most smooth or efficient. Clumsy perhaps. Lots of steps involved. I think the basic issue is that Photolab 6 cannot be set up as a PlugIn in CP1. Yes, one can select PL to Open or Edit in CP1. The problen is that PL is looking for the RAW file from CP1 but CP1 is only offering either a Tiff or PSD files which PL will not open. That’s why I simply export from CP1 a duplicate unedited Raw file to a separte folder. I don’t see a way at present for somone to batch process multiple files if time is limited. The DeepPrimeXD noise setting will cause PL to be slow when processing the file and outputting a DNG. On my Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro with 32gb of Ram a 45mp file from a lossless compressed NEF Z9 file takes about 58 seconds on average. As a hobbyist I don’t care about that, but a working pro likely will.
While the workflow is not great, at least there is a way to treat very high ISO raw files with lots of noise issues and get them back to a raw editor for color adjustments. PL in my time-limited testing is vastly superior to DeNoise or the noise reduction function in CP1. As a result of what I am seeing that PL can do, I have raised the Maximum Auto ISO for my Z9 and Z7-II (even though I will not likely need it for the Z7-II) to 12,800. These DNG files from PL are really good.
Last edited:
FWIW.....I use DxO PL6 for NR only. What I learned some years ago, is that the amount of actual NR applied by Dx0's default setting of "40" actually varies based upon the amount of noise in the image. So a default setting of 40 applied to an image taken at ISO 4,000 results in NR is different than the amount of NR applied by the Default setting of 40 to an image taken at 12,000 ISO. This hurts my head.... 
I not been able to confirm this, but regardless.......I use the default setting regardless of the ISO level.
I prefer to do my sharpening in ACR where I can use a mask.
I not been able to confirm this, but regardless.......I use the default setting regardless of the ISO level.
I prefer to do my sharpening in ACR where I can use a mask.
These are now out I believe.
I just checked. The Z 100-400 is not listed and it says I have the current, up to date version.
You can process multiple files at one time in PL. All you have to do is select multiple files to open and then in the filmstrip select them all to edit/export. You can build user presets for each camera/lens combo that you have then select multiple files, apply the preset, and hit export. They will all process and spit out to the folder that you designated.
If you are doing the rest of your processing in another app it is best to only do "capture" sharpening in PL. Rather than using USM the lens correction tool does a much better job. Even if there is no lens profile yet(e.g. Z400 4.5, Z800PF) you can manually dial in "lens sharpness" if so desired. I find just a small amount(25) is adequate for capture sharpening and does not produce any artifacts. Then after all lighting adjustments etc are complete in another app output sharpening can be applied depending on the intended use of the image. Also if you do as suggested above when you export from PL you can use the "export with NR and optical corrections only" selection and avoid any mistaken lighting changes etc being "baked in" to the output file.
Do you guys have any opinion on Lens Sharpness vs. Unsharp Mask? I never use both, but I've moved toward Lens Sharpness and I'm not sure why.
Unsharp mask is more generic whole picture sharpening so I save that for output sharpening later in my process in photoshop. Lens sharpness is AI and varies with different parts of the image. I look close at different parts of the image, looking for halos and such, to judge how much lens sharpness to apply and just keep unsharp mask turned off.
DxO released new Optics Modules with support for two Nikon Z lenses - Nikon Rumors
DxO released 351 new Optics Modules including support for the following Nikon Z lenses: Nikkor Z 17-28mm F2.8 Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S with Z TC 1.4x Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S with Z TC 2x There are now over 81,000 unique Optics Modules. The...
nikonrumors.com
Thanks Dan. While I understand batch processing is certainly possible, I assme the time to complete that could be several minutes. I based my original comment on the time it tales for just one 45mp raw file.
Thanks for the suggestion on capture sharpening vs Unsharp mask. That part and the lens corrections has ben baffled at this point as I am still fumbling around through the PL interface. Your comments on exporting noted too. Keep those thoughts coming. The PL workspace to me is daunting.
The discrepancy here between what’s current and what Nikon Rumors cite is that there was one comment posted that the new modules would not come out until next week. We’ll see.DxO released new Optics Modules with support for two Nikon Z lenses - Nikon Rumors
DxO released 351 new Optics Modules including support for the following Nikon Z lenses: Nikkor Z 17-28mm F2.8 Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S with Z TC 1.4x Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 VR S with Z TC 2x There are now over 81,000 unique Optics Modules. The...
Thanks Karen for your post. I am still wandering through the weeds with regard to this software. I am reacting to Brad’s suggestions on the software after about two minutes of Zoom discussion this past weekend with our tour group before the Pacific Rim trip starting next weekend. Lots of questions. He is only using DxO for NR and capture sharpening then sends the DNG to Capture One which I use also. The lens correction(s) and capture sharpening (and how to do that) is what’s got me totally lost. That said Dan (Northern Focus) had some good suggestions.FWIW.....I use DxO PL6 for NR only. What I learned some years ago, is that the amount of actual NR applied by Dx0's default setting of "40" actually varies based upon the amount of noise in the image. So a default setting of 40 applied to an image taken at ISO 4,000 results in NR is different than the amount of NR applied by the Default setting of 40 to an image taken at 12,000 ISO. This hurts my head....
I not been able to confirm this, but regardless.......I use the default setting regardless of the ISO level.
I prefer to do my sharpening in ACR where I can use a mask.
Last edited:
Dave63401
Well-known member
From the DXO manual for PL6 on unsharp mask..............
Using the Unsharp Mask
The Unsharp Mask correction is disabled by default. It is unnecessary for JPEG files, as in-camera processing has already sharpened them, and it is usually unnecessary for RAW images for which a DxO Module is available. This means its use is really confined to unsharpened JPEG files and RAW files without a DxO Optics Module. In the latter instance, we advise fine-tuning the Unsharp Mask settings, and then creating a preset.We recommend that you try fine-tuning the three sliders using these starting values: Intensity = 100, Radius = 0.5, and Threshold = 4. For most images, Threshold should stay within a range from 4 to 10. Radius determines how subtle the correction is: excessive values will result in halos. Finally, you can set the Intensity slider up to 200.
- Status