I did eventually manage to get the Windows download to complete, and the two versions are effectively the same aside from the usual differences between Windows and Mac style choices. For some inexplicable reason, the Windows version of my download kept stalling repeatedly, despite the fact that the Mac version finished its download without any problems from the same server at the same time. Quick Note: DxO PhotoLab is available for Windows and macOS, but I tested the Mac version in this review. Rather than going back in time and repeating all that work yourself – which sounds super difficult – you can read my reviews and benefit from all that experience right away!ĭxO did not provide me with a special copy of the software in exchange for this review (I used the unlimited free 30-day trial), and they had no editorial input or oversight on any of the content. I’ve used them for work, for my own photography practice, and purely for experimentation. During that time I’ve tested just about every image editor under the sun, from free open-source software to industry-standard software suites. Hi, my name is Thomas Boldt, and I’ve been a digital photographer since the days when you could measure your megapixels with a single digit.

Lightroom “plugin” isn’t a useful workflow. What I Don’t Like: PhotoLibrary still lacking key features. What I Like: Excellent noise reduction with PRIME. As a result, PhotoLab is best used as a secondary editing option to supplement an existing workflow rather than replacing your existing one. DxO offers a Lightroom plugin with the goal of allowing users to keep Lightroom as their catalog manager, but conflicts between RAW processing engines prevent this from being a viable solution. PhotoLab includes an updated library management tool, but it still needs a lot of additional features before it’s actually ready to replace your current digital asset manager. For photographers focused on color accuracy, this latest version also includes support for DCP profiles. A number of other excellent automatic adjustments simplify the editing process, and newly-added localized editing tools allow you to fine-tune their results more effectively than in the past.

As you might expect from them, PhotoLab provides excellent automatic lens corrections and a truly incredible noise reduction algorithm they call PRIME. PhotoLab is a RAW editor from DxO, a company famous for its precision testing of optical equipment.

Dxo photolab elite vs capture one