DxO has announced DxO PhotoLab 3, the latest version of its photo editing software. There are a few significant improvements, but it seems that the latest DxO PhotoLab is all about colour. The HSL colour adjustment feature has been completely redesigned and the software offers colourimetry control better than ever before. But of course, there are a few other novelties, so let’s check them out.
Improved colour adjustment
As I mentioned, the latest version focuses a lot on colour improvements. The HSL Tool offers unparalleled control, so you can get a more natural-looking colour. It features a new colour adjustment mode based on a chromatic circle called the DxO ColourWheel. It lets you select a colour range from eight different channels, fine-tune the value, select a replacement colour, and adjust your transitions. There’ also a new Uniformity setting which lets you adjust colour variations within a specific range. The Saturation and Luminance sliders now operate more independently, offering you more flexibility for both editing colour images and converting them to black and white.
Improved Repair Tool
The Repair Tool, which erases unwanted elements from the image, has also been updated. It now lets you manually reposition the area in the source image that you want to use to reconstruct an area in the image you’re editing, which certainly gives you more control and precision. In addition, DxO PhotoLab 3 also offers Clone Mode which lets you directly replace the area you are editing. Feathering and opacity levels can also be adjusted in both modes.
New Local Adjustments Masks Manager
Local Adjustments palette also has some improvements in DxO PhotoLab 3. It lets you manage local correction masks that have been layered within a single image. You can make them visible, mask them, or adjust their opacity individually.
Keyword search
So far, the DxO Photo Library allowed search by metadata, shooting parameters, folders, etc.). DxO PhotoLab 3 adds another search criterion to make your workflow faster and more efficient: keywords. The software now offers keyword management and optimizes image organization all the way up to export. You can now add, delete, or rename keywords for one or multiple images simultaneously and include them in multi-criteria searches. Note that, so far, this is available only for the macOS version only. DxO notes that this feature will be available for the Windows version in the near future).
New camera support
Last but not least, DxO PhotoLab 3 adds new cameras to the list of gear it supports. It recently added the Canon G5 X Mark II and G7 X Mark III, the Nikon P1000, the Panasonic Lumix DCG90/G95/G99/G91, Lumix DCFZ1000II, Lumix TZ95/ZS80, the RicohGRIII, and the Sony A7RIV and RX100 VII. More than 3,000 optical modules have also been added to the database, which now includes over 50,000 different camera/lens combinations. The software’s de-noising capabilities for RAW photos taken with certain Canon and Olympus cameras have been improved as well.
Price and availability
If you like what you’ve just read, you can download the ESSENTIAL and ELITE editions of DxO PhotoLab 3 on DxO’s website, both for PC and Mac. Until 24 November 2019 you can get the software at these launch prices:
- DxO PhotoLab 3 ESSENTIAL Edition: £86.99 instead of £112 (approx. $111 instead of $144)
- DxO PhotoLab 3 ELITE Edition: £129.99 instead of £169 (approx. $167 instead of $217)
You do not need a subscription to use DxO PhotoLab 3. You can install the program on two computers with the DxO PhotoLab 3 ESSENTIAL Edition or on three computers with the DxO PhotoLab 3 ELITE Edition. If you already have a license for DxO OpticsPro or DxO PhotoLab 2, you can simply get an upgrade license for DxO PhotoLab 3 by signing into your customer account on DxO’s website.
And if you still aren’t sure about the purchase, you can see for yourself what improvements have been made without paying a dime. A fully-functional, one-month trial version of DxO PhotoLab 3 is available, too, and you can get it here.
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