Rendering

[ponykilr]

Hello all. I have a photo of a clients daughter for an example of two different renderings. I have DxOPro and also Capture NX for my RAW conversions. I tend to like the default DxO rendering(I have only to run it through it, it is all automatic but I can over-ride or change all settings) as it has high contrast and smooth skin(low noise) and just looks clear and punchy like a glossy magazine page from "Inside Weddings". 

Capture is not automatic in enhancement, but is a great program and I use it when I want a softer look for some things. It actually is a powerful program, if a little clunky.

So, which do you prefer and why? Or, better maybe which would you rather hanging in your office or home if this was your daughter? Remember, this is about the rendering. It hasnt been cropped. As a note, both of these look darker on my low rez moniter than on my system I use for photos, and the contrast is much different.





Ok, these I ran through PS and on the first I used the Gblur tool at 1.5 pixels, the second just the "diffuse" tool.
Thoughts? Find a new job...quit obsessing.....get outside more

[eob]

If I had to choose between these two, I would decide on the softer one. But, ideally, I would prefer softness of the first one and color contrast of the second one.

Is the DxO really useful for correcting lens anomalies like pincushioning or barrel distortion, or super-wide-angle distortion at the peripheries of the frame? I was gonna buy this program, but then I found out that it did not support RAW files from my camera...

[ponykilr]

I usually do not give glowing testamonials, unless it is for the Nikon system .......

but DxO-proV4 is by FAR the best software I have ever tried or purchased for general photo rendering and enhancement. If the lens you are using is supported, it becomes staggering what it is capable of. The distortion correction of supported lenses is unbelievable. I have a 28-70f/2.8D that is supported with the D200, but not the D70 , But I still love the software. My little 50mmf/1.8 is totally on another level when run through this software.

It does automatically to a whole set of RAW files what it takes me minutes to do per photo in other software. I can just turn it loose and walk away and when I check the output if there is something I want to tweek I just reopen it and tweek it a little.

It has super low noise without losing detail. Capture NX is bad by comparison. It is however very punchy in it's output and not to everyones liking.

Also, it does almost everything to jpg's that it can do to RAW. I have some old jpg's with my 18-70 lens(love the little thing) that I went back to and ran them through the program. I will post them below in a second.

I highly recommend DxO.

[ponykilr]

Now this is just a snap of some my nephew's team mates and I post it just to show the distortion correction and D-lighting capability for jpgs. The only down side is with the correction some cropping happens. Plan for this by leaving some room when shooting.

[Uroplatus]

I am with eob on this one...

The first set, if you can get the softness of the first photo and the colors of the second you would have a great photo from that aspect. For the second set, over looking the cropping, and posing    I think that the DxO worked great in that aspect...  It looks to be one tool that would make things like action and such photos work great, and POP out at you.

[ponykilr]

Thanks guys, I will try a preset to soften the output and see how it looks.

[habakuk]

To me, the second looks better in color and contrast, but I don't like the sharpness and "harsh" contrast on the face. That needs a bit more softness. So, I'd go for a selective job here. Develop both versions, and use a layer mask to correct the overly sharp parts on the face and hands.

cheers
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