First test
DxO PureRaw 3 PRICE: £115 Make the most of your pictures, especially those captured at higher ISO speeds, with dedicated image enhancement software. Offering more control and features, PureRaw 3 is one of the best
DXO.COM
LOOK, IT’S MAGIC!
that gives smoother, cleaner, sharper and more detailed images. It works regardless of ISO, though the biggest benefit is with pictures taken at higher settings. The software only works with Raw files – including Fujifilm X-Trans. When Raws are loaded into PureRaw 3, the dialogue box gives an idea of how long the processing will take, plus a few key options. This is where you decide whether to use High Quality, Prime, DeepPrime or DeepPrime XD, as well as whether you want to use the lens softening, vignetting, chromatic aberration and distortion correction tools. Finished files can be output as JPEGs or TIFFs (8- or 16-bit) – or a combination of all three at the same time. Ease of use rates highly and it’s reasonably quick, too. I batch- processed ten Raws from an OM System OM-1, which took 2.5 minutes in the DeepPrime setting and eight minutes when opting for DeepPrime XD. These times were from a 16GB M1 Mac Mini. Handily, batch processing can be paused, reordered or cancelled. It is worth saying that the DNGs from all four processing options are two to four times larger than the original file. You can chew up a lot of storage space with this software. In most images, the benefit was immediately apparent. Quality uplift on high-ISO shots could be nothing short of spectacular with DeepPrime
TESTED BY WILL CHEUNG
and DeepPrime XD. Revisiting my archive of Raws from cameras like the Canon EOS 10D, Fujifilm X-T1 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 was very rewarding, and revitalised old shots. Generally, PureRaw 3 performs very well on a wide-ranging selection of images, from cameras new and old, and from up and down the ISO scale. My tests included portraits, street, wildlife and scenic images. Only in a small minority of images did PureRaw 3 not have a positive impact. On a couple of contrasty, sun-lit scenes when the PureRaw 3 processed image was further edited, there was some fringing where bright and dark tones met. Turning off the software’s lens corrections helped. I did find a couple of minor niggles. It’s rather annoying that the software replaces the original Raw with the processed image in the interface. This means if you don’t like the conversion for whatever reason and want to tweak settings to try again, you have to reload the original Raw. Also, if you set a custom destination location for your processed images, this isn’t remembered – so you have to select the location again next time. PureRaw will be even better once these minor issues are resolved. PN SPECS › Prices New licence £115, upgrade £69 from previous versions. 30- day free and fully functional trial available from DxO website › Minimum system configuration Windows : Any CPU supporting SSE 4.1, 8GB RAM, 4GB available disk space, Microsoft Windows 10 version 20H2 (64-bit, and still supported by Microsoft) macOS: Any CPU, 8GB RAM, 4GB available disk space, macOS 11.6 (Big Sur) › Recommended system configuration Windows: Intel Core processor with six cores or better, or AMD Ryzen, 16GB RAM, 6GB available disk space, Nvidia RTX 2060, AMD Radeon RX 6600 or better with latest drivers macOS: Intel Core processor with six cores or better, or Apple silicon, 16GB RAM, macOS 12.0 (Monterey), macOS 13.0 (Ventura), 6GB available disk space, AMD Radeon Pro 580X or better for Intel Macs › Available languages English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese (simplified) › Contact dxo.com
MODERN DIGITAL CAMERAS have amazing ISO performance and you can shoot at high speeds with very good results, especially with some noise reduction in editing software. However, if you want the best quality regardless of what ISO or camera you’ve used, it’s worth investing in dedicated noise reduction software such as Topaz DeNoise AI, ON1 NoNoise AI and DxO PureRaw. DxO’s latest version of PureRaw claims significant improvements over its predecessor. It is available for Windows and Mac and can be used as stand-alone software or as a plug- in through Adobe Lightroom Classic. There’s now editable batch processing, image correction tools that can be turned on or off, plus DeepPrime XD, which was previously only available in DxO’s PhotoLab 6. PureRaw 3 also taps into DxO’s vast bank of camera/lens Optics Modules. DeepPrime XD is an AI-powered denoising and demosaicing feature “QUALITY UPLIFT FOR HIGH ISO WAS NOTHING SHORT OF SPECTACULAR”
The Mathematical Bridge in Cambridge at night is a challenging scene. This was taken on a Canon EOS R5 set at ISO 25,600 with an exposure of 1/4sec at f/8. The original image is grainy with poorly rendered details. The Raw was processed in Adobe Lightroom with no noise reduction, as a comparison to the image put through PureRaw 3 with the DeepPrime XD setting. Both images were adjusted in Lightroom to produce a similar look. Also supplied as a comparison is the out-of- camera JPEG with in-body noise reduction. PureRaw 3 does a striking job at removing noise and bringing out detail, as seen in the brickwork. It’s fair to say the result isn’t perfect – see the haloing and artefacts in the background. That said, for this starter image and the high ISO used, the end result is very acceptable. Enjoy photographing this scene yourself during PN ’s Photo Video 24 event taking place 3-4 June. For more details, see page 6.
Raw processed in Adobe Lightroom
Out-of-camera JPEG
Raw processed in DxO PureRaw 3, DeepPrime XD mode
Verdict Remarkable, easy-to-use software that does a great job enhancing images. It may not be a program for every frame you take, since processed files are significantly larger. But, when reserved for shots you are going to use big or print, the benefits are clear regardless of camera and ISO speed. The opportunity for your back catalogue could be immense. PROS Great improvements in images of all sorts (especially high-ISO shots), lens correction modules, very good integration with Adobe Lightroom, works with Fujifilm X-Trans files, good value CONS DeepPrime XD processing takes time, large processed files, some files can look over-processed, a couple of handling niggles
ON THE MENU Load images into PureRaw 3 and you’re greeted by a simple interface; then simply pick the process and corrections you want. Processed files can be saved as DNG, TIFF (8- and 16-bit), JPEG or all three
Issue 106 | Photography News 31
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