Optical Illusion: Do you really need a pricey DSLR lens? This $127 software says you don't.
OH SAY CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE? Before and after, with all four corrections applied.
Unless you’re packing the very best—and very big-buck—wide-angle and telephoto lenses for your DSLR, you might notice shots with distortion, blur, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. These aesthetic issues have scientific causes, and DO Labs’ DxO Optics Pro software has a scientific solution. Using algorithmic image processing, it goes straight to the data and fixes the misrepresentations with math. These problems are the worst in extreme situations: ultrawide-angles and telephotos set to wide apertures. So DO Labs has focused its attention there.
The software, which you apply to the photos after you download them from your camera, comes in both Mac and PC versions. It’s not, however, one-size-fits-all. The corrections are based not on the camera body or the lens alone, but on the effect of their combination. After all, different DSLR sensors can react differently to the same lens. (With film cameras, the film is, in effect, your sensor, so changing bodies generally doesn’t make a difference.)
The first software package you buy is a “module” for your camera body and one lens (prices start at $127). For each additional lens you have for that body, you must buy another module. Prices drop the more you buy. This may sound expensive, but it’s a lot cheaper than upgrading all your lenses to nearly flawless models. DO Labs wants you to think of this software like any other camera accessory. You can sell the program (and rights to upgrades) if you sell your lenses.
On the surface, Optics Pro is straightforward; it takes a look at your Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) data for the lens type, focal length, and aperture, and, using a set of algorithms calibrated for your lens and camera combination, repairs their inherent problems.
Open Optics Pro on your computer, import the images you want to fix, hit go, and the software does the rest. It automatically recognizes which module to apply to each image. You can choose to correct blur, distortion, color aberration and vignetting separately or in combination.
All this happens quickly and without any manual-reading. The results pop up on-screen, and you can switch back and forth between the “before” and “after.” The corrected version is saved in a folder under a different name, and retains all Exif and camera data. Right now, corrections can be applied only to JPEG images, with a choice of output to JPEG or TIFF. DO Labs promises a RAW function soon.
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