By akademiotoelektronik, 25/03/2022

Review of DxO PureRAW, the tool to improve your RAW files in one click

DxO, the French photo software publisher, has just unveiled PureRAW, a new software whose goal is simple: improve your image files in RAW format before editing. Ultra-specialised, DxO PhotoRAW removes digital noise from your RAW photos as well as several optical defects such as chromatic aberrations, vignetting, distortion or lack of sharpness, all thanks to DxO DeepPrime, the AI ​​dedicated to RAW demosaicing .

The software thus integrates into the photographer's workflow, upstream of Lightroom or any other photo editing software, in order to improve the quality of your images. Here is our test of the DxO PureRAW software.

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DxO PureRAW: a logical outlet for cutting-edge expertise

DxO already has several software for photographers, such as the Nik Collection plugin suite or View Point, Film Pack and PhotoLab 4, the publisher's most comprehensive tool. But with DxO PureRAW, the publisher from Boulogne wants to take full advantage of its technical measurements on more than 60,000 camera/lens combinations to offer the most efficient image correction on the market.

Since its creation in 2006, DxO Labs has been recognized for its laboratory in which the performance of hundreds of photo cameras has been measured, in combination with thousands of lenses to erect the famous DxOMark score, the Holy Grail of photo manufacturers and recently telephony giants.

Despite the separation between the two entities made in 2018 – DxOMark Image Labs, in charge of testing is now an independent company – DxO Labs has a unique training database with millions of images analyzed. Because artificial intelligence and deep learning are very much in vogue today, DxO has also decided to make the most of its AI with DxO DeepPrime, presented for the first time last October with PhotoLab 4.

DxO DeepPrime is thus the latest demosaicing and digital noise removal tool developed by DxO Labs, based on deep learning, to train in-house AI from its base of gigantic images. The objective: to offer the best demosaicing on the market and reduce digital noise in the photo.

Improve your RAW photos before editing

While DxO offers some software as plugins that can be used within editors like Photoshop or Lightroom, DxO PureRAW offers a different approach. It must therefore be used upstream of your favorite photo editor, a bit like Photo Mechanic to unload your memory cards and do a first quick edit of your photos.

The workflow is simple and the interface minimalist. When launching the software, all you have to do is drag and drop an image or a folder of images, download the optical corrections for the camera(s) used, then choose the level of denoising, which is the only setting to choose from.

It is not possible to perform any sorting or organization of the photos placed in the software. For example, to only select photos beyond a certain ISO range, which can be penalizing if you don't know which RAWs need processing – and you don't want to transform your entire library. We thus feel that the interface, minimalist, can quickly seem austere and impractical with many photos to analyze.

You can choose from three noise reduction methods:

On our machine (MacBook Pro 13 inch 2019 with integrated graphics chip), the processing time is multiplied by 8 between HQ and DeepPrime, ranging from 15 seconds to approximately 2 minutes for a single image (Prime being in the middle with approximately 1 minute ). The choice of method will therefore depend on the power of your computer and the time you have in front of you, although it is advisable to opt for DeepPrime for the best result regardless of the image.

Then you choose the output format, between JPEG (quality 10 to 100) for immediate use, or DNG (an open RAW format) for further processing in photo editing software. You can save the optimized photos in a "DxO" folder at the initial location of the image, or choose a custom folder. DxO PureRAW of course supports batch processing.

After optimization, a small turquoise star is above the image to recognize it. The interface allows you to select optimized or unoptimized photos to refine your optimization.

Once the processing is complete, you can easily export your optimized RAW files to compatible photo software on your computer. In version 1.0 that we tested, despite the presence of Capture One or Luminar AI on our computer, DxO PureRAW only offered us Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Photoshop Elements from Adobe.

The software can use your GPU (graphics card) if the latter is compatible, in order to speed up the processing time of RAW. Note that PureRAW, like PhotoLab, is unfortunately not (yet?) compatible with RAW from Fujifilm X-Trans sensors.

Image quality optimized demosaicing and denoising

Any photo software dealing with RAW goes through the box of demosaicing, which consists in transforming the raw signal from the sensor of the device in order to obtain a color image. While the majority of software manages demosaicing first and then noise reduction, resulting in a loss of quality, DxO PureRAW adopts a different approach depending on its publisher. Thus, the DeepPrime AI combines demosaicing and noise reduction in the same step, which has the effect of reducing the amount of noise and preserving details, especially in low light and in color transitions.

Image optimization process in DxO PureRAW

This software should therefore appeal to photographers with RAW taken with cameras where the high ISO values ​​generated a lot of noise.

Here is for example the 100% detail of a high ISO RAW file after optimization with PureRAW:

As we can see on this RAW taken at ISO 51,200, on the right part of the image, the digital noise has completely disappeared. There will then remain the white balance to be corrected in Lightroom to obtain the final rendering.

In this second photo, taken in 2013 in the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral in Nantes with a Sony RX100 at ISO 800, we can also see the work done in digital noise reduction on the optimized DNG. This is particularly visible in the background on the blurred writings, where the noise has completely disappeared. It will also be noted that the surface of the statue is also smoother and sharper.

The software also applies a different processing depending on the area of ​​sharpness, allowing to maintain a soft and clean bokeh while increasing the sharpness on the areas where the focus has been made.

Optical correction: easy

DxO PureRAW also makes it possible to correct the main optical defects present in the image, thanks to its optical modules available for almost all the lenses on the market. This makes it possible to apply personalized optical corrections according to the body + lens duo.

Once the optical modules have been downloaded for the images to be optimized, DxO PureRAW can correct optical distortions and other aberrations.

Original RAW

Optimized DNG: optical distortion has been corrected

The result is excellent correction of distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberrations and improved sharpness. DxO PhotoLab and ViewPoint were already known for this, and the editor now brings this to any RAW file, no matter what software you use.

Speaking of sharpness, the correction is particularly noticeable for a simple reason: RAW files are generally not very sharp and require a dose of sharpening after demosaicing. Going through DxO PureRAW then Lightroom Classic, the DNG is very sharp from the moment of import and you will have to be careful not to over-emphasize the sharpness during the final export.

Give a second life to your old RAWs

After Adobe and Super Resolution to enlarge your old photos taken with small sensors, it's time for DxO and the improvement of your old RAWs, thanks to PureRAW and the power of DeepPrime.

As you know, the RAW format is a negative file that cannot be altered, unlike JPEG which degrades each time the file is saved (and compressed). To apply its corrections, DxO PureRAW saves the new corrected RAW in a DNG, which will be readable in most photo software, in particular that of Adobe. Note that the DNG format can add bulk to your images. During our test, PureRAW often turned our 20MB RAW into a 60MB DNG.

Price and availability of DxO PureRAW

DxO PureRAW is available today for Windows and macOS. Until May 31, you can benefit from an introductory price of €89.99 instead of €129 until May 31, 2021.

A free 30-day trial version is also available on the DxO website.

DxO PureRAW, at the service of your RAW files

We were able to test DxO PureRAW on many recent and old RAWs, and we can say that we are surprised by the very good performance of the software.

DxO succeeds with PureRAW in improving the image quality of our RAW files, offering even more latitude when it comes to fine image processing in software like Lightroom. Noise reduction, detail enhancement and optical corrections are very good and the DeepPrime artificial intelligence seems really accomplished.

On the other hand, you will have to be patient for the processing of your images, and anticipate this passage to the grinder, both in terms of processing time and additional storage, the DNG being often 3 times heavier than the original RAW with DeepPrime. We bet that the next processors – in particular Apple's SoCs – will offer greater speed overall, especially on laptops. Currently, DxO PureRAW on macOS is not optimized for Apple Silicon.

Note, however, that DxO PureRAW suffers from somewhat messy ergonomics. The interface, although minimalist, deserves more attention, and DxO is missing an opportunity to combine RAW optimization with an effective – even basic – pre-sorting of its images, in order to speed up the photographer's workflow. Sorting options – to highlight the photos that most deserve optimization, according to ISO sensitivity for example – would be welcome.

It should also be noted that the software, offered at 129 €, may seem a bit expensive for photographers who are not used to paying for a service to optimize their RAW. Even so, PureRAW succeeds in offering the best performance from your RAW files, with a truly exceptional level of quality – without exaggeration – which will provide a very good basis for RAW development in your favorite photo software.

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