I use DxO Photo Lab 6 for denoise and lens corrections only, and LR and Photoshop for everything else. So I thought I would try out the version 4 of PureRaw, as it would be cheaper than upgrading PL 6 I found it did not do as good a job as PL 6. My files were sharper and cleaner with PL 6 DeepPrime XD. Since then, I have tried both newer versions of Photo Lab(7 and
, and PureRaw 5 and see the same. DxO Photo Lab 6 DeepPrimeXD works best for my files. Even the DeepPrime 3 in PureRaw 5 is not as good on the same files. Has anyone else noticed something similar?
I intend to keep using PL 6 as I see no reason to upgrade to any of the newer versions now available! I would use LR denoise if for some reason PL 6 should stop working. I hope they continue improving LR denoise until it works as well or better.
Background:
I am an amateur and only take pictures for myself, but I prefer as much clarity and sharpness as possible. I began using DxO Photo Lab 6 when I was shooting with M4/3 cameras. Now I have switched to Canon (R5,R7,and RP). I have done ISO testing with raw files form each camera. I find that DeepPrimeXD renders better denoised files than Lightroom denoise. I will say that LR denoise has improved in the latest version. When it first came out it was about 3 stops behind DeepPrimeXD for my files. Now it is only 1 stop behind in the denoise aspect. However, I find the files generated by DeepPrimeXD at any ISO are superior for sharpness and detail to LR. It appears to work as capture sharpening and denoise at the same time. Interestingly, DxO DenoiseHQ equals LR denoise up to about 6400 for noise reduction and sharpness. This testing was focused on landscapes. I can see these differences on screen and in closely inspected prints at 15X20 inches, the largest I can make. Others mileage may vary. Also, you can apply LR super resolution to the DxO DNG files which is nice for crops!
Using DxO DeepPrimeXD on the Canon raw files, I see no difference at all in sharpness and clarity between 100 and 1600 ISO for the 3 cameras and 3200 and 6400 are all very good. Although it would be very rare for me, I would not hesitate to shoot anything with the R5 up to 25600 if necessary to get the shot. With the R7 and RP the limit is 12800. Of course due to dynamic range, I want to shoot at the lowest possible ISO, but for the R5 for ISO 100-1600 the DR is within 1/2 stop over the range at least for my camera. It is the same for the R7 and RP up to 800 ISO, and they only lose near a full stop at 1600. I have not tested DR above ISO 1600, because I only go there if there is no choice, so it will be what it is. I would definiely bracket if possible in that situation.
