Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Author Topic: PureRAW  (Read 5858 times)

David Eckels

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3526
  • It's just a camera.
    • Website
PureRAW
« on: May 09, 2021, 09:01:12 am »

Purchased PureRAW after seeing a couple demos online. Set it up to use DeepPrime and gave it a whirl. First, LR converted, unmodified DNG images cannot be used as a source file; Strike One! Second, SOOC NEF files sometimes result in black frames. If I select a group of 10, for example, the first four DeepPrime frames are empty and black. This also produces a graphics card access error; Strike Two! When I asked DxO if I could have my money back, they said NO even though I had used PureRAW less than a week and it seems to be an obviously defective product; Strike Three!

I then tried the same files using the Prime setting, and everything worked fine. Even unmodified dng files were processed although DxO Support said it could not be done. I think it is irresponsible for DxO to release a clearly defective product and not stand behind it.

Below, Argentine cactus blossoms rendered with the Prime setting and exported as DNG to LR unmodified. Jpeg at 65% to get under the file size restriction.
1/200 sec, f/22, ISO 6400, 160 mm Nikon D850, Nikkor 70-200 f/4

fdisilvestro

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1852
    • Frank Disilvestro
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2021, 11:01:19 pm »

Out of curiosity, why didn't you use the 30 day free-trial? You could have sorted all the issues and make a decision about the product before paying for it.

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2021, 04:13:19 am »

First, LR converted, unmodified DNG images cannot be used as a source file;
It does mention this in their support files for the product.
Quote
When I asked DxO if I could have my money back, they said NO even though I had used PureRAW less than a week
This is why they offer 30 day free trials.

Given that there's been criticism of DXO support and PL4 here in the past, it seems rather reckless to rush out and pay for a brand new (v1) product without testing it first when you have that opportunity.
You'll just have to hope they will fix some of your issues in future updates.
Logged

David Eckels

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3526
  • It's just a camera.
    • Website
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2021, 08:47:33 am »

Thanks for the replies, folks. Yes, in retrospect, I should have used the 30 day trial. But, I assumed, given the reviews I'd seen, that it would be straightforward. Worst case, I'm out $90.
I didn't see anything about DNG in their support files. Caveat emptor!
it seems rather reckless to rush out and pay for a brand new (v1) product
Indeed.
Anyhoo, the Prime setting seems quite good, even on DNG files, as seen in the OP image.
Thanks again for the replies. Lesson learned. ???

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2021, 11:31:19 am »

It might be worth trying a demo for PL4 Elite and seeing if the problem with Deep Prime is there too on your system. If not you may be able to get DXO to offer you a licence swap/upgrade to PL4.

Deep Prime is pretty good and really the main(only?) reason to use it with LR.
From what I've read the workflow of PL4 -> dng -> LR ought to bring DeepPrime to LR with only slightly more complication than using Pure Raw, but with a lot more control over the settings.
Logged

rabanito

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1577
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2021, 05:08:50 am »

PL4 states the DeepPrime can only be enabled on native RAW files. Same goes for Prime.
In my WF I run my (RAW) files first through  PL4 (Denoise and Optical Corrections only) and from there export them to LR as .dng for further processing.
I have no problem with that since I was told that denoising should be done as soon as possible and I only shoot RAW.
Logged

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2021, 05:21:31 am »

In my WF I run my (RAW) files first through  PL4 (Denoise and Optical Corrections only) and from there export them to LR as .dng for further processing.
Sounds a good way of using DeepPrime. My trial has expired now, so I can't check, but can you run that workflow without optical correction, then do that in LR ?

Unreliable lens identification was the bug that killed PL for me, but I never bothered to consider just using it for NR only and outputting as a DNG to LR.
Logged

rabanito

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1577
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2021, 06:15:32 am »

I never tried it but one of the standard presets is "No Correction". From there I would apply Deep Prime and then create my own preset.
In "Preferences" you can choose which preset will be automatically applied to new images.
You can define an automatic preset for RAW and another for RGB files (no deep prime)
So you should load the images, select those you want and export them. The preset should have been applied automatically.
AFAIK...
Logged

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2021, 06:25:24 am »

Thanks.
I'll probably wait for PL5 with a whooping big discount. They might even speed it up and fix some of the bugs by then ;-)
Logged

Dennis Jones

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #9 on: July 29, 2021, 07:05:27 pm »

I've had no problems with Pure RAW and have incorporated it into my Lightroom work flow. Instead of importing in LR with my normal custom Sony A7RIII preset, I skip that step. I do my culling and deleting, select all and drag and drop them onto the DXO PureRAW icon in my dock, (I'm on a Mac), which opens PureRAW with the images. I then process everything in Deep Prime irregardless of their ISO, testing showed it to be the best option. It takes a while depending upon the number of images. I just go and do something else.

It does a great job! Perhaps a bit too sharpened but that's easily corrected.

I've experimented with high ISO images, like 25,600 and it is amazing. Almost no noise with excellent detail.
Logged

Arlen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1707
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2021, 05:44:54 pm »

David, I haven't tried PureRAW, but from what I understand it is basically a stripped down version of PL4, which I use fairly frequently. And for what it's worth, on two different Windows 10 computers, I get PL4 to open and run DeepPrime on DNG files generated by LR all the time. I save out a new DNG file from PL4, and back in LR it acts just like any other RAW file, except that it now has the noise removed. The DeepPrime noise removal is generally supurb, though sometimes I get better results from Topaz Denoise AI if I play with its controls; it depends on the image. Either one is leaps and bounds ahead of LR for noise reduction.

My workflow is to convert RAW files to DNG upon import into LR. Then if I decide to use DeepPrime, that is the very first thing I do, by selecting File>Plug-in Extras>Transfer to DxO Photolab 4. Any changes you make in LR (including default settings, like sharpening & NR) will be ignored when it goes to PL4 (and, I assume, PureRAW). After running DeepPrime, I export to LR as a DNG file, which has the suffix _DxO added to the file name.

DeepPrime does use a lot of CPU or graphics card resources though, and I find it will occasionally fail if I have other programs running that compete for those resources. Try it with other programs closed, which sometimes cures a problem with DeepPrime failing. You mentioned that with PureRAW you are getting a graphics card error. Assuming PureRaw has similar settings as PL4, under Preferences>Performance>DeepPrime Acceleration, try changing the settings between Auto, CPU, and  your graphics card, and see if it makes a difference.
Logged

rabanito

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1577
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2021, 06:15:06 pm »

Why do you convert the raw file to dng before transferring to PL4? Seems to be an additional step
Is it not the same as transferring the RAW file to PL4 and getting back the DNG from there after denoising?
Logged

Arlen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1707
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2021, 06:26:49 pm »

I convert all my RAW files to DNG upon import, whether or not they are going into PL4. The original raw files are saved for a couple of months in a separate folder in case they are needed. There are arguments for and against converting original raw files to DNG for long term storage, which you can read if you search around on the web. I decided a long time ago that on balance, the pros of converting to DNG outweigh the cons for me.
Logged

digitaldog

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20630
  • Andrew Rodney
    • http://www.digitaldog.net/
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2021, 08:18:18 pm »

Why do you convert the raw file to dng before transferring to PL4? Seems to be an additional step
There are many advantages to the DNG format, a few disadvantages.
https://www.cnet.com/news/adobe-offering-new-reasons-to-get-dng-religion/
http://digitaldog.net/files/ThePowerofDNG.pdf
Logged
http://www.digitaldog.net/
Author "Color Management for Photographers".

rabanito

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1577
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #14 on: August 01, 2021, 05:20:07 am »

I convert all my RAW files to DNG upon import, whether or not they are going into PL4.

I see. Should have been clear to me without asking  :-\

Thanks
Logged

rabanito

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1577
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #15 on: August 01, 2021, 05:22:30 am »

There are many advantages to the DNG format, a few disadvantages.
https://www.cnet.com/news/adobe-offering-new-reasons-to-get-dng-religion/
http://digitaldog.net/files/ThePowerofDNG.pdf

Thank you Andrew.
Very interesting and instructive articles (as usual)
Logged

Lust4Life

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 820
    • Shadows Dancing
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #16 on: August 05, 2022, 05:53:01 pm »

I downloaded the PureRaw2 demo/trial.
Glad I did not purchase it.

Rarely will I trash a product but this one is a total waste.
Looks considerable worse that C1 or PS import - just have no real control over that
they want to do to your RAW file.

To my eye, it is basically a sharpening tool, and that it does a good job!  LOL

My conclusion:  Don't get fooled IF you want professional results. 

Arlen

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1707
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #17 on: August 05, 2022, 11:21:07 pm »

It's real, particular strength is noise reduction.
Logged

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3369
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #18 on: August 06, 2022, 03:37:04 am »

Rarely will I trash a product but this one is a total waste.
Looks considerable worse that C1 or PS import - just have no real control over that
they want to do to your RAW file.
You don't seem to have understood the product. It's not a RAW convertor like C1 or LR at all. It's just a tool to apply DXO's class leading optical corrections and noise reduction to give you a corrected DNG to convert and work from.

If you just try putting a file from a decent DSLR at base ISO, no you won't see much benefit. If you put a high ISO image or from a camera less well supported by other convertors, you'll understand why PureRaw and PhotoLab are regarded so highly for the job they're best all.
Logged

kers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4388
    • Pieter Kers
Re: PureRAW
« Reply #19 on: August 06, 2022, 07:35:50 am »

i tried it and like it for high iso-images where grainy results interfere too much with the purpose of the photo.
It does a very good job on those- better than topaz denoise as far as i can see.
downsides: now i have to keep two raw's; the original and the pure raw.
The correction module is choosing for distortion and/or vignetting + sharpening;
I would like to choose the tree separately as i can do in LR.
it works on the GPU only- you need a fast one.

Logged
Pieter Kers
www.beeld.nu/la
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up