[ehrwien]

Just launched. See DxO PhotoLab 6: The most advanced RAW photo editing software and Why upgrade? - Compare your version - DxO to compare what the newest version has that yours has not.

I currently have PL5 Elite and could upgrade for 99€. I don't think I will at this point. You can also upgrade from PL4 I think. So if that stays true for the next major version, I will probably upgrade then.

- New DeepPrime XD denoise algorithm. I don't think I need more or better than what DeepPrime already offers. I will probably have a look at the test version though.
- The ReTouch Tool looks nice, but I can achieve what I want within FastStone
- "Expanded working colour gamut for increased accuracy" and Soft Proofing - don't think I would benefit from that in a significant way.
- More photo management stuff. I could probably benefit from that.

ViewPoint 4 seems even less enticing when you already have version 3. Upgrade would cost 59€.

What are your thoughts, will you upgrade or even get it new (209€ for the PL6 Elite version is steep though!)?

[c.a.m]

What are your thoughts, will you upgrade or even get it new

I have PL5 Elite + Film Pack + ViewPoint 3. It's my main RAW developer.

I'm intrigued by some of the new features, especially DeepPrime XD.

I'll continue to follow the DxO Forum to gain insight into the upgrade, and will probably upgrade (USD $99 for me).

- Craig

[Mbaez]

What are your thoughts, will you upgrade or even get it new (209€ for the PL6 Elite version is steep though!)?

Already upgraded. Their new noise reduction is really better; retains more details and chroma noise is less intrusive at the same time.

[ehrwien]

Already upgraded. Their new noise reduction is really better; retains more details and chroma noise is less intrusive at the same time.

How much longer does it take to process a file with DeepPrime XD compared to standard DeepPrime?

[Mbaez]

How much longer does it take to process a file with DeepPrime XD compared to standard DeepPrime?

Same time, didn't noticed any difference in my lowly Kaveri A10. Much faster than the Standard Prime.

[UncleVanya]

I’m watching this to see what people say. Typically I upgrade the suite within the first few months.

[c.a.m]

I’m watching this to see what people say.

As expected, there are active discussions at the DxO forum and at the DPReview Retouching forum.

So far, I've seen several themes -- Fuji users are disgruntled that PL6 DeepPrime XD doesn't yet support X-Trans RAW files; one report of obvious artifacts from DeepPrime XD but otherwise positive improvements over DeepPrime; and a few PL5 users wondering whether the upgrade is worth the price. Also, a number of folks are looking forward to possible Black Friday savings, which may or may not happen.

Personally, I think the improvement afforded by DeepPrime XD is noteworthy, and might allow me to further extend my upper ISO limit on my K-3 Mark III. Effective noise reduction with enhanced detail -- what's not to like?

I found this interesting overview:

You Tube

You Tube

- Craig

[Mbaez]

Here's a comparison at 200% percent. DeepPrime vs DeepPrime XD
R7 ISO 5000

[Mbaez]

Here's a comparison at 200% percent. Noise Reduction OFF vs DeepPrime XD
R7 ISO 5000

[Mbaez]

Here's a comparison at 200% percent. Straight out of camera JPEG vs DeepPrime XD
R7 ISO 5000

[Madaboutpix]

Played around fairly extensively with the trial version of PL6 and came away quite impressed with the DeepPrime XD noise reduction, which is significantly more effective in removing noise than the regular DeepPrime and also better at retaining meaningful detail. Encouraged by SmugMug's recent announcement that they now retain wider colour spaces of uploaded images, I also gave the DxO Wide Gamut a try, which indeed leads to richer, more natural-looking colours on my BenQ SW2700 when I switch it to AdobeRGB. I did notice that with some images I will have to use the "Protect saturated colours" slider a bit more to avoid colour clipping, but the results still look better than before.

I will upgrade from PL5 as soon as my budget allows, although I'm hoping to get a slightly better deal when my trial expires or in the Black Friday sales.

Here are some samples, utilizing both DeepPrime XD at "magic wand" default levels and the Wide Gamut (K-3 at ISOs 5000, 4000, 2000, and 500, respectively, all processed to taste; you can view full-res JPEGs on my SmugMug website by clicking on the samples):

[UncleVanya]

Also, a number of folks are looking forward to possible Black Friday savings, which may or may not happen.

Past experiences suggest that the Black Friday deal will be similar to the upgrade price for a new user but there won’t be additional discounts for existing users unless there is a new bundled price.

[ehrwien]

Here's a comparison at 200% percent. DeepPrime vs DeepPrime XD
R7 ISO 5000

How can you swing my opinion by 180° with a single picture?

[Des]

Last year there was an introductory discount on the upgrade price - the net cost of the upgrade from PL4 Elite to PL5 Elite was $US69.30. Any discount code this year?

Here's a comparison at 200% percent. DeepPrime vs DeepPrime XD

Thanks Marcos. That's pretty compelling.

[ehrwien]

Well, I caved in and got the upgrade.

The thing distinguishing DeepPrime XD from DeepPrime (or rather: PL6 from PL5, because in PL6 the slider is there for both DeepPrime and DeepPrime XD) is the addition of a slider ("Rauschmodell", translates to "noise model") to decide how much noise you are willing to exchange for more sharpness. I tested it on a macro image with a background that should be mostly uniform, so any difference in noise will be very visible there. When I choose to eliminate all the noise (-100 on the slider), the background turns out very smooth, while not giving up that much fine sharpness. The standard value of 0 gives a little more sharpness, but for the cost of more noise in the uniform background than I could see in the image that was developed by PL5 with DeepPrime.

I definitely like to have the choice, and knowing that it is possible I will certainly play with that slider a lot in upcoming conversions. Perhaps this is the thing that will make me finally convert an image in two ways and combine the two with masks later to get exactly what I want out of an image.