Why and How to Make the Leap From Lightroom to DxO Photolab 8

Switching from Lightroom to another digital asset management and development tool can be daunting for photographers. There are very good reasons to, and DxO PhotoLab 8 is one of the most compelling options. Here’s why and how a Sony Ambassador made the switch.

In this comprehensive video, Mark Galer explains how to use this multi-award-winning software. DxO PhotoLab won the TIPA Best Software award for the last five years. It has enticed him away from Lightroom, a program he had been using since its launch.

Mark’s excellent video explains how to make a “pain-free transition” from Adobe’s product to DxO’s. He explains in depth that you don’t lose the Library function when you end your Adobe subscription, and he compares the pricing of both packages. He also touches on the features you can unlock within PhotoLab by adding DxO FilmPack and the benefits of including their Nik Collection in your editing workflow. In the video, he also touches upon DxO PureRaw and its benefits.

Going on to list the advantages and disadvantages of PhotoLab, he demonstrates the outstanding results achieved with DeepPRIME XD/XD2 for denoising and sharpening. Between that and the lens sharpness compensation from the Optics Modules, he shows that one can achieve scalpel-sharp images using older crop sensor cameras with older, poorer-quality lenses.

DxO PhotoLab 8 is also customizable, including the Workspace. Mark explains that fully a third of the way into the video.

Most photographers, of course, want to know how to develop their raw files, and he explains this in full, including how to create and customize calibrated color profiles. He then continues by explaining the rest of the image development process, pointing out the slightly different approach one needs—for example, setting the white point. Some of the terminology is different between Lightroom and PhotoLab 8, too. For example, clarity becomes microcontrast, and this video explains these differences.

He goes on to explain how to use other adjustments, such as the tone curve, the unsharp mask, and lens softness compensation, as well as applying local adjustments with an in-depth investigation of the use of control points. He also touches on creating black-and-white images in PhotoLab 8, something it excels at, and adding special effects available in the software.

This well-thought-out video finishes with how to export the photo.

The video demonstration uses a Mac, and there are some small differences when using PhotoLab 8 on a Windows PC; my recent review of the software was made using a PC.

If you are thinking of making the jump to DxO PhotoLab 8 or already have and want a better understanding of the program’s functions, then this video is a great place to start. I hope you find it useful. I did.