DxO’s Optics Pro and Viewpoint image correction software updated and discounted

Does your photographic workflow feature DxO Labs' Optics Pro or Viewpoint applications? If so, the French software company has recently released updates for both applications that should make them even more useful. (And if not, some holiday discounts aim to persuade you to add them to your toolbox.)

Last week's DxO Viewpoint v1.1 update gives the keystoning / wide angle distortion correction utility better accuracy and more precise automatic cropping. The first update since ViewPoint's release, it also refines the user interface, allows pre-correction image rotation, adds Retina display and Windows 8 compatibility, and squashes a number of bugs, including some that could cause application crashes.

Through December 25th, DxO Viewpoint is available at a discounted price of around US$50, although it ordinarily lists for about US$80. More details on the DxO website. If you already own Viewpoint, you can find the update in the customer area of the site.

 

DxO Viewpoint corrects keystoning and wide-angle distortions, and its maker says the latest version does so more accruately.

In full, the list of changes in Viewpoint 1.1 is as follows:

• Rotation of image prior to applying corrections is now possible: Right and Left rotation tools have been added to straighten poorly-oriented images.

• More user-friendly and precise Keystoning tools:

  • Faster navigation and toggling between low and high zoom; automatic switching between pan, zoom out and zoom in functions.

  • New gridline displacement capability enables the user to move keystoning lines through a line grip.

  • Anchor points are movable with arrow keys to achieve more precise positioning.

  • (Windows) Tab key shortcut switches between anchor points.

• More user-friendly and precise Crop command:

  • Option to lock the Crop tool in the usable part of image, keeping it from overlapping with the blank areas added by the Keystoning and Horizon corrections.

  • Automatic orientation detection of crop rectangle in all modes.

  • Easy changing of crop rectangle orientation.

  • Possibility of defining customized crop ratios.

  • Fine-tuning of crop rectangle position now possible using arrow keys.

• More robust workflow within application:

  • User now warned when keystoning correction is impossible.

  • Applying corrections prior to quitting the application is now mandatory to avoid uncommitted changes.

  • New “Reset all” functionality returns image to its initial state.

• More precise command of User interface:

  • Clicking on sliders induces small incremental changers rather than jumping to current click values.

  • Image size and current Crop size can be displayed (configurable in Preferences).

  • (Windows) Tab key shortcut switches between sliders and value input fields.

• Enhancements to Standalone instance:

  • “Close” functionality added to the file menu to close an open image without quitting the application.

  • “Open Recent” functionality added to the file menu to reopen any of the last ten opened images.

• Enhancements to UI appearance in Retina displays.

• Compatible with Windows 8.

• Corrected various bugs:

  • Anamorphosis correction:

    • Better management of images with flawed or missing EXIF data.

    • In Side-by-side preview mode, the correction is now visible on "Before" image prior to using keystoning/horizon tools.

  • Crop tool: Various fixes to Crop rectangle. User can no longer make the rectangle overlap on the preview background, and interaction issues with the undo functionality have been fixed.

  • Undo: “Undo” stack management is more reliable, especially after using Horizon and Crop tools.

  • User Interface:

    • Correct positions of pinned containers are now restored at application relaunch.

    • Various shortcuts to application tools ('G', 'F' and 'C' shortcuts for Grid, Full screen, and Crop tools, respectively) are now also functional in Mac OS.

    • Display of cropped-out image parts inside Loupe preview has been fixed.

  • Plug-in mechanism:

    • Photoshop CS plugin: Having issues when host application is closed have been fixed.

    • In Lightroom, links to plug-in for menu items "File >External Editor", "File > Export" and "File >Export With Preset" have been removed.

  • Installer: Notification of open application has been added when user wants to uninstall application.

  • Crashes:

    • Application crashes have been fixed (i.e., when a user quits while processing is ongoing, or when palettes are undocked from the top).

    • Unexpected display of dialog box showing "Lightroom batch processing" message when the Crash sender is launched has been fixed.

DxO Optics Pro v8.1.1, released today, supports raw images shot with four new cameras, and also adds lens correction support for a generous 298 new body / lens combinations. DxO also says that it has squashed some minor bugs, although it doesn't detail these.

Through December 25th, you can purchase DxO Optics Pro at the discounted price of around US$100 for the Standard edition or US$200 for the Elite edition. The program regularly lists for about US$170 in Standard form, and US$300 for the Elite version. More details on the DxO website. If you already own Optics Pro, you can find the update in the customer area of the site.

 

Mac users of DxO Optics Pro have enjoyed Retina display support since version 8 shipped. Now Viewpoint users will have access to the same high-res goodness.

Cameras newly supported in Optics Pro 8.1.1 include the Canon EOS M mirrorless, Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs digital SLRs, and Sony Alpha SLT-A99 translucent mirror camera. Optics modules that have been added include all of the following: