By Shutterbug Staff

August 1, 2006 — DxO Labs has revealed details of the next version of its flagship application DxO Optics Pro software which improves the image quality of Digital Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras and advanced digicams. DxO Optics will be available on Macintosh and Windows platforms in September 2006, It includes four main areas of exciting new functionality:

Thanks to the new DxO Color Engine, DxO Optics Pro v4 provides photographers a complete color adjustment toolbox including two revolutionary features; a unique Multi-Point Color Balance tool to easily perform optimal color balance for a given scene and a new Color Rendition feature offering multiple color renderings and modes for images. In particular, the Color Rendition profile of one camera can be applied to images taken with another camera.

Now in its third release, DxO Optics Engine, a core component of DxO Optics Pro, expands functionality to include horizon adjustment (rotation), keystoning (perspective) correction as well as a new exclusive Volume Anamorphosis correction feature. This groundbreaking feature automatically brings three-dimensional objects that appear deformed by ultra-wide angle lenses back to their correct proportions. The effect of this unique correction is particularly dramatic for images including human beings. As with previous versions, DxO Optics Engine automatically corrects lens distortion, vignetting, lens softness and chromatic aberrations including purple fringing.

DxO Optics Pro v4 marks a radical overhaul of the application’s ergonomics as well as many important enhancements to the workflow. Both image adjustment and image processing speed have been key priorities in the development of DxO Optics Pro v4 resulting in speed increases of up to 500% compared to the previous version. DxO Optics Pro v4 will also be optimized for Mac/Intel processors.

Now, DxO Optics Pro features will always be available within the most popular photo-retouching application. Once installed in Photoshop, the new DxO Optics Pro Plug-in will allow users to directly access core DxO image correction features when opening RAW or JPEG images.

DxO Optics Pro v4 is planned to be available for Windows, Intel Mac and Macintosh in September 2006. All purchasers after June 20, 2006 are eligible for a free upgrade. Pricing of upgrades and full versions of DxO Optics Pro v4 will be announced at a later date.

www.dxo.com