lightroom Archives

October 9, 2025

DXO Photo Lab 9 VS Lightroom – The Real review

DXO is working overtime to get influencers to talk about Photo Lab 9. They all imply it’s a Lightroom Killer! I declined the partnership, and today we’ll do a real-world torture test.

Can Photo Lab 9 Beat Lightroom this year?

I’m gonna be hard and honest today. Because I’ve been reviewing this for 3 years running, and DXO has seen my reviews. So I will hold back nothing on whether they fixed the failings.

You can download a trial of Photo Lab Here. You can get my free Filmist sampler pack and you can use the LUTS in Photo Lab also. You can get my Alchemist 3 Actions here. Also Click here to download the experimental test presets I made for DXO Photo Lab.

DXO Photo Lab 9 has Ai masks now. Are they good?

As you’ll see in the video, I had a lot of trouble getting masks to work due to errors despite using current drivers and a high-end 3080Ti. This seems to be a common problem, and even after downgrading the driver, DXO glitches at times. But hopefully this will be fixed soon.

Even after reverting to an old driver, I often got this error in Photo Lab 9.1, and no masks will work.

Once working, masks seem pretty good. Lightroom overall seems better at subject detection. But DXO is not playing. The U Point style masks are also handy. Capture One also has this type of masking also, but Lightroom has to stay within predefined masks.

That said, Lightroom does have things like clothes. So I could do the same edits on both, and overall, Lightroom was faster and felt more full-featured in what I could do with the masks.

The biggest problem with masks, aside from stability, is the limitation of presets, meaning you cannot save them as Speed-Masks like I show you with Elegance presets, in LR and C1. In practice, you have to do a mask each time or manually copy and paste settings.

But I do give a nod to the new masks feature. It just needs tuning.

The Biggest Problem with DXO Photo Lab – Quality

Aside from lacking features like compare, a good collections system, Split Toning or grain (unless you buy extra add-ons). The biggest problem is the image processing engine of DXO.

As in years before, it takes moments to find and totally break it down like we see here and in the video. Other things can be overlooked by many. But the inability to rely on good IQ with basic tools like HSL makes DXO Photo Lab NOT a serious choice for professionals despite being just as expensive as other options.

I have 25 years of experience. I was there when all these apps started, and I know what a good process looks like. Until the RAW process engine is fixed. DXO is a non-starter for me. And this is now the 3 year running that they have ignored this problem.

DXO Photo Lab Noise Reduction and more…

Yes, Nouse Reduction is good in DXO It’s known for that. It really is better this year, and even advanced modes can render in-app, and you can see the full quality, not just a loupe view like before.

IN the videos side-by-side tests, you can see it is equal to Lightroom, and some may say better because it has various modes and even an Xtrans option for Fuji users. Though in real lifeLightroom handles Fuji files just as well. Check out this post for more on that.

In practical results, they are equal. But the extra options are useful. There are also various sharpening, detail, and of course, lens correction tools, and DXO is known for doing well in all of these.

In practice, Lightroom images held their own to DXO without problem and despite the noise reduction in DXO, which in not for the artifacts introduced by its own RAW engine. In some images detail was worse in DXO than in Lightroom. But in many photos it was equal.

Conclusion…. Can DXO Photo Lab replace LR or C1

If you’re a professional with high standards, absolutely not until they fix the process engine.

If that were fixed, it has a lot of potential. Only it still lacks many features. There are some tools on DXO that don’t exist in the other apps like DXO Smart Lighting. But more tools do not always mean better editing.

If you look at this image edited in both, they both look good. But despite having masks and even being able to use film looks as LUTS, my options in refinement were more limited in DXO.

I should mention Speed. Like Lightroom Ai masks can bring even a strong system to its knees.. No catalog can be good for speed. But I find it annoying that the constant reloading and re-rendering of previews, even on images I just used. So simpler, yes, better. Not exactly.

A perpetual licence. Sort of… While you can buy it outright. It should be noted that it’s not a true perpetual licence, because it has to check in with DXO server every month or so. Clippy would disapprove.

But I think the bigger question is why DXO Photo Lab? It’s not cheaper, and it lacks many features compared to Lightroom and even Capture One. The only reason to choose DXO that I can see is to support the small guy. But DXO still does not feel like the small guy, because they continue to ignire feedback.

Until the basics we mentioned today are fixed, I could not recommend it even for amateurs, as they will get frustrating results that are simply not a problem with Lightroom, which also has more features, a great mobile app, etc.

Tell me your thoughts in the comments — Gavin Seim

None of this video or post was generated or scripted with Ai.

March 12, 2025

capture one, lightroom, special effects

Lightroom VS Capture One in 2025 – The Best Photo Editing App

I’m back with my annual review of Lightroom VS Capture One pro in 2025, and we have a lot to compare this year. In fact, I skipped last year waiting for features to iron out and boy, did they.

C1 VS LR. They are King and Queen of editors. But who is King?

When using presets I used as many free pack as I could like the Silver 5 and FIlmist 2 samplers. For speed masks I used Elegance 4.

Capture One VS Lightroom – Use the one that works for you.

In the video we test new features, noise and look at the whole picture. But in the end this is not like my DXO Photo Lab review or my Luminar Neo review where both fell short on basic pro features.

My review is finally here and in putting LR and C1 head to head what we see is competition is fierce this year and other apps like DXO, Luminar and OnOne need to step up.

In the war of RAW editors, both Lightroom and Capture One are top notch in their process and feature,s and you can feel good going with either if one makes you feel more creative or productive than the other.

Are the new features a game changer?

No, nothing this year is a game changer. But there are improvements coming from both lightroom and Capture one. More subtle in Lightroom and in Capture One, things like Match look and Ai crop.

The most game-changing thing in Capture One is actually what they are not focusing on that much and that’s that they have finally almost caught up in masking tools and layers and I’ll show you that in the video.

I do say almost, because there is still no sky mask and this is actually a big lack. I didn’t get into it the video, but I’m hoping Capture one will add this soon.

What about Capture One Studio and other app options.

Capture One Studio has also been added with a few extra features that are mostly collaborative, a few extra Ai tools etc. And it costs nearly twice as much. Making C1 alone nearly as spendy as the entire Adobe Creative Suite. Most won’t need this and it’s a bad look for C1 as these features should be in the pro version. They already cost more than Lightroom.

What about Lightroom instead of Lightroom Classic. The develop and base features are the same and with Lightroom you get both and the mobile app for one price. You can can switch around as needed, but in general I use Lightroom Classic and it has more features. I do compare that in this video.

There is also an App for Capture One but it’s still IOS only. I have not done a review of it, but compared to the Lightroom Mobile app which actually doe nearly everything and can even simply sync with a collection on from LR Classic, the Capture One mobile app is pretty limited.

Conclusion – Which photo app to choose…

In the video I’ll give my opening and final conclusion for the best photo RAW app of 2025 and whether you should use Lightroom or Capture One. Either way you’ll still need a pixel level editing app like Photoshop, even if you use an older version like CS6. I’ve touched on this in the video.

What I am confident in saying is that both meet my own high standards and can create world class images. But in short, Lightroom Wins again overall.

But that does not mean it wins for you.

Watch the video, leave your thoughts in the comments and please share – Gavin Seim

July 28, 2024

capture one, Fine Art, lightroom, lightroom vs capture one, special effects

This makes your black and white better Instantly.

Most of us make black and white by converting color RAW files. That’s the best way. But even if you shoot monochrome digital or film, you must use these colors as filters.

Drop Color for black and white is just as magical as in color.

You’ve probably seen my video about Drop Color how 2 simple colors eliminate the ugly digital look and transform your process. It’s super easy but a game-changer. But what I didn’t tell you in that video is that this works amazingly in black and white with a slight twist. I’ll show you…

You can get the free mini version of Silver 5 presets here and see this in action. To take my tone down further I also use Blackroom and Emulsion 4 in Photoshop.

All the channels matter… But these 2 are magic.

Like the drop color method of a color photo, the color channels on black and white conversion work the same on luminance values and help you create better black and white really fast.

This is the same concept as using the color filter on black-and-white film to limit the light of certain colors and create more contrast and tone. Only in digital do we have more control.

Don’t get locked into one slider direction.

So generally a drop color is pulling done the saturation, or in this case the brightness (luma) of a color channel in HSL. But you can always push a color like I show at the end of the video.

Remember that these methods give you control. But don’t get locked in. And if you pull one color, push another, and see what happens. Usually, blues are pulled for better skies, but sometimes you push them.

It’s the same with green and orange. I’ll show you a great example at the end of the video.

Use this to key your background!

Pay close attention to where I mention exposure. How all these sliders are essentially small bits of exposure but for example on a single color.

So look at the example I show you. By pushing up the skin tone like I did the image gets a little too bright for what I’m trying to do in the portrait. This is actually a good thing.

Because pushing the luminance values in my black and white makes the subject too bright I compensate with an overall minus exposure until the skin is in the Zone I want.

The magic is that it maintained the subject brightness while darkening or keying the background and creating a natural dramatic contrast.

Put the tips I showed you to work with drop color on your black and white photos and watch your edits transform overnight.

Gavin Seim

July 13, 2024

capture one, lightroom, special effects

Two colors digital gets wrong! The Drop Color Method fixes it instantly!

Two colors change everything in your photography and that is way overdone in digital. Today I’ll show you how to fix them easily in any app. Take 7 minutes and watch the whole video.

Two main colors that Digital gets wrong.

This is because on digital nearly all colors are equal in value, causing them to be over-driven in post. In today’s video, I show a little-known fix ever for colors in digital photos.

You can do this in any app and you will also see it applied in most of my presets and can try it in its perfect form in the FIlmist Free or Complete presets pack.

The first time you do this it might seem extreme. Until you drop!

This is especially true if you have been editing wrong for a long time.

I know, wrong is relative to your style. But remember the goal is always to bring focus to our main subject. Overcooked colors distract from that. Once you understand this, your process will be simple and you will control color separation so much easier.

It’s easy yes, but took me years until the days I started developing Filmist to truly understand.

Never overdrive both of these. Drop color!

At times you might want to push one of these two colors. But it’s rare, even on a sunset. It’s even more rare that I push both. They nearly always compete with each other. Skin, foliage, etc.

Dial both of these to start. Or use a film or other high-level preset like I create for you guys. You’ll see that soon your baseline edit corrects itself and you no longer are looking for this overcome color.

Even on landscapes you fill this method creates more balanced tones and beautiful roll-offs.

Obviously, if you have ever tried my FIlmist 2 pack you have seen this in action. But it may sup[ise you that even in tools like Natural HDR 4 I am using it. HDR needs balance eve more and even in a rich scene I still apply drop color to create the balance that that pack is so famous for.

Yes, you can use this method on other colors.

Take this further by adjusting the hue settings and try the same on blues, purples etc. The two colors here may be the most important to balanced edits, but the method O show can be used on both.

Digital drives colors too hard because no chemicals are getting in the way of making colors bold. So once you start pushing they all push too far too fast.

While the two primary colors should always be reviewed, you can see in this photo that moving colors like blue and red in a similar fashion as I edit this night scene with Street’ist styles.

HSL is a tool you should always use. Having a favorite preset or creating your own baseline with this will improve every session and give you a starting point that truly helps you be consistent and better understand how to make each photo balanced and amazing.

Gavin Seim

July 7, 2024

lightroom, lightroom vs capture one, special effects

DXO Photo Lab vs Lightroom tested. Can you switch from Lightroom?

People are sick of subscriptions and hate Adobe right now (they really deserve it). Subscriptions were never for us. So today I compare Lightroom vs DXO Photo Lab.

LR vs DXO Photo – An alternative to Lightroom and C1?

Maybe, but it’s complicated. Quality tools like Capture One (that I reviewed here) are also turning against their users by going virtually subscription only. So I am going to start testing. Today we look at DXO Photo Lab vs Lightroom.

I mentioned Filmist which includes LUTS you can use right now in DXO! For my LR and C1 users, I used Silver 5, Natural HDR, and my Speed Masks.

Last year I compared Lightroom to Lumiar Neo.

It was not there at a pro level. Luminar Neo got a D in terms of pro-level ability in my review. Lets hope in improves but in the last year much has changed.

It’s a fun tool. But not a serious choice for a pro. We need better integrations and better process quality. But with Lightroom vs DXO Photo Lab 7, there’s a smaller gap.

Lightroom vs DXO Photo Lab – Speed

DXO also has some unique tools and it’s snappy. Something you can’t say for LIghtroom and barely for Capture One. Both are resource-intensive apps.

It’s DXO Photo Lab is not without faults.

The 20 minutes of the video is worth it because I’ll cover the important things that make a pro-level app usable for actual pros. Not just cool features that look good in a sponsored review.

Zero sponsors. This is my honest DXO Photo Lab Review

None of these apps sponsor me and I have no affiliate links here at this time. This is just an honest comparison from 20 years of professional experience doing real sessions. No shilling.

Rather than write the results of DXO nouse reduction vs Lightroom and extra tests like how it handles processing against Neo, Capture One, etc. It’s all in the video.

If you want more hard tests of these apps let me know and I will not hold back. DXO Photo Lab Vs Lightroom seems to be a real option. But with limitations that I hope they can improve.

Gavin Seim

Page [tcb_pagination_current_page] of [tcb_pagination_total_pages]

First

Last