From Lightroom Classic to Photolab 7 - a Switcher’s Guide

Have you been considering switching from Adobe Lightroom Classic to DxO Photolab 7. If so, I have some advice on what to expect and what adaptions you'll need to make with the software.

00:00 Introduction to switching
01:26 Demosaicing
02:49 Basic RAW Adjustments
04:36 Detail Enhancement
05:49 Colour
07:22 Masks
10:28 Noise Removal
11:43 Other Stuff

[MrRafaelgp]

Hey Andy! Thanks for the video!

A workaround I use for colour grading in PhotoLab is to use Style - Toning > Split Toning

Then add a custom colour for the highlights and another for the shadows. However, there is no option to colour the mid tones. Sometimes I can get away with adjusting the balance between highlights and shadows.

[photobeast]

Great video another thing a lot of people don't talk about is how much RAM that Lightroom uses. I had no idea until I started building my own computers last year because after a while Lightroom would slow down any desktop that I would use it on so I decided to build a gaming computer. I put all high-end specs and pretty much went in debt building this computer but none the less it allowed me to see how much Ram when using lightroom. For those of you that don't really get into computers that much we have our cpu, or gpu, and then the ram that talks to everything. It uses up so much of the ram that it does really slow down the computer. On the other hand, dxo is not Ram intensive and you can do things like culling through your images so much faster! Even though I'm a lifelong Lightroom user I recently started using dxo about 6 months ago and absolutely love it. Thank you so much for making this video. Thumbs up all the way

[JackBeasleyMedia]

Thanks for the great info! I have both Lightroom Classic and Photolab 7. I like both for different reasons, but end up going back to Lightroom on the regular - mostly because I do like using those masks. I will agree that DxO Raw 4 is the best noise reduction software currently out there.

[tomdearie]

While the workflow is a bit different from LR, the notable thing about DXO Photolab is that it’s a full solution — cataloging and processing.
For me as a professional, having a no-gaps solution is important.
DXO also simply reads the file directory — no proprietrary library.
Having used many photocataloging apps that went sideways at some point (remember iPhoto?), I now organize all my shoots on my hard drive by date and name to be independent of the app.
So I could port my photo directories to DXO in short order.

[marcusineson]

Hi Andy just found your channel and really enjoying it. Do you have any advice on how to preserve the edits done in Lightroom (Classic) before moving away from the App? I've always left my photos in a time based file structure on my Raid drive but don't want to start editing images again because I've lost what I've done before.

[robs]

Hi Andy, can you import presets from Lightroom to PL? Also, can you 'sync' across photos or are these features not available yet? Thanks.

[andreamarcovaldi]

Great video! Thank you! I’m considering leaving Adobe for all the reasons that came our these last months… for PS replacement i chose of course Affinity Photo, but i’m still stuck for LR replacement.. i don’t have huge amount of photo to manage, but for my needs it is mandatory to be able to shoot tethered, so is photolab capable of shoot tethered?thank you in advance cheers from Roma Italy

[Hikebike]

Thanks for the great comparison! I thought that dxo had some asset DAM functionality? Really want to jump ship (away from Adobe) with my next camera body purchases.... Bought a "like new" XH2 but sent it back due to inconsistent focus issues. But it's time to do Sony has m my attention or stick w Fuji if they get their act together

[ESMPRCT]

Trying to install LCc on my computer and wasted several hours still couldn’t get it to work. Shame!! Looking for alternatives. That’s why I’m here. Does PL have hdr merging feature? Thanks for the video.

[ajnyc]

I’m using DX0 Pure Raw 4 (which I love); if I switch from Adobe LR to Photolab 7, what is the workflow to use Pure Raw with Photolab? Would it be Pure Raw to Photolab? Great video - thank you!

[djcruse]

IMO one of the other areas DxO is the absolute best at is perspective control. I shoot a lot of architecture and DxO ViewPoint has saved shots Lightroom really struggled with.

[Onz]

Theres an easier eay to select the sky. Its included in their learning hub. Its a lot easier than the way you selected it.

[grandegulo]

For me Photolab is much better than Lightroom but now I've been using Lightroom with my raw files developed in DXO PureRaw. All this because my laptop is very old and Photolab works in it so slow and so jerky, beyond tolerable. PS. I'm in Russia so the only wayI can download the optic modules is through VPN, though DXO support denies any sanction policies.

[EricGross]

While DXO's masking features have some benefits, they are so far less sophisticated than those offered in LR, that comprehensive image post-processing is much more comprehensive in LR. DXO needs to emulate Adobe and add these features into DXO.

[WayoftheRaven]

Because they're French, and that's how they roll... lol - 👍

[mickcooper]

And to say that it has the best denoise is just wrong. Nothing compares to Topazlabs denoise.