DxO version 9 worth the upgrade from version 7?

[andrew_chen4]

<p>Does anyone know how important/ useful are the advantages to upgrading from Version 7 to the current (2014) version 9 - besides the noise reduction algos? </p>

[len_dubenko]

<p>9.0 is faster, a bit better (simpler) interface. Note that you will loose geometry correction preset but you can import (copy) it from the 7.0. Noise reduction is useful for the high ISO but very slow, approx. 10-15 min per file. Depending on the version (Standard or Elite) you have price for upgrade is not that high, probably make sense to update or wait for v10</p>

[dcstep]

<p>It's definitely worth the upgrade.</p>

<p>Noise Reduction is only very slow if you elect to use their new PRIME NR engine, which does a pixel by pixel evaluation and correction. It's excellent, but you will not need it for most of your shots. When you try it, experiment with the percentage application. I find the default setting at 100 to smear feather and fur detail in my wildlife shots and generally end up with a compromise setting between 80 and 90. </p>

<p>PRIME NR processing time will be dependent on your Ram, processor speed, etc. With my Windows PC, with 8GB or Ram and OpenCL enabled, it's five to eight minutes for 30MB Raw files. Using the default NR results in processing times usually under 10-seconds per image.</p>

<p>Another tool that was added sometime after v. 7.0 was Micro Contrast, it's a great sharpening tool, particularly if you want to bring out fur and feather details. It's kind of like the Clarity slider in LightRoom.</p>

<p>The changed interface may aggravate you at first, but I predict that you'll get over than in one or two processing sessions. Why they change names of functions is beyond me, but they do and you'll need a little extra time when you first use it.</p>

<p>Oh, another valuable tool that I think was added after v. 7 is Lens Softness. For lenses that DxO has profiled, it'll add detailed sharpness-like correction, without artifacts. I love it and use it on almost every image. Between this slider and the Micro Contrast, I hardly ever make an Unsharp Mask adjustment. </p>