DXO PureRAW 4 Sets a New Standard for RAW Image Quality

Mar 05, 2024

DxO PureRAW 4 hero shot, photographer with cameras and lenses

DxO has announced the 4.0 Update to PureRAW which adds a new and improved generation of its Denoising AI, improved workflows, and sets a new industry standard for RAW image quality enhancements.

The company says the improvements and additions to PureRAW 4 will offer demanding photographers an exceptional image quality unlike anything before by providing a superior lens softness correction and overall image quality by adjusting its image-correction algorithms as a direct response to the lens and camera combination used to capture and create each individual photo.

The new DeepPRIME XD2 advanced deep learning-powered Denoising and Demosaicing tools build on its predecessor’s legacy after being trained on billions of images to create images with unprecedented clarity and detail.

“XD2 is the culmination of years of high-level research… The neural network we have built continues to get smarter, surprising us by how images keep getting crisper and cleaner,” says DxO’s Head of Science, Wolf Hauser.

Improved Lens Softness Corrections

The company says its new algorithm that adapts based on specific lens and camera combinations will better correct lens softness and provide a sharper image than ever before. The new process in PureRAW 4 uses a unique approach leveraging the DxO Optics Modules, where mathematical models are developed by measuring each lens’ performance across its entire field of view and focal range. The company says this modeling ensures a precise and incremental level of sharpness is applied across the image in direct response to a lens’s measured performance, which is a massive improvement over other software’s global sharpening tools.

ORIGINAL Lens Softness — Original Lens Softness corrections

Major Workflow Upgrades

Real-Time Preview

In addition, PureRAW 4 has added advanced settings for denoise processing to alleviate any guesswork in a user’s workflow looking for more control over their images. If users want to fine-tune their photos, they can leverage a selection of new sliders that include options for Luminance and Force Details, all of which can be seen using a new real-time correction preview so creatives can get an immediate sense of how their image will be processed.

Advanced Batch Renaming

Creatives can now use PureRAW 4 to use an advanced batch renaming feature for their images, giving them the freedom to mix plain text with automated tokens to fit any preferred naming convention.

Widget Workflow

Continuing the improvements introduced in PureRAW 4, the software now gives photographers a new widget that automatically detects when a memory card or external drive has been connected and can launch PureRAW 4 to quickly begin ingestion and processing of their RAW files (should they choose to enable). This new widget also acts as a hub to provide photographers with an updated status on currently running tasks and a launch point for the abovementioned batch renaming feature.

Finally, the new version of PureRAW allows users to compare different output files (DNG, TIFF, JPEG) with their original RAWs after processing for greater efficiency.

“PureRAW 4 features updated denoising and demosaicing algorithms, developed through our deep learning technology and billions of sample images,” says Jean-Marc Alexia, VP of Product Strategy. “Helped by a real-time preview, this version also gives photographers greater control over their images, with additional settings and faster workflow features.”