User manual DXO OPTICS PRO V6.5 FOR MAC

[. . . ] DxO Optics Pro v6. 5 User Manual - Mac Table of Contents User guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Introduction to DxO Optics Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 About DxO Optics Pro 6. 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 What you should know before you begin using DxO Optics Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] In both cases, to improve the precision of your optical corrections, you should provide a more exact value in one (or both) of the rollups you can display in the geometry palette: one for focal length, one for focusing distance. You will specify the focal length by setting a slider, and the focusing distance by selecting a range in a drop-down menu, then fine tuning with a slider. Remember: To be better alerted about insufficiently precise data, you could set, in the "Preferences", the icon to "display", which then will appear on each thumbnail concerned. 53 DxO Optics Pro v6. 5 User Manual - Mac Distortion The two major patterns of distortion: pincushion and barrel About distortion correction The geometric distortion introduced by a lens may be in pincushion or barrel form ­ or even sometimes a mixture of the two. In each case, the analytical measurements made by DxO Labs make it possible to correct the distortion in such a way that straight lines in the original scene are correctly reproduced as straight lines in the photo. The distortion correction has just one slider for the degree of the correction, with a range from 0 to 100%. The default setting is 100%, and you should only depart from this in special circumstances ­ either to avoid cropping of important detail near edges, or for creative reasons. The Correction drop down menu allows you to select automatic correction based on a DxO Optics Module or manual correction. Only the manual option will be active if the DxO Optics Module is not available. Automatic correction of the distortion Provided the appropriate DxO Optics Module is loaded on your computer for the image you are working on, DxO Optics Pro will automatically perform the distortion correction on it. Manual correction of the distortion You will use the "Manual" choice in the drop-down menu if the DxO Optics Module needed is not available, or not loaded on your computer, or for creative reasons. In either case, first select the type of distortion: "Fisheye" (for lenses of extremely short focal length, which produce a rounding effect on the whole image field), Barrel or Pincushion (two curved distortions of reverse effect - see image). 54 User guide Note: If you are correcting an image manually, it can be helpful to display a grid over it by using the View > Show grid menu command (shortcut: "G" key). Maintaining the aspect ratio or not Most of time, the distortion correction changes the "aspect ratio" (i. e. Since the aspect ratio is of great importance, especially if the photo is to be published, it is maintained by default, resulting in some cut-off of parts of the image edges. But if you accept to change the aspect ratio of the image, unchecking this box will allow to make use of a larger part of the image. On the other hand, to make sure that the whole of the usable part of the image is visible, you can uncheck this aspect ratio constraint by clicking the box at the bottom of the sub-palette. 55 DxO Optics Pro v6. 5 User Manual - Mac Volume anamorphosis correction About volume anamorphosis Representing our three-dimensional world in a two-dimensional image raises a fundamental difficulty. The laws of optics cannot be overturned: when converted into a flat image, the shapes of certain 3D objects appear distorted and no longer correspond to what our eyes and brain expect to see. It is most noticeable and objectionable when using a wide-angle lens and/or when shooting objects in the foreground, close to the camera and near the edges of the image. The main difficulty, when trying to correct this distortion, is that it is entirely picture-content dependent. Because any choice has its downfalls, only human correction, guided by experienced visual awareness, can produce a result that is pleasing to the eye. Choosing between spherical or cylindrical correction The first step in the correcting process consists in identifying the type of deformation. Basically, cylindrical objects (for example, columns or full-length human figures) need correction along one axis (most of time the vertical axis) more than another, which we refer to as cylindrical correction. To put it another way, a standing human body can be symbolized and represented by a cylinder. [. . . ] Thus, different sets of corrections can be precisely compared one against each other. Clicking on "Create virtual copy" opens a dialog box, asking whether the selected image must accompanied by the present correction settings (the effect of which is visible on the screen), or by a stored setting (preset). 114 User guide DxO Optics modules menu You can use this menu to manage the DxO Optics Modules required for fully automated processing of your images: Download missing DxO Optics Modules. . . ­ displays the list of modules already installed and lets you uninstall them (except for the used Module). ­ if the EXIF data for the image do not enable DxO Optics Pro determine which module to use for lenses that have the same characteristics (but are not the same brand, for example), a dialogue box opens so you can choose which module to use either just for the current image or more generally. [. . . ]