NewsFebruary 2004

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DO Labs DxO Optics Pro

Pre-PMA 2004: DO Labs has announced a new software solution called DxO Optics Pro which can automatically correct images for errors such as Distortion, Chromatic Aberrations, Vignetting and Blur ('lack of perceived sharpness'). This new software is based around profiles for specific cameras which characterize the correction required for each type of error. Initially DxO Optics Pro will have profiles for almost all current digital SLR's and a wide range of branded lenses. DO Labs also note that this technology could be embedded into the camera image processing pipeline. Pricing is yet to be announced.

Press Release:

DO LABS INTRODUCES DXO® OPTICS PRO™

Breakthrough Software Application for Digital SLR Camera Users
Eliminates Blur, Distortion, Chromatic Aberration And Vignetting

Las Vegas, NV (February 12, 2004) – DO Labs, a software company focused on research in image processing to enhance image quality, today announces DxO Optics Pro, a revolutionary software solution designed for professional and expert photographers. DxO Optics Pro delivers genuine and perceptible quality improvements by automatically correcting images for:

• Distortion
• Chromatic aberrations
• Vignetting
• Blur (lack of perceived sharpness)

“Isn’t it frustrating that the more you pay for high-end digital cameras or lenses, the more you feel their limitations?” asks Jerome Meniere, CEO of DO Labs. “The brighter a lens, the softer it is wide open, the wider the range of a zoom lens, the greater the distortion, the higher resolution the sensor is, the more visible chromatic aberration becomes. DxO Optics PRO will help demanding photographers get the best possible image quality from their equipment, at any settings.”

“DxO Optics Pro can be thought of as a ‘software corrective lens’ for your DSLR,” explains Dr. Frederic Guichard, DO Labs’ Chief Scientist. “We have created objective, laboratory-grade precise mathematical models of each fault, and developed fully automatic algorithms to remedy them.”

DxO Optics Pro benefits

Push optics and lenses to a new level of performance: With DxO Optics Pro, even very high end lenses benefit from perceptible improvement in image quality. The best lenses become even better. Of course, images shot with mid-range or entry level lenses experience an even greater leap in quality.

Maximize performance under extreme conditions: Using DxO Optics Pro, photographers are able to dramatically improve the performance of their lenses in critical aperture or focal settings. For example, it is now possible to shoot wide open and yet get tack-sharp images.

Easily integrates into workflow: Because DxO Optics Pro is both automatic and fast, it will integrate seamlessly into a photographer’s workflow. DxO Optics Pro correction will typically precede any other correction applied to the image in typical photo retouching software such as Adobe Photoshop.

DxO Optics Pro correction characteristics

• DxO Optics Pro corrections are objective and ‘real’, for they are calculated based on a physical characterization of the optical system. DxO Optics Pro image correction relies on a physical model called a DxO Profile, which is specific to each lens and camera model used.
• DxO Optics Pro corrections are fully automatic: no settings, no manual user intervention at any stage. This allows for seamless batch processing of images and will be a huge time saver for all photographers.
• DxO Optics corrections have a laboratory-grade precision: Each DxO profile benefits from DO Labs’ expertise in optical phenomena measurements. For example, distortion can be lowered below a residual 0.02%.
• DxO Optics Pro corrections operate locally, on each pixel: Optical flaws impact each point of the image differently – so DxO Optics Pro adapts the correction to each pixel in the image.
• DxO Optics Pro corrects complex faults: DxO Optics Pro can correct irregular, variable aberrations. For example, the correction of blur accounts for complex phenomena such as astigmatism.
• DxO Optics Pro automatically integrates relevant capture settings (i.e. aperture, focal length, focus distance, etc.): DxO Optics Pro uses EXIF data to fine tune the correction to the exact shooting conditions.
• DxO Optics Pro corrections are fast: With performances above 2 Mpixel/second , DxO Optics PRO can correct in seconds even large images produced by the highest quality DSLRs.

Availability and pricing

DxO Optics Pro software solution consists of two elements:

i. the DxO Optics Pro Correction Engine which is a standalone Macintosh or Windows based application; and
ii. a set of DxO Profiles characterizing the optical properties of body/lens combinations.

The DxO Optics Pro Engine will be available for Windows and Macintosh platform:

- in March 2004 in JPEG/8bit mode; and
- in May 2004 in RAW/16bit mode.

DO Labs plans to offer DxO Profiles for all significant professional and prosumer digital camera bodies and lenses. The first DxO Profiles available (JPEG/8bit mode) will include:

• Canon EOS 1Ds, Canon EOS 1D, Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EOS 10D, Canon EOS D60, Canon Digital Rebel (300D) with a selection of Canon branded and Canon compatible lenses;
• Nikon D100, Nikon D1x, Nikon D2H, Nikon D70 with a selection of Nikon branded and Nikon compatible lenses;
• Fuji S2Pro, Olympus E-1, Pentax *ist D, Kodak DCS Pro 14n with relevant own-brand or compatible lenses;

New DxO Profiles will be released on an on-going basis and DO Labs will run a ‘DxO Profile – request survey’ on its Web site to collect the most popular requests for DxO Profiles.

All DxO Optics Pro components will be available on DO Labs’ e-commerce store, which can be reached via www.DxOPRO.com. Pricing to be announced.

About DO Labs and its DxO Technology

DO Labs SA is a software company focused on research in applied mathematics for digital image enhancement. The roots of the company come out of the most advanced academic mathematical research with strong ties to leading universities and research labs and a prestigious Scientific Committee.

The company’s patented DxO technology produces genuine, perceptible improvements in the quality of any digital image. DxO is a set of software components that measures and corrects major faults found in imaging devices: Blur, Local Contrast, Distortion, Vignetting, Chromatic aberration, Jpeg artifacts, etc. Furthermore, DxO Correction offers key benefits that makes it an industrial-grade solution:

• DxO produces optimum image correction;
• DxO is robust: DxO will never damage image quality;
• DxO is automatic: No human intervention is required at any stage;
• DxO is real time: it can be easily embedded in any real-time workflow (ARM, DSP, ASIC) inside imaging devices such as digital still cameras or camera phones; in a PC at driver level, a server; or in a digital photofinishing minilab equipment.

For more information, visit DO Labs online at www.dolabs.com.