The tilt-shift effect is said to perfectly simulate the depth-of-field reduction that’s identical to the creative look that usually requires you to purchase a costly tilt-shift lens. Of course, the automatic correction also takes care of the necessary cropping. The only time I wanted to go in and tune is when I thought the perfect correction took away some of the image’s charm. It managed the most difficult corrections spot-on. I must say I was expecting the app to make a mess of some images that were really badly skewed on more than one axis.

The automation also works when using ViewPoint 3 as a plug-in to DxO Optics Pro or one of the other supported image editors. DxO ViewPoint 3 lets you have fully automatic corrections based on the camera-lens combination data you download from DxO’s servers. It’s when you’re in a hurry or just not in for trying to get a perfect shot, that you will especially like the upgrade. There’s a friendlier interface with a flatter, uncluttered look and easier to use correction tools with tooltips to help you position the handles more accurately. With DxO ViewPoint 3 you can still do it yourself and if you decide to go that way, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. With DxO ViewPoint 2 you could easily correct for any perspective and horizon problems, but you needed to do it yourself. You can’t always position yourself straight in front of a subject and you can’t use a speed light. The problems that photographing in the cathedral entails, make for excellent test images for an app like ViewPoint 3. I photographed a couple of paintings by Rubens and other Flemish masters that are not normally on display. I tried DxO ViewPoint 3 with a series of photographs I shot last month when I took some time off to visit the Antwerp Cathedral of Our Lady.

ViewPoint 3 has one new feature as well: a tilt-shift effect (miniature effect). With DxO ViewPoint 3 you can now also automate the correction of image distortions such as perspective and horizon problems. DxO has a reputation for automating RAW image editing.

Dxo viewpoint 2