Verdict: 4 stars DxO ViewPoint 3 is a very effective and useful add-on for DxO PhotoLab but perhaps less useful these days as a plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop, given that these have pretty good perspective correction tools of their own. ViewPoint also faces competition from the new and very similar Perspective Efex plug in that’s part of the DxO Nik Collection 3.
Lens distortion and how to correct it
Many lenses produce 'barrel' or 'pincushion' distortion, and zoom lenses in particular. Wideangle zooms typically produce barrel distortion, where straight lines like horizons near the edges of the picture appear to bow outwards, while telephoto zooms often produce pincushion distortion, where the edges bow inwards.
Distortion can be fixed digitally. Some cameras offer in-camera distortion correction, but only when you shoot JPEGs and with that maker's own lenses. It's better to use software that comes with automatic lens correction profiles – and this is now becoming increasingly common. Lightroom, DxO PhotoLab and Capture One Pro all offer lens correction profiles, as do other programs like Alien Skin Exposure and ON1 Photo Raw.
Lens distortion is not the same as perspective distortion. That's an entirely separate phenomenon that you often address at the same time but has very different causes – and it's another topic entirely.
How to fix glare with perspective correction
Here’s an interesting little problem you often get when photographing paintings or other pictures. You get the camera perfectly perpendicular to the picture, only to find you’ve got horrible glare from the surface of the picture, completely ruining the shot. So here’s the problem. I didn’t have a polarising filter with me, which might have […]
Capture One keystone correction tips
Keystone correction is usually used to fix converging verticals in architectural shots – that’s the most obvious use for the Capture One keystone correction tools – but this vertical keystone correction isn’t the only kind you’ll need. Keystone distortion happens when you tilt the camera relative to your subject, and this can mean horizontal tilt […]
When and why to use the DxO Volume Anamorphosis option
DxO Optics Pro is designed to correct a range common lens distortions automatically, including distortion, chromatic aberration, vignetting and edge softness. But the DxO Volume Anamorphosis option is less well known. It’s not enabled in the default DxO corrections, but it can make a big difference to super-wideangle shots and shapes near the edges of […]