Edit: I spent money.  Might not be for everyone, but it works great for me.

So they launched it this morning toting that it'll make your raw files better.  You can output into DNG for further edits, but it'll bake in lens correction and a bunch of other options if you want to, including AI denoise and AI sharpen.  Figure it has a 30 day free trial so I decided to give it a go.

DxO PureRAW
THE SOLUTION FOR FLAWLESS RESULTS
Create better RAW files before retouching them in Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, the Nik Collection by DxO, or other programs thanks to DxO's exclusive demosaicing, denoising, and lens defect correction technologies.
PHOTO EDITING MADE SIMPLE
Simplify your workflow by editing your photos without cursors or complicated settings. DxO PureRAW automatically removes noise from your photos. Just three short clicks, and then you’re done!
SUPER FAST WORKFLOW
Generate better RAW files in just four steps so you can create top-quality photos in Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, or other programs.
Learn more about DxO PureRAW:
https://www.dxo.com

Honestly so far my reaction is 'holy shit.'  The software is a monster when it comes to noise reduction at bare minimum, but I'll be fiddling with it more over the next few weeks.  If it keeps up like this, I'll probably buy it before the price goes up.

Photos are the split screen 1:1 before/after with the program deciding what to do.

-moderate noise and some slight softness due to distance.
-random aurora photo (slightly out of focus) to see how they treat stars mixed in with noise.
-extreme high ISO shot
-image run through Adobe 'enhance AI' super resolution to 90.2mp prior to DXO

Impressive. checked out their site... I'll have to see how this compares to the Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom combo, which I already have.

I'm using AdobeRAW and Photoshop CC currently.  I couldn't see myself switching over to a whole new system like Photolab (although DXO makes great software) but adding in something like PureRaw that'll only add a minute or two per image edit wouldn't be half bad.

Going to mull on it over the next few weeks and through some tough photos at the software to see how it does.

neat - please keep us updated! There have been some impressive image editing app features debuting of late.

Thanks for posting this!

My experience with it so far is hit or miss.  Some nighttime photos with less-than-pinpoint stars take on a van Gogh appearance at 100%.

I do like the way it reduces noise in running water at night, and have used it swap out a foreground it rendered better than a multi-image noise reduction stack, but keeping the stars in the sky from my original image.

I haven’t had much time to mess with it more. Started a new job (finally) this week and it’s been insane. Tons of potential with the job, but no idea how much photography I’ll be doing in my free time since it’s kicking my ass so far.

So I broke down and bought DXO PureRAW today.  Between the AI upscaling in Photoshop and PureRAW I can do some pretty insane edit tweaks.  Hell, I could print the full image over 10'x6' without losing any image quality at a 3' viewing distance.

Image 1 is cut from image 2, after being upscaled to 16512x10008, put through PureRAW for a denoise and tweak pass, then final edits in PS.  I'm impressed.

I also purchased it.

In general, it does an excellent job with noise and detail.  Easily enough to justify the cost.

However, it does not do well for things like the Milky Way.  Portions take on something of a van Gogh appearance when looking closely, and it's more, way more distracting than the noise I was trying to fix.  However, the DxO PureRAW can do an excellent job with noise reduction in the foregrounds of nighttime photos - especially with water.  So, I've blended layers using a mix of my own luminosity techniques for the sky, and DxO for the foreground, if needed.

Grrrr it’s on sale right now. Resisting. Urge.

Don't own photoshop or light room.  I'm against renting software.  I did it photolabs. It includes the same tech but also has Lightroom editing tools.  It seems to do a pretty awesome job.  I'd like to see photolabs get an AI upscaler as well.

High ISO example. ISO 12800.  Nikon D850, Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4, shot at f/5.6 1/100s ISO 12800

NEF file, processed with Adobe Camera Raw, no noise reduction ...
(A)


DxO file, processed with the same Adobe Camera Raw settings used above, no noise reduction beyond DxO...
(B)


Clearly, the DxO file looks superior, but this isn't really a fair comparison, because no noise reduction attempt were made to the NEF file.  DxO also changes the tonal range of the photo, so even though I used the same ACR settings, the photos look a bit different, because the DxO file starts off different.

Next, I used the NEF file, and pushed the levels and noise reduction around to a rough match of the DxO file ...
(C)


Hey, that's not bad.  Right?

But, here's where the DxO processing shows its worth.

Here is the NEF file at a 100% crop (it was a 100% crop for my monitors 2560x1440, but it won't link at 100%)...

(before tone adjustment to match DxO tones)
(D) (crop of A; NEF w/ no noise reduction)


(and after the tone adjustment to match DxO tones, along with a decent stab at noise reduction in Adobe)
(E) (crop of C; NEF w/ tone adjustments and noise reduction)


And finally, here is the ~100% crop of the DxO file...
(F) (crop of B; DxO)


The DxO processing handles noise reduction without loss of detail far better than what I can accomplish with Adobe ACR. (E) and (F) tell the story.  With no cropping, Adobe ACR can give me an image suitable for viewing on a monitor.  However, DxO allows me the ability to display the image at 100% with very little to complain about.  The blacks drop off a bit too quickly in the DxO file, mostly around the ear cups, but that's probably something I could probably rectify with a bit of tonal work.

Impressive. Most impressive.

I may wait for a sale and spring on it. I’m upsizing and denoising some old (15+ year old) 5mp images and would like to do the best possible job.

Edit: on cue, Topaz Labs sends me an ad for their bundle: Denoise, Gigapixel and Sharpen AI for $149…

Does anyone understand DXO's product line...? I want to be able to up-res and de-noise images. Is that two apps or can I bundle them up? Their bundles don't exactly say what is in them.

Like, they have DxO PhotoLab 4 Elite... it says you can de-noise in that. Is that the PureRAW software or is it something else? DeepPRIME technology in both. Does it include the up-res ability from PureRAW?

Trying not to sound boomer-y but this GenXer needs some help. I may email them if I get a minute.

DXO is mostly plugins or a Lightroom competitor with Photolab.  Topaz or Photoshop (to my understanding) have way better performance when upscaling, with Topaz being the leader.  I already pay for photoshop and am taking 45mp photos, so I don't usually need to upscale much if anything.

For DXO, Photolab has PureRaw built in the latest version, with the pretty awesome noise reduction.  I don't believe it has a high end upscale feature at the moment though.  I could be wrong.

If you already have a main editing program (photoshop, lightroom, etc) that's compatible AND specifically want denoise and upscale, I'd go with the Topaz bundle.  For my process, PureRaw is awesome though.

I appreciate the advice- thank you! I do subscribe and use Photoshop and Lightroom. I've dabbled with some others (including an old free version of the Nik collection) and just want a good quality upscaler and denoiser for all these 5mp images I'd like to bring forward. I'm not trying to do a mural with them, just not grunt and shake my head when I see them on the wall.

yeah i dont think DXO offers an upscaler like Photoshop.  Hopefully they do add one.

Photoshop CC has a pretty awesome upscale AI, but is limited to one use per image whereas Topaz is way more lenient with it. In Bridge, right click the image and go to enhance. That’s the upscale for PS.

Yeah, it's not bad but it is pretty limited. I'm already getting really impressive - far better than Photoshop's Enhance - results from Topaz with the Gigapixel. (I bought the set today, I'll be on an upscaling kick soon!)

Jesus, I feel like you guys are speaking Russian. I understand about one out of every hundred words.  

But even I can see great improvements in the demo pics.

When you buy a Topaz product they have a one-year free upgrades system. I like that - just this morning I updated Gigapixel in fact. I haven't been able to try it yet but since the post I'm quoting, I have up-resed some family photos and have been wildly impressed with the results. I took a flipping screen capture of a low-res preview of my wife in her wedding dress and up-resed it, it floored me how well it did.

I won't post it here, because opsec but it's a product that legitimately lives up to the hype.