Workflow provides the first clue that you'll be able to batch pictures needing similar processing. But Workspace is really interesting, as it has a "mode" selection for Wizard, Fully Automatic, Key Controls, and Expert Controls. As I'm a reviewer that plunges into software before reading any manual, I noticed that Fully Automatic is checked by default. So I moved back to the File menu and opened one of my pics.

A thumbnail of the image appeared in the upper left. It's not resizable, so I moved the cursor over the icons along the top of the screen. A pause at each pops up a title, and I tried clicking on a couple that looked familiar; Rotate and Mark image as Don't Process. A checkmark in the upper left corner of the thumbnail changed to what looked like two meshed gears and a box with an X to indicate the image won't be included in a batch process.

To the right is an icon with meshed gears titled "Start batch." It looked promising, so I clicked it. Suddenly the window disappeared and a new progress window appeared. Progress is shown by two bars, the top shows progress of the batch, while the bottom details the progress of each picture. When finished, a window appears giving the option to view the processed image, or to be done. I selected view.

A new window opened with thumbnails of the images to the side, and an enlarged image in the main area. This window is resizable, so I stretched it open, creating a large image of my original picture, shown in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Here's the workspace, thumbnails, and my original image. Click picture for a larger image.

A dialog box appeared telling me the processed picture is loading. It takes only a few seconds, during which you'll notice a couple of new icons on the screen. One is titled "Display corrected image." Clicking on that icon I'm startled.

The corrected image appeared immediately, and at first I thought... it's just brighter. Then I clicked on the "Display original image" icon, displaying the old picture.

Aha... I see what's happened. The shadow areas have been opened up without the highlights getting blown out! A few moments of clicking back and forth corroborated that belief, and my first test was a success.

I tried another image, one with more hidden shadow. And the result was even more apparent. Figure B shows the before.

FIGURE B

Before processing with DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition. Click picture for a larger image.

The after image, with DxO's corrections, is shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

The after image. Click picture for a larger image.

Note how you can now see not only the raised panelling in the background, but the grain of the wood as well.

Emboldened, I tried a holiday lighting photo taken with a high ISO setting and wide angle. In this series, the results show DxO's other two features: noise reduction and wide angle distortion correction. The first image, Figure D, is the original.

FIGURE D

The original of a holiday lighting scene. Click picture for a larger image.

Below, in Figure E, is the same image with DxO's automatic corrections.

FIGURE E

Optics Pro's corrections for this lighting scene. Click picture for a larger image.