Celebrating their 20th anniversary, DxO Labs makes the announcement at the same time the company announces its new motto — “For the passionate photographer” — that will shape its future roadmap. It’s a journey that started back in the 90s. In fact, the origins of DxO Labs can be traced back to 1995 when its predecessor, Vision-IQ, was established, with an ambition: to teach computers to see. The result was a system that helped to detect accidents in swimming pools using cameras that required the development of sophisticated corrections. This new understanding of optics tied in with the explosion of digital cameras, and DxO Labs was born.
Then two decades ago, in June 2004, a new software designed for passionate photographers made its debut: DxO OpticsPro version 1. This was the predecessor of today’s DxO PhotoLab, built to give users a level of image quality that was previously unavailable. The launch of DxO OpticsPro was a revolution, as it was the only editing software that could correct lens defects in specific lens/camera combinations, all with laboratory-grade precision.
Since then, DxO Labs has continued to innovate. It has produced image processing chips for smartphones, created the DxOMark website (a global reference for image quality evaluation), and the DxOONE (a small, connected camera). It has also revived Nik Collection, produced countless exclusive lens profiles, led the evolution of noise reduction technology, and produced a range of advanced photo editing software.
More of DxO’s rich history can be found on the DxO 20th Anniversary About page, but here are just a few more highlights:
2006 — DxOLabs launched DxO FilmPack, a tribute to the timeless magic of film, meticulously recreating classic film stocks for the digital era.
2012 — Launched as the ultimate tool for fixing geometry and perspective, DxO ViewPoint remains the only means of quickly correcting volume deformation in an image. It’s a crucial tool for anyone that uses a wide-angle lens, or seeks geometrically perfect images.
2015 — The DxOONE was like nothing else, transforming a smartphone into a truly powerful little camera.
2017 — Fans of Nik Collection were distraught when Google announced that they would no longer support the software. Fortunately, DxO Labs took over and breathed new life into the ultimate suite of plugins.
2017 — When DxO Labs decided that the 12th version of DxO OpticsPro would include UPoint, the fantastic local selection technology found in Nik Collection, it felt time to give the flagship software a new name. DxO PhotoLab was born.
2020 — Using the millions of samples already in their huge OpticsModules database, the French company trained an AI model specialized in images. The result was DeepPRIME, a revolution in noise reduction and detail extraction.
2021 — DxO Labs made their pioneering noise reduction and unrivaled lens/camera profiles available as part of any workflow through the launch of DxO PureRAW.
2024 — DxO has won numerous awards — 10 from TIPA and 6 from EISA. In 2024, DxO PhotoLab 7 won its fifth consecutive TIPA award thanks to its unsurpassed levels of quality, consistency, and control.
2024 — DeepPRIMEXD2 is the culmination of years of research into the RAW image pipeline by experts in their fields. It makes DxO PureRAW 4 the industry standard and the essential first step in any ambitious RAW workflow.
Celebrating their 20th anniversary, DxO Labs says that the company “would like to thank the photographers whose support has made it possible” and offers all photographers 20% off all its products for the next 20 days. It also announces the new motto, as it prepares for the next 20 years.