DxO ViewPoint and 5 Best Alternatives for Lens Distortion Correction
Last Updated on November 18, 2022 by Peter Wood
If you have been using the wide-angle or fish-eye lens to take photographs, you find the distorted edge of the taken images. DxO ViewPoint is one of the best lens distortion correction software to provide a different viewpoint of the taken image and fix lens distortion based on a photo. Should you choose it to correct the lens distortion? What are the best DxO ViewPoint alternatives based on image content or EXIF data? Here is a concrete guide to DxO ViewPoint and the 6 best alternatives you should know.
Part 1: The Simple Review of DxO ViewPoint
DxO ViewPoint automatically fixes skewed perspectives and restores subjects on the edges of the frame to their natural shape within one click. More than 15,000 optics modules within ViewPoint indicate the required correction for barrel, pincushion, and fisheye distortion. It enables you to control the cropping of your image and make the best of the distortion-corrected image. Except for the above features, you can neutralize distortion and straighten the horizon. If you are satisfied with the program, you can purchase DxO Optics Pro to add analog film effects and edit photos with desired results.
Excellent Features of DxO ViewPoint
Different Distortion Modes
Except for the Auto mode, you can also choose 3 lens correction modes, including Barrel, Pincushion, and Fisheye. It will detect the EXIF information of the photo and correct the lens distortion accordingly. Moreover, you can also use the Intensity slider to achieve geometric perfection.
Volume Deformation Modes
It is also known as the anamorphosis of DxO ViewPoint, which corrects the geometric distortion caused by a wide-angle lens for taking shoots with a group of people. It enables you to restore the shape of heads of the people and defeat distortions in an instant with horizontal and vertical lines.
Advanced Perspective Modes
Whether you need to force vertical parallel, force horizontal parallel, rectangle, or even adjust the photos with 8 points, you can find the related options in Perspective of DxO ViewPoint. If you are not familiar with the features, you can simply use the Auto option with adjustments.
Reshape for Desired Part
To correct part of an image, you can choose the ReShape feature and divide the image into parts with the Grid function. Move the related points to adjust the frame of the photo. It will generate up to 64 grids for one image that you can make some adjustments accordingly, which is useful for panoramas.
Besides, there are more features to crop the image with the desired aspect ratio, adjust the angle of photos, and apply miniature effects, which include both symmetric position and symmetric blur.
Part 2: Top 6 DxO ViewPoint Alternatives
1. RadCor
RadCor is a ViewPoint alternative for correcting radial lens distortion and chromatic aberration. It is a dedicated tool for lens distortion correction, with numerous options to correct distortions caused by various camera lenses. Once you load the photos into RadCor, the program can detect the EXIF data. Or you need to enter the following device info: Camera makes, Camera Model, Lens, and Focal length. What is more, when you change the viewpoint of the photos, you can also use the chromatic option. The chromatic option lets you correct photo colors for Red, Green, and Blue channels. RadCor is the software to correct lens distortion and can be used easily by professionals and beginners.
2. Hugin
Hugin is a free panorama maker software and a lens distortion correction program. When you need to correct the edge of panoramic photographs, Hugin is the best ViewPoint alternative for you. Similar to the other ViewPoint alternative, you can use photo EXIF and a reference line to fix distortion. But if you need to use the program for photographs, it will be much more complicated to get the desired result. The lens distortion correction in Hugin is known as Lens Calibration. Just click the Straight lines in Hugin to set up some straight lines, which pass near the edge of the image and across the image near the image center.
3. PTLens
PTLens is an alternative for DxO ViewPoint to correct lens pincushion/barrel distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration, and perspective. It deals with barrel distortion, pincushion distortion, and even complex distortion. There are multiple shift lenses you can choose to correct lens distortion. When you need to fix the lens distortion, you only have to set the presets. The advanced algorithm for complex distortion makes the program much more excellent than others to handle combined distortions. Like DxO ViewPoint and other alternatives, you can also use the program as a plugin for Photoshop CS5/CS6/CC to get the desired result. To perfect your images as a profession, PTLens is one of the lens distortion software.
4. Fisheye-Hemi
Just as the name of Fisheye-Hemi, it is a professional set of plug-in filters that corrects hemispheric fisheye lens distortion. As the DxO ViewPoint alternative, you can use the program with Photoshop, Apple Aperture, and compatible applications. Fisheye-Hemi includes three plug-ins that support many camera and fisheye lens combinations. The circle version works best with a lens and camera combination that covers 180 degrees horizontally across the field. And the Full Frame version works with similar photos without black edges in the corners. The cropped version works best with similar images where the captured image appears almost normal with mild fisheye distortion.
5. Piccure+
Piccure+ is more than a DxO ViewPoint alternative to correct lens distortion. It gets the most out of your premium lens. When you get some excellent shots at risk, you can take advantage of Piccure+ to get the best and most natural sharpness for your image and eliminate all traces of optical imperfection. The program also works as the plug-in of Photoshop. You can use the lens distortion features as DxO ViewPoint. Once install the program, you can process the RAW to correct chromatic aberrations, vignetting, lens distortion, and noise with DxO Prime. Piccure+ should be a solution to adjust multiple lens parameters.
6. WidsMob Panorama
WidsMob Panorama is another lens distortion correction software for Panorama photographs. Unlike the DxO ViewPoint, you can only adjust the output for panoramas. If you have distorted panoramas, adjust the stitching points to correct distortion. Moreover, you can also choose the blend mode to correct the lens distortion. It supports both JPEG and RAW files of the camcorder. There are 4 different stitching modes, including horizontally, vertically, in tile, and 360 degrees. Whatever mode you take the photographs, you can stitch photos and correct the distortion for panoramas with WidsMob Panorama with easy steps. Of course, you can divide a photo and stitch them together with the advanced algorithms.
Wrapped Up
If you are a professional photographer, you can consider lens distortion for a great photograph. When you need to fix problems, the DxO viewpoint can be the professional solution to get them right. And you can also try Piccure+, WidsMob Panorama, and other DxO ViewPoint alternatives to make the optimal photos.