Question 19

Lens corrections can only be applied in raw software

ANSWER (B) Score 1 It’s true that many raw converters are now offering built-in lens corrections. DxO Optics Pro was the leader here, providing automatic profiles for a large number of camera and lens pairings, and now Adobe Camera Raw (the Photoshop version) and Lightroom offer profiles too. But many camera makers, including Canon, Nikon and Pentax, have been offering in-camera distortion and vignetting correction for some time – admittedly only with own-brand lenses, and the distortion correction typically applies only if you shoot JPEGs: the raw files remain uncorrected.

Mirrorless cameras from Olympus, Panasonic and Fujifilm, however, offer lens corrections ‘baked’ into the raw files. Correcting lens aberrations digitally is cheaper and more effective than expensive optical designs.

Distortion corrected This can be corrected, not just by raw software but in-camera too.

Original image Many super-wide-angle zooms suffer from pronounced barrel distortion.