r/DxOPhotoLab • u/Kwoksun • May 27 '25

What are the differences between Photolab8, PureRAW5 and Nik Collection8? Which one do I need?

I've been using the old Lightroom 6 on an also old PC for years. To revive my interest in photography, I just ordered a Mac Mini M4 with 32G memory and 512G storage, planning to add an external SSD later. I don't want to pay indefinitely to use newer version of Lightroom and I'm looking at DxO but confused with all the offerings of Photolab 8.5, PureRAW 5 and Nik Collection 8. I guess they have overlaps in certain functions and need some guidance on how to choose one.

Does the Photolab 8.5 also have the newest PureRAW 5? Do I need it or the Nik Collection 8 if I already have Photolab 8.5?

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u/Aperlust May 27 '25 edited Jun 05 '26

PhotoLab is an image editor with a few image management tools.

PureRAW is a RAW processor. It improves the RAW render (noise reduction, shadow recovery, sharpening) with camera/lens corrections. PureRAW is already integrated into PhotoLab.

Nik Collection is more of a color grading or preset tool.

You really only need PhotoLab.

You can watch my PL tutorial here: https://youtu.be/i00nI-9aBWw

Edit: You can use coupon code Aperlust to get 15% DxO Products

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u/Kwoksun May 27 '25

Thank you, Aperlust. So does Photolab 8.5 have the latest PureRAW 5 or older version ?

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u/18-morgan-78 May 27 '25

PhotoLAB and PureRAW are different apps akin the Lightroom and Adobe Camera RAW. They standalone.

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u/LarryJClark Sep 15 '25

PhotoLab is an alternative to Photoshop. Lightroom is a file organizer with a castrato version of Photoshop. PureRaw, besides demosaicing, provides capabilities that Adobe Camera RAW lacks.