DxO Labs has begun beating the drums about the new version of its award-winning photo enhancing software optics Pro. Release 5 of the application is expected to be available at the end of the month. Here are some of the new features of the program.

• New RAW converter with a demosaicing engine that produces images with more detail and fewer artifacts.


• New noise reduction techniques that operate on RAW files before demosaicing and before noise in a photo can be amplified and fine details lost.


• New anti-dust tool to remove dust and blemishes from images.


• Revamped user interface, including a more logical organization of the program's main sections into Light, Color, Geometry and Details.


• Increased processing and display speed, in some cases as much as four times faster than the previous version of the software.


• Compatibility with new DSLRs, including the just announced Canon 40D, Canon 1Ds MKIII, Nikon D300 and Nikon D3.

If you purchased DxO Optics Pro 4 on or after August 1, 2007 you can get a free upgrade to release 5 when it's available. Otherwise, owners of Optics Pro 4 standard edition can upgrade to the 5.0 standard edition for $95; owners of the elite version of the application can upgrade to 5.0 elite for $125. If you're just getting on the bandwagon, 5.0 standard will cost you $169 and the elite offering, $299.

Although the new PC releases are expected at the end of this month, the Mac versions won't be ready until the end of November.