I really like DxO Optics Pro, especially for it’s clear view function on landscapes, etc. There is also its integration with Viewpoint.

However, I’ve not found any easy integration with Photos.

I’m currently scanning slides from back in the 70s, using an attachment on the front of a lens, and shooting in raw format. I’ve created a Scans library just for this project. Here is the current workflow: open raw files in DxO Optics Pro 10, and quickly apply a few settings, often as a batch. Export the photos as jpg 100%, etc. Switch to Photos and import the jpg images, using Photos more or less to merely manage the images from that point on. However, I do apply some retouching, rotation, etc., as needed.

For what it’s worth, I have instructed Photos not to put photos into the library when importing. I believe this should be the same as an Aperture referenced library. I want to allow access to the photos via a variety of programs at this point when so much is up in the air….

I’m currently going through a vintage slide digitization project. Here is the current workflow:

1. I shoot the slides from the camera, in Olympus raw (*.ORF). I have previously grouped slides by year-month, and convert no more than one month at a time.
2. I bring those into the Mac, where a Hazel rule sorts the files into folders by date (YYYY-MM format). For other projects that involve both raw and jpeg files, the same Hazel rule puts the raws and jpegs into their own folders within the yyyy-mm folder.
3. I then rename the slides to YYYY-MM format based on the yyyy-mm of the original slide: 1980-10 0001.orf. The renaming is very quick within Yosemite’s Finder: select the files in question, right-click, choose “Rename” from the menu, configure in the resulting box. Results are very fast.
4. I then open the raw files within DxO Optics Pro for the most part. Here is why I chose to do a referenced library – If I want to try something other than DxO, I can do that since the raw file is easily accessible. Different editors will leave their own proprietary sidecar files, but I don’t object to that. After editing in DxO (sometimes a little, sometimes a lot), then I will export them to jpegs.
5. I import the newly minted jpegs into Photos, where I put them into events or whatever based on the yyyy-mm of the original slide.

Photos does a decent job of making it easy to get to a given year’s slides and play them for the family via Apple TV. I wish the Photos<–>DxO was a more seamless trip, with an “edit in” option, this is working OK.