DP2 / PfC: Cloud or Local Processing?

With our new integration with Kodak DP2, you can choose to process your images with Perfectly Clear in one of two ways:

• In the cloud – using our WebAPI
• On your workstations or servers – using our SDK & Command Line application

This FAQ will explore some of the differences between these to help determine what is best for you.

First – what’s the same about these two?

1. Image quality. Our cloud and local processing options will produce identical results.
2. User interaction. The interface in DP2 is simple and processing locally or in the cloud uses the exact same process. The only difference is which “Process” option you select:

The differences between Cloud and Local are:

Concurrency, throughput, and speed

Our WebAPI requires you to upload the original image, then download the corrected image. DP2 will do this for you, but that transfer takes some time for every image processed. But, you can process as many images concurrently as you choose – our WebAPI will scale up to handle 10, 100, 1000 or more images all sent at the same time. Each image will take slightly longer on the WebAPI than if it were processed locally, but if you batch-correct a large number of images, the whole process will likely be faster with the WebAPI, assuming you have sufficient bandwidth.

It’s harder to estimate the time required to process one or many photos locally. Typically, this happens in a few seconds per image, but your servers will have a fixed number of CPU’s available for processing, and a fixed number of “DP2 Workers” to dispatch this processing. You have no file transfer time when running locally, so you will save that time.

Overall, there is not one fastest option – the details of your photos, volume, corrections to apply, and locally available computer resources all play a big role in total processing time.

Pricing and setup

Typically, our WebAPI uses a usage-based pricing model. Per-image costs drops as your volume increases, and your credit card will be auto-billed at the end of each calendar month of use, based on the actual number of images you processed.

You can setup an account in our WebAPI system, add a credit card, and get started today – no need to contact EyeQ at all – if you know what presets and corrections you want to apply. There is one extra step when actually using the WebAPI for your DP2 processing – you’ll need to manually upload the .preset files to your account in our WebAPI system.

Local processing uses our Windows Command Line application, which is licensed based on your volume, usage, and other factors. Payment terms are fixed-price for unlimited usage, billed monthly or annually. You’ll need to contact our SDK Sales team to gain access to the command line application, and we’ll send you a ZIP file to unpack on the machines where the DP2 workers run.