8 ms·

Darktable 5.0.0

330 points by morsch 2y ago

harperlee 2y ago
From the landing page: darktable is (...) a virtual lighttable and darkroom Quite an interesting way to say that is a Lightroom alternative :)
- caustic 2y ago
  Quite literally on the github home page it says that "darktable is not a free Adobe® Lightroom® replacement."
  - cornstalks 2y ago
    That doesn't mean it's not an alternative to Lightroom. That was put in for reasons discussed in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27722258 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27722258
  - albumen 2y ago
    The feature list, description and thumbnail of the UI begs to differ.
    - misnome 2y ago
      Don’t forget the name!
- worksonmine 2y ago
  I don't like descriptions mentioning what they're trying to replace. I don't know what Lightroom is and what it's used for. A project description should be stand-alone and should tell me why I need it without riding on some other projects' name recognition.
  - pbalau 2y ago
    No offense, but "lightable" and "darkroom" are well established photography terms. A lighttable is literally a table with a light source under the table body and was used to easily and quickly "see" your developed film strips or frames to pick what you want "printed" on paper. There is also the term "loupe", which derives from the magnifying tool used to see details on the otherwise quite small negatives. Darkroom is a dark room where you can print your negatives on photo sensitive paper, you need the room to be dark, so ambient light doesn't affect the print process. These two terms have nothing to do with Adobe.
    - worksonmine 2y ago
      I know what a dark room room is, I've used one in school. I don't know of the application Lightroom. Why would I take offense?
- MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
  "This is a vacuum" > "This is a Hoover alternative". Describing what the tool is for usually is better than referencing a brand name that not everyone would be as familiar with.
- tokai 2y ago
  Snark like this, on the basis of ones own lack of knowledge, is one of those things that make you wonder how we ever got anywhere.
- Derbasti 2y ago
  Both of these are film terms.
TheChaplain 2y ago
It's already available on flathub; https://flathub.org/apps/org.darktable.Darktable https://flathub.org/apps/org.darktable.Darktable
acomjean 2y ago
I’ve switched to Linux, and one of the hardest things was to find photo organization software. Adobe Lightroom was good this. I’m still sorting it out on Linux. I tried Darktable and found it really useful for editing raw files. Once you figure out the filters they’re powerful and professional. Darktable really opionated about how it stores files/ libraries however. It really wants you to have one library for all your photos, where I used separate libraries for various events I’ve photographed. Also going through and ranking photos wasn’t as straight forward (is it applying the rank to the image on the strip on the bottom vs the image in the main window?) So I’m sorting with digikam, though it’s editing features don’t seem as powerful. It’s a process.
- kataklasm 2y ago
  I'm using Collections in darktable to achieve this. Have you tried it? Although I don't distinguish on an event basis I sort everything into folders by month. -2024 --jan --feb ... --nov --dec -2025 --jan
  - acomjean 2y ago
    I did. Part of my mindset is when I’m done with an event I don’t want to have to deal with those folders, but know where to find them. I have a large set of “everything else” photos that works well with darktable. It’s partially the burden of how I used to do it… maybe I’m being stubborn but it did work well for me.
- giancarlostoro 2y ago
  I had the same problem. Lots of solutions out there I think PhotoPrism was the last one I tried but it involved docker. I really just want the Photos app from Mac on Linux. I was debating forking an existing project.
  - kccqzy 2y ago
    I am a happy user of PhotoPrism. I use it with Podman. I initially hated the fact that it requires containers but then I realized this makes it much easier to work with multiple libraries simultaneously which was mentioned by OP. The Photos app on the Mac does not allow using multiple libraries simultaneously; I believe it needs to be restarted to switch libraries.
FiniteLooper 2y ago
I'm very interested in DarkTable, but I have years on photography in Adobe Lightroom. I'm growing tired of LightRoom, but I feel like I'm now locked into that ecosystem. Is there some kind of migration to move my LightRoom edits out of there and into something like DarkTable?
- glitchcrab 2y ago
  No, it's simply not possible. You can migrate some information using sidecar files but Lightroom's edit details are proprietary and so cannot be migrated. https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/overview/sidecar-files/sidecar-import/ https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/overview/sidecar-f...
  - jl6 2y ago
    I’ve been using Digikam for 20 years, and although it’s pretty good now, it has been a rough 20 years in some respects. Nevertheless I’d do it all again rather than suffer the trap of putting data into a system designed to prevent you getting it out.
    - orbital-decay 2y ago
      Edits are essentially impossible to transfer between RAW development software, and even between major versions of the same software. It's not specific to Lightroom, Digikam, or Darktable. You would have to replicate everything, from the color science to quirks and bugs. Adobe literally ships previous versions of Lightroom's processing code in each new Lightroom version, to avoid messing anything up. As does Darktable (it still contains the previous code for compatibility) and any other software.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- andyjohnson0 2y ago
  I wrote this [1] when I moved from LR to DT. Its my best attempt to batch-create xmp sidecars (which DT can^Wclaims to read) from the LR catalog. Despite the terrible name it was adequate for my purposes, but I only ahoot jpeg not RAW. [1] https://github.com/andyjohnson0/XmpLibeRator https://github.com/andyjohnson0/XmpLibeRator
andyjohnson0 2y ago
Congratulations to the Darktable team on their latest release. I tried and tried with Darktable, but found the UI and features extremely frustrating. This [1] post, about a year ago, convinced me to stop inflicting pain on myself and move on. I use Capture One Pro now and am happy with the decision. But I'm glad that DT exists as a FOSS solution for those who want that. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38412582 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38412582
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- IgorPartola 2y ago
  I am in the same boat. Lightroom just works and is significantly faster to do the same basic things as DT. What got me to switch was the transition from Legacy to V3 module order and the absolute mess that created for no discernible reason: my photos that were developed using an older version of DT suddenly looked straight up broken and anything new I imported defaulted to Legacy even though I said to always default to V3 to the point where each photo had to be switched individually to V3, a process that on a reasonably powerful computer took about 1.5 seconds. Moreover the churn of modules that are available but you aren’t supposed to use got old fast. I really do wish I could keep using a FOSS solution but Lightroom has taken my time to edit a batch of photos from many hours to under an hour with better results and virtually no learning curve. Sadly DT has managed to sell me an Adobe product.
  - rqtwteye 2y ago
    Same for me. I tried DT for 2 years but never got comfortable with it. Lightroom just works for me from editing to keywording and geotagging. And the AI masking stuff in Lightroom is really good.
- infotainment 2y ago
  I really wish someone would fork Darktable to build “Darktable but with a UX that isn’t horrible.” One day!
willcodeforfoo 2y ago
Unrelated, but wondering if anyone here could recommend a Darktable-ish web-based photo organization app, less focused on editing but supporting tagging, starring, etc.?
- haunter 2y ago
  Look through this, there is no one perfect solution https://github.com/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries https://github.com/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries
- Carrok 2y ago
  Photoprism
- CapSel 2y ago
  Something like immich? https://immich.app https://immich.app
- ezst 2y ago
  Nextcloud memories (which is a third-party app, not to be mixed with the photos one, bundled with NC) is pretty decent IMO.
- poulpy123 2y ago
  immich, photoprism, librephotos
WithinReason 2y ago
Is there any open source software that has stable diffusion-based denoising for RAW files?
deanc 2y ago
I've used Darktable for quite a few years now, casually, because seriously I'm not paying 100+ euros a year as a casual to edit my photographs in lightroom. Darktable's flaw has _always_ been its UX as well as performance (at least on MacOS it was pretty laggy on maxed out Intel 2019 Macbook back in the day, but it runs like butter on Apple Silicone macs). They really should consider adding a beginner mode with the most common filters and hide everything else. The learning curve can be quite steep having to learn about things that are par for the course in Darktable such as Filmic RGB etc.
- dantondwa 2y ago
  While you're definitely right about it having a steep learning curve, it's also true that not many RAW editors do what Darktable does. Darktable aims at serving advanced, tecnically-minded users. It's complicated, but in a way, it's nice it is, for those who need it.
  - deanc 2y ago
    > It's complicated, but in a way, it's nice it is, for those who need it. Same argument for linux :) Darktable can do so much more than Lightroom (minus the AI stuff), so why not make it more accessible under a beginner mode. You'd have more people using the software, benchmarking features, logging crashes etc. You might even attract a few interested developers also at the same time or donators. Hell, I'd even call it Lightroom mode.
  - inferiorhuman 2y ago
    There's an important difference between powerful and difficult to use. Darktable lands solidly in the latter camp. This mythical power being used as an excuse is doubly frustrating as: - Network effects mean competitors will struggle to gain traction - Darktable shamelessly apes the Lightroom UI which gives a superficial impression that it'll be similarly intuitive. It's not. My favorite interface behavior is that in Darktable clicking on empty space (accidentally or in an attempt to unfocus a widget) will usually send an event to a nearby widget. That's not power, that's just sloppy design. Oh and sliders give no indication of how to input an exact value. Or there's color balance. There are two competing modules. One presents a complex and unintuitive interface, the other offers to mimic camera settings but triggers warnings if you dare touch it. In the way that Tesla makes cars for people who love gadgets but hate cars, Darktable is a product for folks who love monkeying with code but hate photography. Ansel solves much of this, but brings its own shortcomings to the table.
Scene_Cast2 2y ago
I remember there is also the ansel.photos project, which is a fork of Darktable, aiming to remove architectural debt. I wonder how they're doing.
867-5309 2y ago
> darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer. A virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable lighttable and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them.
BlackLotus89 2y ago
Since no one mentioned it yet. There is a darktable fork called ansel https://github.com/aurelienpierreeng/ansel https://github.com/aurelienpierreeng/ansel that tries to remove bloat and make darktable more user friendly. It's rather opinionated and done by Aurélien Pierre. For those interested in the why https://ansel.photos/en/news/darktable-dans-le-mur-au-ralenti/ https://ansel.photos/en/news/darktable-dans-le-mur-au-ralent... there is also a YouTube video with strong language. There is an appimage so I recommend people to at least try it.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- n144q 2y ago
  > What happens when a gang of amateur photographers, turned into amateur developers, joined by a bunch of back-end developers who develop libraries for developers, decide to work without method nor structure on an industry software for end-users, which core competency (colorimetry and psychophysics) lies somewhere between a college degree in photography and a master’s degree in applied sciences, while promising to deliver 2 releases each year without project management ? All that, of course, in a project where the founders and the first generation of developers moved on and fled ? A number of open source design software comes to mind, but I am too scared to name them.
  - BlackLotus89 2y ago
    Yeah it's a common problem, but it is in the nature of open source to be done by enthusiasts (of course it can be done by professionals/enterprises, but I think it's fair to say that most open source software stems from a personal need). I'm really not judging any project, because a working solution that is done by enthusiastic amateurs is better than no solution at all and let's be honest, most of my code is amateurish at best/hacked in a week/month as well. It's only bad if you see a project heading in the wrong direction and not being able to stop this, but for this god invented forks ;)
  - Derbasti 2y ago
    If he's so hung up on the open source process of Darktable, I can't wait to hear what he has to say about enterprise software, LOL.
fooblaster 2y ago
can anyone recommend a tutorial for some of the basic features that that is more for the engineer audience? There are many videos on YouTube but many are very out of date.
datadrivenangel 2y ago
I'm a darktable user (which fascinates my photography friends, because I'm the only semi-serious photographer they know who uses it), and think it's time to switch to something better. What non-adobe tools are other people using?
- Derbasti 2y ago
  Capture One or DxO. These are the only ones as good as Lightroom in their rendering. I'm afraid they are both much more expensive. ON1, ACDSee, Luminar, Zoner, Silkypix, Radiant, RAW Power, Photomator are other options, but IMO have rather significant flaws that make them less good.
- MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
  Have a look at AfterShot Pro. Very fast, powerful, and easy to use.
  - Derbasti 2y ago
    Also, thoroughly abandoned for half a decade. No recent camera support whatsoever, no feature updates.
- omoikane 2y ago
  I use DxO PhotoLab, which came with perpetual license. I paid ~$100 for PhotoLab 1 and ~$70 for an upgrade to PhotoLab 4, and haven't upgraded since. I thought it was well worth it. (I plan to upgrade to a newer version eventually, but thought I would upgrade my computer first)
- CharlesW 2y ago
  I switched from Lightroom to Nitro (macOS, iOS, iPadOS), by the former Apple lead for Aperture, Photo, and other digital imaging technologies. Two years later, I'm very happy with that choice. https://www.gentlemencoders.com/about/ https://www.gentlemencoders.com/about/
sbarre 2y ago
I want to use this program, but the lack of support for RAW formats that are at this point 3+ years old (RW2 and ORF) is a bummer. I don't know where the gap is (DT, or the libraries, or some licensing problem) but the end result is that this app doesn't support the RAW formats I use, and I don't think I'm using anything particularly exotic. I'll keep checking in on each new release though..
bfrog 2y ago
I’ve just recently started with a real camera and editing raw files. Darktable has so many modules and options it’s quite intimidating. After a month of tinkering and trying it out I still don’t really have a solid handle of what module i need for the outcome I want which I think maybe just comes to experience? I still don’t fully grok what filmic is supposed to do, it seems like several things in one.
- morsch 2y ago
  Just stick to a few modules, you really don't need much if all you want is to get a lot out of your photos. Here's a tutorial with a suggested list: https://luxagraf.net/essay/craft/darktable-getting-started https://luxagraf.net/essay/craft/darktable-getting-started Exposure (lighten or darken an image) Filmic RGB (control how light the whites and how dark the blacks) Color Calibration (set the white balance) Color Balance RGB (enhance colors and color contrasts) RGB Primaries (rarely, but color correction) Diffuse or Sharpen (Sharpen) Crop Tone Equalizer (raise shadows) Retouch (fix spots) Rotate and Perspective Len Correction (fix distortion in wide angle lenses) For the most part, I don't even touch most of these. But I'd add profiled denoise, though it's probably auto applied and you don't need to touch it (like lens correction).
rpearl 2y ago
Darktable may make you better understand the technicalities of editing, but I don't think most photographers want to spend their time learning the minutiae of what specific image processing algorithms get used to achieve their desired effect.
gaoryrt 2y ago
I only use Darktable because of Negadoctor. I don't want to pay for Negative Lab Pro, so does anyone have any suggestions?

330 points by morsch 2y ago

From the landing page: darktable is (...) a virtual lighttable and darkroom Quite an interesting way to say that is a Lightroom alternative :)

caustic 2y ago
Quite literally on the github home page it says that "darktable is not a free Adobe® Lightroom® replacement."
- cornstalks 2y ago
  That doesn't mean it's not an alternative to Lightroom. That was put in for reasons discussed in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27722258 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27722258
- albumen 2y ago
  The feature list, description and thumbnail of the UI begs to differ.
  - misnome 2y ago
    Don’t forget the name!
worksonmine 2y ago
I don't like descriptions mentioning what they're trying to replace. I don't know what Lightroom is and what it's used for. A project description should be stand-alone and should tell me why I need it without riding on some other projects' name recognition.
- pbalau 2y ago
  No offense, but "lightable" and "darkroom" are well established photography terms. A lighttable is literally a table with a light source under the table body and was used to easily and quickly "see" your developed film strips or frames to pick what you want "printed" on paper. There is also the term "loupe", which derives from the magnifying tool used to see details on the otherwise quite small negatives. Darkroom is a dark room where you can print your negatives on photo sensitive paper, you need the room to be dark, so ambient light doesn't affect the print process. These two terms have nothing to do with Adobe.
  - worksonmine 2y ago
    I know what a dark room room is, I've used one in school. I don't know of the application Lightroom. Why would I take offense?
MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
"This is a vacuum" > "This is a Hoover alternative". Describing what the tool is for usually is better than referencing a brand name that not everyone would be as familiar with.
tokai 2y ago
Snark like this, on the basis of ones own lack of knowledge, is one of those things that make you wonder how we ever got anywhere.
Derbasti 2y ago
Both of these are film terms.

TheChaplain 2y ago

It's already available on flathub; https://flathub.org/apps/org.darktable.Darktable https://flathub.org/apps/org.darktable.Darktable

acomjean 2y ago

I’ve switched to Linux, and one of the hardest things was to find photo organization software. Adobe Lightroom was good this. I’m still sorting it out on Linux. I tried Darktable and found it really useful for editing raw files. Once you figure out the filters they’re powerful and professional. Darktable really opionated about how it stores files/ libraries however. It really wants you to have one library for all your photos, where I used separate libraries for various events I’ve photographed. Also going through and ranking photos wasn’t as straight forward (is it applying the rank to the image on the strip on the bottom vs the image in the main window?) So I’m sorting with digikam, though it’s editing features don’t seem as powerful. It’s a process.

kataklasm 2y ago
I'm using Collections in darktable to achieve this. Have you tried it? Although I don't distinguish on an event basis I sort everything into folders by month. -2024 --jan --feb ... --nov --dec -2025 --jan
- acomjean 2y ago
  I did. Part of my mindset is when I’m done with an event I don’t want to have to deal with those folders, but know where to find them. I have a large set of “everything else” photos that works well with darktable. It’s partially the burden of how I used to do it… maybe I’m being stubborn but it did work well for me.
giancarlostoro 2y ago
I had the same problem. Lots of solutions out there I think PhotoPrism was the last one I tried but it involved docker. I really just want the Photos app from Mac on Linux. I was debating forking an existing project.
- kccqzy 2y ago
  I am a happy user of PhotoPrism. I use it with Podman. I initially hated the fact that it requires containers but then I realized this makes it much easier to work with multiple libraries simultaneously which was mentioned by OP. The Photos app on the Mac does not allow using multiple libraries simultaneously; I believe it needs to be restarted to switch libraries.

FiniteLooper 2y ago

I'm very interested in DarkTable, but I have years on photography in Adobe Lightroom. I'm growing tired of LightRoom, but I feel like I'm now locked into that ecosystem. Is there some kind of migration to move my LightRoom edits out of there and into something like DarkTable?

glitchcrab 2y ago
No, it's simply not possible. You can migrate some information using sidecar files but Lightroom's edit details are proprietary and so cannot be migrated. https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/overview/sidecar-files/sidecar-import/ https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/overview/sidecar-f...
- jl6 2y ago
  I’ve been using Digikam for 20 years, and although it’s pretty good now, it has been a rough 20 years in some respects. Nevertheless I’d do it all again rather than suffer the trap of putting data into a system designed to prevent you getting it out.
  - orbital-decay 2y ago
    Edits are essentially impossible to transfer between RAW development software, and even between major versions of the same software. It's not specific to Lightroom, Digikam, or Darktable. You would have to replicate everything, from the color science to quirks and bugs. Adobe literally ships previous versions of Lightroom's processing code in each new Lightroom version, to avoid messing anything up. As does Darktable (it still contains the previous code for compatibility) and any other software.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
andyjohnson0 2y ago
I wrote this [1] when I moved from LR to DT. Its my best attempt to batch-create xmp sidecars (which DT can^Wclaims to read) from the LR catalog. Despite the terrible name it was adequate for my purposes, but I only ahoot jpeg not RAW. [1] https://github.com/andyjohnson0/XmpLibeRator https://github.com/andyjohnson0/XmpLibeRator

andyjohnson0 2y ago

Congratulations to the Darktable team on their latest release. I tried and tried with Darktable, but found the UI and features extremely frustrating. This [1] post, about a year ago, convinced me to stop inflicting pain on myself and move on. I use Capture One Pro now and am happy with the decision. But I'm glad that DT exists as a FOSS solution for those who want that. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38412582 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38412582

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
IgorPartola 2y ago
I am in the same boat. Lightroom just works and is significantly faster to do the same basic things as DT. What got me to switch was the transition from Legacy to V3 module order and the absolute mess that created for no discernible reason: my photos that were developed using an older version of DT suddenly looked straight up broken and anything new I imported defaulted to Legacy even though I said to always default to V3 to the point where each photo had to be switched individually to V3, a process that on a reasonably powerful computer took about 1.5 seconds. Moreover the churn of modules that are available but you aren’t supposed to use got old fast. I really do wish I could keep using a FOSS solution but Lightroom has taken my time to edit a batch of photos from many hours to under an hour with better results and virtually no learning curve. Sadly DT has managed to sell me an Adobe product.
- rqtwteye 2y ago
  Same for me. I tried DT for 2 years but never got comfortable with it. Lightroom just works for me from editing to keywording and geotagging. And the AI masking stuff in Lightroom is really good.
infotainment 2y ago
I really wish someone would fork Darktable to build “Darktable but with a UX that isn’t horrible.” One day!

willcodeforfoo 2y ago

Unrelated, but wondering if anyone here could recommend a Darktable-ish web-based photo organization app, less focused on editing but supporting tagging, starring, etc.?

haunter 2y ago
Look through this, there is no one perfect solution https://github.com/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries https://github.com/meichthys/foss_photo_libraries
Carrok 2y ago
Photoprism
CapSel 2y ago
Something like immich? https://immich.app https://immich.app
ezst 2y ago
Nextcloud memories (which is a third-party app, not to be mixed with the photos one, bundled with NC) is pretty decent IMO.
poulpy123 2y ago
immich, photoprism, librephotos

WithinReason 2y ago

Is there any open source software that has stable diffusion-based denoising for RAW files?

deanc 2y ago

I've used Darktable for quite a few years now, casually, because seriously I'm not paying 100+ euros a year as a casual to edit my photographs in lightroom. Darktable's flaw has _always_ been its UX as well as performance (at least on MacOS it was pretty laggy on maxed out Intel 2019 Macbook back in the day, but it runs like butter on Apple Silicone macs). They really should consider adding a beginner mode with the most common filters and hide everything else. The learning curve can be quite steep having to learn about things that are par for the course in Darktable such as Filmic RGB etc.

dantondwa 2y ago
While you're definitely right about it having a steep learning curve, it's also true that not many RAW editors do what Darktable does. Darktable aims at serving advanced, tecnically-minded users. It's complicated, but in a way, it's nice it is, for those who need it.
- deanc 2y ago
  > It's complicated, but in a way, it's nice it is, for those who need it. Same argument for linux :) Darktable can do so much more than Lightroom (minus the AI stuff), so why not make it more accessible under a beginner mode. You'd have more people using the software, benchmarking features, logging crashes etc. You might even attract a few interested developers also at the same time or donators. Hell, I'd even call it Lightroom mode.
- inferiorhuman 2y ago
  There's an important difference between powerful and difficult to use. Darktable lands solidly in the latter camp. This mythical power being used as an excuse is doubly frustrating as: - Network effects mean competitors will struggle to gain traction - Darktable shamelessly apes the Lightroom UI which gives a superficial impression that it'll be similarly intuitive. It's not. My favorite interface behavior is that in Darktable clicking on empty space (accidentally or in an attempt to unfocus a widget) will usually send an event to a nearby widget. That's not power, that's just sloppy design. Oh and sliders give no indication of how to input an exact value. Or there's color balance. There are two competing modules. One presents a complex and unintuitive interface, the other offers to mimic camera settings but triggers warnings if you dare touch it. In the way that Tesla makes cars for people who love gadgets but hate cars, Darktable is a product for folks who love monkeying with code but hate photography. Ansel solves much of this, but brings its own shortcomings to the table.

Scene_Cast2 2y ago

I remember there is also the ansel.photos project, which is a fork of Darktable, aiming to remove architectural debt. I wonder how they're doing.

867-5309 2y ago

> darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer. A virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable lighttable and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them.

BlackLotus89 2y ago

Since no one mentioned it yet. There is a darktable fork called ansel https://github.com/aurelienpierreeng/ansel https://github.com/aurelienpierreeng/ansel that tries to remove bloat and make darktable more user friendly. It's rather opinionated and done by Aurélien Pierre. For those interested in the why https://ansel.photos/en/news/darktable-dans-le-mur-au-ralenti/ https://ansel.photos/en/news/darktable-dans-le-mur-au-ralent... there is also a YouTube video with strong language. There is an appimage so I recommend people to at least try it.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
n144q 2y ago
> What happens when a gang of amateur photographers, turned into amateur developers, joined by a bunch of back-end developers who develop libraries for developers, decide to work without method nor structure on an industry software for end-users, which core competency (colorimetry and psychophysics) lies somewhere between a college degree in photography and a master’s degree in applied sciences, while promising to deliver 2 releases each year without project management ? All that, of course, in a project where the founders and the first generation of developers moved on and fled ? A number of open source design software comes to mind, but I am too scared to name them.
- BlackLotus89 2y ago
  Yeah it's a common problem, but it is in the nature of open source to be done by enthusiasts (of course it can be done by professionals/enterprises, but I think it's fair to say that most open source software stems from a personal need). I'm really not judging any project, because a working solution that is done by enthusiastic amateurs is better than no solution at all and let's be honest, most of my code is amateurish at best/hacked in a week/month as well. It's only bad if you see a project heading in the wrong direction and not being able to stop this, but for this god invented forks ;)
- Derbasti 2y ago
  If he's so hung up on the open source process of Darktable, I can't wait to hear what he has to say about enterprise software, LOL.

fooblaster 2y ago

can anyone recommend a tutorial for some of the basic features that that is more for the engineer audience? There are many videos on YouTube but many are very out of date.

datadrivenangel 2y ago

I'm a darktable user (which fascinates my photography friends, because I'm the only semi-serious photographer they know who uses it), and think it's time to switch to something better. What non-adobe tools are other people using?

Derbasti 2y ago
Capture One or DxO. These are the only ones as good as Lightroom in their rendering. I'm afraid they are both much more expensive. ON1, ACDSee, Luminar, Zoner, Silkypix, Radiant, RAW Power, Photomator are other options, but IMO have rather significant flaws that make them less good.
MrDrMcCoy 2y ago
Have a look at AfterShot Pro. Very fast, powerful, and easy to use.
- Derbasti 2y ago
  Also, thoroughly abandoned for half a decade. No recent camera support whatsoever, no feature updates.
omoikane 2y ago
I use DxO PhotoLab, which came with perpetual license. I paid ~$100 for PhotoLab 1 and ~$70 for an upgrade to PhotoLab 4, and haven't upgraded since. I thought it was well worth it. (I plan to upgrade to a newer version eventually, but thought I would upgrade my computer first)
CharlesW 2y ago
I switched from Lightroom to Nitro (macOS, iOS, iPadOS), by the former Apple lead for Aperture, Photo, and other digital imaging technologies. Two years later, I'm very happy with that choice. https://www.gentlemencoders.com/about/ https://www.gentlemencoders.com/about/

sbarre 2y ago

I want to use this program, but the lack of support for RAW formats that are at this point 3+ years old (RW2 and ORF) is a bummer. I don't know where the gap is (DT, or the libraries, or some licensing problem) but the end result is that this app doesn't support the RAW formats I use, and I don't think I'm using anything particularly exotic. I'll keep checking in on each new release though..

bfrog 2y ago

I’ve just recently started with a real camera and editing raw files. Darktable has so many modules and options it’s quite intimidating. After a month of tinkering and trying it out I still don’t really have a solid handle of what module i need for the outcome I want which I think maybe just comes to experience? I still don’t fully grok what filmic is supposed to do, it seems like several things in one.

morsch 2y ago
Just stick to a few modules, you really don't need much if all you want is to get a lot out of your photos. Here's a tutorial with a suggested list: https://luxagraf.net/essay/craft/darktable-getting-started https://luxagraf.net/essay/craft/darktable-getting-started Exposure (lighten or darken an image) Filmic RGB (control how light the whites and how dark the blacks) Color Calibration (set the white balance) Color Balance RGB (enhance colors and color contrasts) RGB Primaries (rarely, but color correction) Diffuse or Sharpen (Sharpen) Crop Tone Equalizer (raise shadows) Retouch (fix spots) Rotate and Perspective Len Correction (fix distortion in wide angle lenses) For the most part, I don't even touch most of these. But I'd add profiled denoise, though it's probably auto applied and you don't need to touch it (like lens correction).

rpearl 2y ago

Darktable may make you better understand the technicalities of editing, but I don't think most photographers want to spend their time learning the minutiae of what specific image processing algorithms get used to achieve their desired effect.

gaoryrt 2y ago

I only use Darktable because of Negadoctor. I don't want to pay for Negative Lab Pro, so does anyone have any suggestions?