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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. Dar

by 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.
- CharlesW 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. If a Darktable developer happens to read this, I'd suggest looking at Nitro¹ for inspiration. I use it with Photos, and although Nitro doesn't need Photos (i.e. it can work directly with the filesystem), it's a good way to experience both "easy" and user-friendly "expert" paths. ¹https://www.gentlemencoders.com/nitro-for-macos/ https://www.gentlemencoders.com/nitro-for-macos/, the spiritual successor to Aperature by the former lead of Aperture, Photos, and related digital imaging technologies.

by deanc 2y ago

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.
CharlesW 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. If a Darktable developer happens to read this, I'd suggest looking at Nitro¹ for inspiration. I use it with Photos, and although Nitro doesn't need Photos (i.e. it can work directly with the filesystem), it's a good way to experience both "easy" and user-friendly "expert" paths. ¹https://www.gentlemencoders.com/nitro-for-macos/ https://www.gentlemencoders.com/nitro-for-macos/, the spiritual successor to Aperature by the former lead of Aperture, Photos, and related digital imaging technologies.