Linux users and a new application for image processing

Phil_F_NM said:
Darktable 1.0 release candidate is out.

http://www.darktable.org/

I've been using 0.9.3 for quite some time on both my laptop and desktop and I've been quite happy with the vast improvement in workflow and tools. The tool suite is amazing now. Enough so that I have to use GIMP far less.

What I really need to get going is to network both computers and automatically archive my raw & .xml files between the two and permanently store them on my 4TB RAID.

I digress. DT has repos on on the major distros and there is even a build for Mac OS.
I'm really happy that we are about to have a real professional caliber alternative to Lightroom. If Adobe won't port it, that's ok, we make our own.

I've noticed that between 0.7 and 0.9.3 that the raw conversion has gotten much better. The UI is still a bit of a pain with the weird sykmbols representing tools but I'm starting to remember what is what. I'm hoping that we can get an alternative to cornerfix for the extreme wides like the 21mm SA, CV 15mm and 12mm, ZM 15mm and the others that cause the red edge problem. It's not far off though.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...

I have been using DarkTable for a while also.
I just learned the create preset functionality, which is pretty intuitive for a change, in a way it's easier to use than Lighroom in this regard.

I agree that the symbols are too similar and cryptic, they should have an option to display the name of the symbols for people who just started to use the program. Once you've learned what is what, the tools are quite powerful.

For high-quality RAW conversion, I use Photivo. I use Ubuntu, so installation is straightforward using the ppa sources and the apt-get system.

I think Linux has matured in every conceivable direction, including photo management and post-processing.

I don't miss Apple at all (used it for 3 years at work).
 
@jarski: From what I can tell, noise reduction is achieved through the "equalizer" module. I have only worked with DT for a shot while, and used it on film scans. The noise reduction seems to work quite well, try the presets first for a starting point.

Overall I have to say darktable is a really promising application. I myself, like many others in this thread, have converted to Linux after many years of Windows and a bit of Mac OSX. I feel free and safe on Linux, to sum it up in one sentence... but I don't intend to start a "which platform is better" debate--I have my reasons, you may have other preferences.

Anyway, darktable is still quite new, and not as solid as Rawtherapee, but there are a lot of very useful modules that makes it stand out.

I have used darktable for a short while on my scanned medium format negs, which I scan at 16bit with 3200dpi, resulting in files of about 300 MB. Of course it takes a few seconds to open such a large file, but once open, darktable handles these and image processing really fast and smooth--impressive (my computer is an Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66Ghz with 8GB RAM, great but not the latest anymore...).

Here are some of the features of darktable that are worth pointing out:
  • free
  • non-destructive image editing
  • virutal image copies
  • 39 image processing modules (stable version of 3/2012)
  • most modules allow you to save your settings as presets
  • most modules have a "blend" option, applicable with the usual "darken/lighten/multiply" etc. options including opacity
  • zone system module
  • highpass module
  • histogram, which allows you to adjust the exposure interactively
  • export module for file/flickr/picasa/email/web gallery with size and quality options bulit-in
  • simple but useful metadata and tag editor
  • global "styles" can be applied to images, similar to Rawtherapee's profiles

There are many more modules, but these are the most interesting for my purposes.

If you are running linux, you should really give this a try.

Below a "before" and "after" sample, edited with darktable:

before:
M7II-Firetruck-original.jpg


after:
M7II-Firetruck.jpg
 
DT 1.0.3 released

DT 1.0.3 released

Darktable 1.0.3 was released a few days ago.

http://www.darktable.org/2012/04/darktable-1-0-1-released/

This is fantastic because for anyone new to DT the interface has become a lot more friendly than the one prior to DT RC-1.0. The UI is better now but after using DT for a while now I have to re-learn the position of tools.
A lot of bugs have been wrung out and if your dependencies are all up to date then a few new cameras' RAW formats have been added, namely the X100.
The *only* issue I have with this latest build is that vertical images are letterboxed inside the single-image viewer instead of fully filling the viewing area. Upon zooming in the letterbox still remains so this is annoying. Aside from that, I'm having success with it and can't wait 'till my new (to me) X100 arrives in a few days.

Phil Forrest
 
shadowfox said:
[...]

For high-quality RAW conversion, I use Photivo. I use Ubuntu, so installation is straightforward using the ppa sources and the apt-get system.

[...]
Click to expand...

I have just played around with Photivo for a bit, and it's quite impressive. The amount of plugins (or filters, modules or whatever you want to call it) is just huge. However, using the favorites functionality one can quickly sort out the most useful ones.

The default raw conversion is quite nice, and the "Wiener" sharpening algorithm works also great.

There is also a "resize for web" plugin to render the image in smaller sizes, or one can just save the preview size of the image as is (as opposed to the 100% image).

And what's most likable is that it seems quite stable. It opened my Ricoh GXR DNG files with no problems, and also a 520 MB medium format slide scan. Nice 🙂

Here a little sample from the Ricoh GXR:

Wittnauer-Watch-(Ricoh-GXR-A12-50mm).jpg
 
Phil_F_NM said:
Darktable 1.0.3 was released a few days ago.

http://www.darktable.org/2012/04/darktable-1-0-1-released/

This is fantastic because for anyone new to DT the interface has become a lot more friendly than the one prior to DT RC-1.0. The UI is better now but after using DT for a while now I have to re-learn the position of tools.
A lot of bugs have been wrung out and if your dependencies are all up to date then a few new cameras' RAW formats have been added, namely the X100.
The *only* issue I have with this latest build is that vertical images are letterboxed inside the single-image viewer instead of fully filling the viewing area. Upon zooming in the letterbox still remains so this is annoying. Aside from that, I'm having success with it and can't wait 'till my new (to me) X100 arrives in a few days.

Phil Forrest
Click to expand...
Don't even think of using darktable on a 32-bit OS for images larger than about 12Mpx. It'll export perhaps half-a-dozen images before dying silently.
 
DrTebi said:
I have just played around with Photivo for a bit, and it's quite impressive. The amount of plugins (or filters, modules or whatever you want to call it) is just huge. However, using the favorites functionality one can quickly sort out the most useful ones.

The default raw conversion is quite nice, and the "Wiener" sharpening algorithm works also great.

There is also a "resize for web" plugin to render the image in smaller sizes, or one can just save the preview size of the image as is (as opposed to the 100% image).

And what's most likable is that it seems quite stable. It opened my Ricoh GXR DNG files with no problems, and also a 520 MB medium format slide scan. Nice 🙂

Here a little sample from the Ricoh GXR:
Click to expand...

Nice, usually I can pick out some purple or stray hotpixel on a metallic grey surface like that.

Glad you get a good use out of Photivo.
 
shadowfox said:
Nice, usually I can pick out some purple or stray hotpixel on a metallic grey surface like that.

Glad you get a good use out of Photivo.
Click to expand...

I think I know what you mean... however, the watch is made from titanium, so it's not shiny like polished steel...

Nevertheless, I haven't noticed any stray or hot pixels from my Ricoh images yet...
 
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