
Darktable 2.0 released - jakobdabo
http://www.darktable.org/2015/12/darktable-2-0-released/
======
o_____________o
> darktable is an open source photography workflow application and RAW
> developer. A virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers.

~~~
tomphoolery
Thanks, because it took me more than a few clicks just to figure this out. I
was especially disappointed with the description of the GitHub repository,
"darktable main repository".

~~~
mise
I kind of like the idea from a few years ago, where there was a tagline under
the logo of some web sites on every page, to explain what the site is.

------
spacey
This is a blog entry about why there is no Windows build of Darktabe:
[https://www.darktable.org/2015/07/why-dont-you-provide-a-
win...](https://www.darktable.org/2015/07/why-dont-you-provide-a-windows-
build/)

~~~
vvanders
Yikes, had no idea they didn't even have a windows build.

I know a non-trivial number of photogs who are windows based, considering they
aim to be a LR replacement I don't see that happening anytime soon. Also
probably going to be harder and harder to make that port happen the more
development moves along.

~~~
prokoudine
> considering they aim to be a LR replacement

Where did you even get this idea from? :)

------
StavrosK
I have used Darktable and like it a lot, I can easily recommend it. Props to
the team for this release, we sorely need an open photography tool.

------
pimlottc
Never having heard of Darktable before, I had to click to the main page to
find out what it was about. You might want to add a short blurb at the top of
the release announcement about what it is.

~~~
jvoorhis
I've heard of Darktable before and wanted to show this to my wife, a
professional photographer who uses Lightroom, but there isn't much for her to
see here. GTK+3? Packaging enhancements? These are noteworthy achievements for
the developers, but I don't think most of the addressable market care about
this any more than they care Lightroom was written with Lua.

~~~
sanbor
Extracted from
[http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/darktable-2-0-relea...](http://libregraphicsworld.org/blog/entry/darktable-2-0-released-
with-printing-support):

> The port to Gtk+3 widget set is yet another major change that you might or
> might not care about much. It's mostly to bring darktable up to date with
> recent changes in Gtk+ and simplify support for HiDPI displays (think
> Retina, 4K, 5K etc.)

------
canthonytucci
Glad to see this. I switched from Lightroom to dark table earlier this year
and have been pleased. The only thing I really miss is the dehaze slider. That
thing is magical. It's possible to produce similar effects in light table but
more finesse is required.

------
moron4hire
Everyone: it's just "raw". Not "RAW". It's not an acronym or abbreviation like
IBM or ASM. But like assembly, it's not one thing, but a description of a
class of things. It just literally means "raw" as in "uncooked" or
"unprocessed" (though it's certainly not completely unprocessed, but nobody is
going to call it "blanched" or "seared").

------
Paul_S
You've got the development momentum but it's still not as good as rawtherapee
for the editing bit which is the only part I'm interested in.

~~~
unicornporn
I wish I could use Rawtherapee as it has support for DCP profiles. Rawtherapee
has a big disadvantage though. AFAIK you can't affect just parts of the image,
you always work with the whole image. One could argue that this is fine as you
can open the image in GIMP or PS post raw conversion. However, this has more
than a few cons.

Example: let's say contrast is increased during raw conversion. Parts of the
image will be darker then they were before the edit. If you want to lighten up
the the areas around the eyes in a portrait, they now contain less information
and there will be a lot more visible noise by bringing up these shadows post
raw conversion.

~~~
Paul_S
In this particular situation you can developed two versions - one darker, one
brighter - and blend them together in gimp. I don't really do such
intrusive/creative editing.

~~~
virtualritz
It is essential to have this in-app, not going to another app. Most people do
not realize that even famous images that have no digital magic applied where
heavily edited for exposure to support composition.

See e.g. [http://petapixel.com/2013/09/12/marked-photographs-show-
icon...](http://petapixel.com/2013/09/12/marked-photographs-show-iconic-
prints-edited-darkroom/)

~~~
silly1
Why is it essential to have this in app ? Who makes these rules ?

~~~
virtualritz
No one said this is a rule but you.

Why? Because of the UX. It completely breaks the creative workflow if you have
to save two [or several] versions of an image and switch to another app to
compose them together to see an effect applied locally. And then go back and
repeat, if the strength is not to your liking.

Besides, Gimp doesn't support floating point image editing, so there is a also
data loss involved if you use this app for compositing your RAW samples. Krita
& Natron seem the only alternatives on Linux unless I miss something. On OSX,
you could use Krita, DaVinci Resolve, Fusion, or Natron. Or pay for Photoshop.
In any case, switching apps sucks. :]

DT's authors understood this and added support for masks and module
instancing. Plus a ton of blend modes. That's what sets DT apart from the
competition when it comes to 'how' you work. As for the 'what': there is very
little that the toolset of DT leaves to be desired. Even for professionals. :)

------
ecthiender
Congratulations darktable team. Very great going and keep it up. Its an
amazing work you are doing.

------
yoava
Have never tried it myself - but as a user of both DPP (canon digital photo
professional) and Photoshop, I have found that the cabin software has an
advantage with quality - something about understanding the camera better. How
does darktable match up to DPP and Photoshop?

~~~
coldtea
It doesn't fare that well. Proper RAW encoders have tens of manyears of
dedicated work put in, intimate knowledge of the camera sensors (often with
the assistance of camera makers), expensive labs for color tests etc, and top
it with several patented proprietary techniques for the image processing part
(Photoshop has tons of those).

~~~
kelsolaar
Can you define what makes a proper RAW "decoder"? We actually discuss about
RAW decoding here. Adobe offers the DNG SDK as open source, it gives quite
good clue on how to process RAW images, alternatively dcraw from Dave Coffin
has been online for ages and is the basis (in a way or another) of most of
open source RAW processing software. Once the CFA bayer (or other mosaicing
type) data is available (decrypted as it is crypted for quite a few camera
makers), the demosaicing performed and the photo white-balanced and exported
with its full dynamic range in a RGB colourspace, you have done most of the
technical steps to start working creatively with it.

~~~
coldtea
> _Adobe offers the DNG SDK as open source, it gives quite good clue on how to
> process RAW images, alternatively dcraw from Dave Coffin has been online for
> ages and is the basis (in a way or another) of most of open source RAW
> processing software._

The DNG software is not really relevant, as it's mainly used by smaller camera
makers. Yeah, it would be niced if everyone adopted an open standard, but in
the real world Nikon, Canon, Sony etc use their own RAW formats, and those are
undocumented and proprietary. dcraw from Dave Coffin, on the other hand, is a
small, mostly one man, project based on reverse engineering.

> _Once the CFA bayer (or other mosaicing type) data is available (decrypted
> as it is crypted for quite a few camera makers), the demosaicing performed
> and the photo white-balanced and exported with its full dynamic range in a
> RGB colourspace, you have done most of the technical steps to start working
> creatively with it._

Having done "most of the technical steps to start working creatively" and
having the best possible image resulting from the decoder is a totally
different thing.

Choice of demosaicing algorithm (there's not an 1-1 mapping between a RAW file
and that), and steps applied after that, like sharpening, color correction and
some basic curves affect the end result in a big way, and are big parts of
what makes a photo software good in its RAW handling. RAW images don't just
get demosaiced and that's it before we view/start editing them.

------
hnnew
can we start posting checksums over https?

~~~
finnn
s/posting checksums/doing everything on the web/

It looks like they actually offer https, just don't force it. There's a good
chance they're just testing it, seeing as their CA, Let's Encrypt, was made
available to the public less than a month ago (and their cert's validity
period starts on the LE public beta launch day, so it's unlikely they were
part of the private beta):

[https://www.darktable.org/2015/12/darktable-2-0-released/](https://www.darktable.org/2015/12/darktable-2-0-released/)

------
camoby
Would be great if it could deal with Equirectangular <> Gnomonic/Cubic images
too.

------
Pxtl
So I assume the name is a play on Adobe Lightroom.

------
viperscape
Disappointed to find out no Windows support.

~~~
ferrari8608
spacey up above posted a link[0] to a blog post explaining exactly why that
is.

[0]: [https://www.darktable.org/2015/07/why-dont-you-provide-a-
win...](https://www.darktable.org/2015/07/why-dont-you-provide-a-windows-
build/)

------
m0dest
Lack of screenshots is usually a red flag; you guys should fix that :)

~~~
softinio
Its there:

[http://www.darktable.org/about/screenshots/](http://www.darktable.org/about/screenshots/)

:)

