• Axisential@lemmy.nz
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    11 months ago

    I really, really want to like Darktable, mostly because of the name lol. I must’ve tried it 8 or 10 times over the years, but I just can’t get my head around it. Something about the design language or the UI or something just doesn’t click for me and I can’t get decent images out of it. So I keep going back to Rawtherapee, even though I’d rather not…

    • 0x0@social.rocketsfall.net
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      11 months ago

      Every major update has broken something or fundamentally changed my workflow to such a degree that I no longer feel I understand the program. I currently use it in a semi-automated setup and I’ll likely have my package manager ignore its upgrades in the future barring total breakage of the package. Note: I’m not saying the program is bad, it’s just not something I’m interested in constantly tweaking/relearning if a future update is just going to break it.

      I just learned about Ansel, which is a fork by someone who did a ton of work for DT but was ultimately too opinionated and got the boot. Apparently it’s way more streamlined and easier to work with. YMMV.

      I’ve also heard about vkdt, which is very early, but still something to look at.

      • Axisential@lemmy.nz
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        11 months ago

        Yes, and I understand the process pretty well I think, as well as what I’m striving to output (long time Lightroom user). But the DT just doesn’t respond how I expect it to, with unexpected results. Frustrating.

        Wasn’t aware of the pixls site though; I like that idea!

    • Sina@beehaw.org
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      11 months ago

      Personally i’m okay with the UI, but the default rendering is often so bad that I have to “fix” every single image. To me it’s either Raw therapee or just reboot into Windows …

    • alexrmay91
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      11 months ago

      I very recently got a camera after 10 years of not having one/having the hobby. New to shooting raw as well.

      I was very very close to dropping darktable as well but there are three YouTube channels that post darktable videos that helped me so much. Now I feel relatively confident, can tweak my photos quickly with a custom workflow, and really appreciate the genius behind the software. Hope this helps someone get going with it.

      https://youtube.com/@s7habo

      https://youtube.com/@audio2u

      https://youtube.com/@AndyAstbury

  • magikmw
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    11 months ago

    Anyone care to explainto a recovered photography hobbyist why should I care for RAW? I didn’t in 2009, the size and hassle didn’t make sense. Anything changed?