very good app but painfully slow on my late 2018 imac (16 GB ram, 3,8 GHz i5 cpu, Radeon Pro 580 8GB) . I have tried everything to configure it to run quickly but with no effect. due to very slow running almost unusable
I was able to run Darktable 3.0.1.2 for a while on my iMac and edited several photographs. But then it crashed while importing images. It now refuses to open at all. I uninstalled and reinstalled 3.0 and even tried the same with previous versions. None will open either from the dock or from clicking the icon. I wish it were more reliable. To those who complain about the small screen font size, it really is adjustable. You just need to know where to look to make the changes.
Great pro app with a very nice GUI on Macbook Pro Retina. Maybe not for beginners but can help create pleasing images. A lot of features and some very sophisticated ones like color zones you won't find anywhere else so it needs a little getting used to. It also has a lens correction module for my little Olympus primes and noise profiles for the camera! In all I found 4 de-noise modules!
Also automatic perspective correction. Remember to always click the little little button on the left side of the module's title bar to activate that module. This app is a keeper and has a learning curve but it's worth it. Thanks!
BTW saving edited images is under Section "lighttable" / "export selected" module, export button at the bottom....
Rubbish GUI. Font size set to 2pts - too small to read on HD screen, forget about it on MB Pro Retina screen. Searching on web, seems users have to tweak a config file to change the font size for all dialogue boxes in the GUI! Really?? Can't be done by settings/preferences it seems, start diving into config files? Pass. It may get 4 stars from others, but 1/2 star from me for rubbish GUI and crazy way to change fonts for GUI.
I just read that a new version is out for Darktable ... "darktable 2.6.0 released".
Unfortunately, there is something wrong with the Darktable website at the time of this posting. When I go to the download page, the page starts to jump, twitch, and otherwise is unreadable. I looked at Darktable long ago. It looks to be a nice and a useful app. If they get their download problem fixed, I will again check it out.
Version 2.2.5 is out. Changes are :
New features:
When appending EXIF data to an exported image, do not fail if reading of EXIF from the original file fails
Support XYZ as proofing profile
Clear DerivedFrom from XMP before writing it
bauhaus: when using soft bounds, keep slider step constant
Bugfixes:
Some GCC7 build fixes
cmstest: fix crash when missing XRandR extension.
Fix crash in Lua libs when collapsing libs
Mac packaging: some fixes
RawSpeed: TiffIFD: avoid double-free
Fix a few alloc-dealloc mismatches
Base Support:
Canon EOS 77D
Canon EOS 9000D
Nikon D500 (14bit-uncompressed, 12bit-uncompressed)
Nikon D5600 (12bit-compressed, 12bit-uncompressed, 14bit-compressed, 14bit-uncompressed)
Panasonic DC-FZ82 (4:3)
Panasonic DMC-FZ80 (4:3)
Panasonic DMC-FZ85 (4:3)
Panasonic DC-GH5 (4:3)
White Balance Presets:
Pentax K-3 II
Noise Profiles:
Nikon D500
Panasonic DMC-FZ300
Panasonic DMC-LX100
Pentax K-70
Sony ILCE-5000
One of the best suites of tools for working with RAW image files regardless of price, and with its very active and cooperative developers community it just gets better and better. It is not intended to be an "editor" but rather a "finisher" of images. This requires a very clear concept of what one wants out of an image — not some vague sense of "vibrant" or "sharper" — which can be challenging at first, especially for one accustomed to dumbed-down editors that offer automated quick fixes. Yet the precision and versatility of this collection of software is well worth the effort, and helps to encourage better exposures to start with.
Be aware that the core development occurs under Linux, the OS X version is a port maintained by a separate group of volunteers, and there often is a lag between versions. Also, new hardware support can be delayed depending on who is available to code and review it, but when that support does get committed, it is typically better than the manufacturers' own support.
I dunno, man. This is one of the most unnecessarily obtuse GUIs I think I’ve ever seen. The dark background and streamlined graphics make you think this is a modern GUI, but it doesn’t quite work like one. I still can’t figure out HOW to access an external drive with all my photos on it. As far as I can tell you can only access your local volume, which is crazy. And if you can then why is it so obtuse to figure out how? It shouldn’t be this difficult, but it is. Maybe if you want to deep dive and revisit 1995 you’d like this program, but unless you’re really, really, really into debugging apps it probably isn’t worth your time. Maybe someday it’ll get there. Just not today.
The MacUpdate download link did not work for me- here's this-
https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/download/release-2.0.4/darktable-2.0.4.dmg
Note the app is at 1.6.4 and posts here show It is at 1.6.7. I tried downloading 1.6.7 but It's at the geeks only level. I can download It but I cant just click and open It, It has to be assembled with all the folders and packages and ... stuff. I cant do that so It going to remain at 1.6.4. And oddly enough, 1.6.4 opens but wont click between views. It seems sidelined and I was hoping for a fresh version.
darktable 1.6.7 is out !
http://www.darktable.org/news/
Great app. Getting better all the time. Thank you very much!
User manual: http://www.darktable.org/usermanual/index.html.php
Sorry for this Version 1.6 (10.9.5 MacPro)
It just shows a nice App Icon after start. But no menu (like,- open, save and so).
Maybe i do something wrong? Hope for the best!
4 Stars for the work you had, but 1 Star for this version.
I agree with Leinad. Darktable has a bit of a learning curve, though it's not as steep as Gimp's.. But once you learn it, it's the best free photo editing app & compares favorably with the commercial apps like Lightroom & Aperture. Lightzone is easier to use & I like it a lot, but I find Darktable has finer selection/mask functions for selective editing. Overall, it has a more complete array of functions.
Darktable's user interface gets a lot of flack, and it could be better, but its logic is clear & efficient once you know it.
Like Gimp, Darktable is well worth the time it takes to learn it.
Awesome and FREE !
This app may even be better than Lightroom and Aperture, try it and you'll regret to have paid for the two heavyweight
Thanks' to the devs' for their fantastic work
Within literally 20 seconds of using it, Darktable crashed. I brought in a picture, expanded the Darktable window to make it fit my screen and then POOF... Darktable crashed/quit with a EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT) error in the console.
I've thrown it in the trash.
I took the time to check out the developer's web site and to download and install - and explore - Darktable. It is actually more like Capture One in it's complexity than Lightroom. In fact, it does many things that Lightroom does not do. The interface is less refined than either Capture One or Lightroom, which is a common issue with open source applications: Darktable is built to run on a number of OS platforms, including several varieties of Linux and OS X - but not Windows. No doubt this is because Linux and OS X are Unix based, while Windows is not. This should boggle some Linux geeks who believe OS X is inhospitable to open source projects. Darktable suggests the opposite: that open source is inhospitable to OS X. If developers are willing to make the effort, OS X is a viable platform. Whether their products are competitive with commercial alternatives, is another question.
Darktable divides its functions into numerous modules, which can be displayed in sets or related features to simplify their use. Modules can be displayed or hidden at the user's discretion. Like Capture One, however, Darktable has a steep learning curve. In my opinion Lightroom is by far the easiest and most intuitive app to use of the three, but Darktable has the distinct advantage of being available for free. This may encourage some serious photographers to try it out. For certain, though, it will not appeal to novice users, despite the price.
Like Lightroom, Darktable catalogues imported images and provides ranking and tagging features and the ability to assemble photos into collections. The database is searchable as well, so asset management is relatively robust.
In limited testing I had no crashes. Processing was moderately fast, given that it is not a native Cocoa app. On the whole, it is a remarkably complete program, clearly the result of a great deal of time and effort. The feature set is extensive and, given the price, in my opinion the app is an excellent value. On the other hand, the interface is bare bones and the program, like Capture One, requires considerable expertise to utilize fully. The user manual is available online and is being actively developed along with Darktable.
In my opinion Darktable is a serious entry in the RAW photo processing and management race. Casual observers may be put off by the interface, which takes some getting used to. Anyone willing to put in the time to learn their way around, however, will no doubt find the wide range of available features appealing. In that regard, I think Darktable is more likely to compete with Capture One than with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
I like the fact that it exists, but it's far from Lightroom's usability. I tested it with a couple of pictures and the corrections were all lagging a bit behind. It applied a general auto-correction that I didn't ask for, and when I got to the curve it simply crashed. I didn't bother diving into the advanced features since I believe they should really focus on fixing the basic ones first.
