Noob shamelessly backpedals on Cry-Baby Rant(PP software)

cathexis

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Hey All,

So after swearing I couldn't deal with install, Linux, and other issues involving GIMP & Darktable,
after moaning about cost & subs,etc, I installed Darktable for Win 10. GIMP is still beyond my PC talent but I am considering Affinity as it's affordable & stand-alone, as well as highly rated.

Don't really feel I OWE you an explanation but since you listened to my rantings I felt you deserve to know about my sniveling retractions, FWIW. Plus,.. It's gonna be pretty obvious once I start asking questions about Darktable and/or Affinity!<wink>.

As always - thanks,
Andrew
 
Nobody here would call anyone out publically for cry-baby rants. :aiwebs_016: :aiwebs_016: :allteeth:
:barbershop_quartet_member:
 
I’m new to Affinity as well (using the iPad version). They have great tutorials online. And the guy has an adorable accent.
 
"Adorable?" Jeez,.... I dunno, adorable?
Now I'm wondering, "What happens if I really do find it adorable myself?"
Of course, I would only go there for the tutorials, not that adorable stuff, not me.

Andrew
 
DarkTable is a good choice. Of the various free software it's really the only one that rivals the toolset you get in LR or C1. The Win version is new and will be unstable for a while but it should be worth it hopefully. I've kept a Linux Mint distribution current on an external drive for years now so that I can have DarkTable available.

The one scary thought about using software like DarkTable is the future. It's basically the effort of one guy and now a small team of volunteers. It's great software but you do have to ask the question; 5 years, 10 years, 15 years?

Affinity is a good compliment and inexpensive. Your goal should be to get the job done using DarkTable and resist using Affinity unless you're sure the job can't be done in DarkTable. In that case do as much as possible in DarkTable and finish in Affinity.

Joe
 
Even the pass at Thermopylae was only held for three days, but it was enough.
Obsolescence (planned or incidental) is the price we pay for the choices we have these days.
Adaptivity and Selectivity are the new version of digital Darwinism. Resistance is futile<wink>.

Thanks to All,
Andrew
 
I haven't heard of Darktable but have used Affinity Photo on my iPad (they make a desktop version as well). So far I've really been impressed with Affinity Photo. It seems to be very much photoshop-like ... but probably other a little friendlier / easier to use.

This is the sort of product that I think could probably give Adobe a run for it's money and considered Affinity Photo is a $50 one-time license (vs. Photoshop being a minimum of $120/year) I can see how a lot of people may start moving over if the features and performance are there (and so far the features and performance seem to be there.)

I haven't dug in deep with it -- mostly just superficial things, so I'm hesitant to say it's better (at least not yet). But what I have done with it does seem to do a better job than Photoshop.

I currently subscribe to the Adobe cloud for Lightroom + Photoshop (and mostly use Lightroom).
 
I tried to install Darktable on my Ubuntu computer. It installed but it doesn't run. Apparently it isn't a good choice for me. :) It hink it is probably pretty buggy.
 
I installed Darktable for Windows as per here:

news | darktable | the photo workflow software

It was no big deal at all but I'm not a Super-User and have read reports about trouble printing.

Apparently it's a work in progress,

Andrew
 
I haven't heard Darktable till now but it looks a bit dubious for mac. Have Affinity and am pleased with it the tutorials are very good. In general anything that gives adobe a swift barbed wire covered boot in the backside is a good thing.
 
A few more comments about DarkTable since it's unfamiliar to a number of folks. First: yes risky because it's open source software from an all volunteer team. The Win version is absolutely an alpha version.

That said it's been around for years as a MAC/Linux app. It's worth consideration because it's really the only free open source app that has a feature set in-league with the big boys. LightZone maybe but it's not as capable as DarkTable and just as open-source risky. DarkTable's toolset is robust enough to provide nearly the same level of edit access you can get from LR and C1; in other words you can get the edit completed 90 + percent of the time using only DarkTable and so avoid the complication of moving to a second finishing app. The implications of that are substantial when considering workflow and the goal of non-destructive editing.

Here's some fun:
My DarkTable skills are mediocre since most of my work goes through other software, but I've kept a copy for years and often worked with it to keep up on it's progress. I was able to process this image in DarkTable (and only DarkTable) this evening without too much grief. I'm sure I could learn to do better (like control the highlight at the horizon right edge) with more practice.

bcklght_tracks.jpg


The above photo is a parametric editor torture test. I took the photo as a class illustration. My goal at the time was to get a backlit photo and place the diffuse highlight at the sensor threshold -- show my students what happens when you do that and then explore options. So no great image but a good raw converter test. Here's the raw file: SAM_4793.SRW. Don't let the green tint throw you if you decide to take stab at it. I had the WB on the camera set to unity so the live histogram was a better indicator of the raw exposure. Just white balance off the warehouse roof.

Joe
 
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I tried to install Darktable on my Ubuntu computer. It installed but it doesn't run. Apparently it isn't a good choice for me. :) It hink it is probably pretty buggy.

Ubuntu, Lol. There's your problem. They probably have a broken version in their repository. I have it on my Slackware box, it's stable and reliable.

Darktable has a strange interface, very awkward to use in the beginning. After using it a while, it starts to make logical sense but not in the beginning. Like Joe said, it can pretty much do everything. If you are the type of person to work towards getting it right in camera, it can get the job done with good results, quickly. I am not currently using it because I decided to separate my photo editing machine to a Windows 10 box, which I loathe by the way. I am saving up for a Mac. I edit very little but when I do, I am using SilkyPix now. It seems to handle the Fujifilm raws extremely well but I am in a learning curve with the software but getting pretty good results with it nevertheless. I do miss Darktable however because I got used to it. GIMP, Darktable, LR, PS, etc. You just have to work through it, all this software works, just have to stick with it. When I get my Mac, I will use SilkyPix, more than likely. GIMP is nice to have, it is very powerful.
 
I tried to install Darktable on my Ubuntu computer. It installed but it doesn't run. Apparently it isn't a good choice for me. :) It hink it is probably pretty buggy.

Ubuntu, Lol. There's your problem. They probably have a broken version in their repository. I have it on my Slackware box, it's stable and reliable.

Darktable has a strange interface, very awkward to use in the beginning. After using it a while, it starts to make logical sense but not in the beginning. Like Joe said, it can pretty much do everything. If you are the type of person to work towards getting it right in camera, it can get the job done with good results, quickly. I am not currently using it because I decided to separate my photo editing machine to a Windows 10 box, which I loathe by the way. I am saving up for a Mac. I edit very little but when I do, I am using SilkyPix now. It seems to handle the Fujifilm raws extremely well but I am in a learning curve with the software but getting pretty good results with it nevertheless. I do miss Darktable however because I got used to it. GIMP, Darktable, LR, PS, etc. You just have to work through it, all this software works, just have to stick with it. When I get my Mac, I will use SilkyPix, more than likely. GIMP is nice to have, it is very powerful.

I do my photo editing in Windows with Affinity. Windows is fine for workstations. I don't recommend it for servers. I use Centos Linux for my web sites. It is incredibly stable. I have had zero downtime since I moved to it.

Ubuntu is also fine for workstations except that I can't run applications critical to my business on it. It is just an internet machine for me. It doesn't need anti virus like windows computers. Apple products are not allowed in our house.
 

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