Darkroom or Lightroom?

[foxleybob]

Hi all, new to the forum.
I love taking photos, but have mainly been point-and-shoot.
I now want to venture into good editing etc. I would like to know if any of you would recommend Darktable. I see it's open sourced & free, which appeals to me
And Lightroom seems to be the suite that most use.
I want some advice on which way to go, and why, please.
Regards
Bob

 

[terri]

Hi Bob - welcome to TPF!

I appreciate you posting first in the Welcome forum, but since you have a specific question about photo editing programs, I'll go ahead and move your thread to a place where you'll get a better chance for some feedback.

Keep posting and enjoy the forum!

 

[Ysarex]

Hi all, new to the forum.
I love taking photos, but have mainly been point-and-shoot.
I now want to venture into good editing etc. I would like to know if any of you would recommend Darkroom. I see it's open sourced & free, which appeals to me
And Lightroom seems to be the suite that most use.
I want some advice on which way to go, and why, please.
Regards
Bob

Welcome.

I think you mean Darktable not Darkroom. Darktable is an open source parametric raw file processor. Out of the collection of open source editing software Darktable is the best option and as such I'd recommend it. HOWEVER, it has some UI and functional weaknesses that can make it a PITA to use. So here's my take on it: If I had to use Darktable to process my images I could manage but I'd rather not. Would I instead happily pay $10.00 a month to avoid having to use Darktable? Absolutely. Would I happily pay $20.00 a month to avoid having to use Darktable? Absolutely. Even more? Yes. My time is valuable.

Lightroom is very good. It's the default choice for good reason and at $10.00 per month it's a deal. Overall price/performance Lightroom can't be beat. You can spend more and consider Capture One or DXO PhotoLab. Options less costly than Lightroom but still providing value that makes them a better choice than Darktable look at On1 or PhotoStudio, Gemstone from ACDSee.

 

[foxleybob]

thank you Ysqrex
that answers my question very well.
So I wouldn't be able to edit JPEGs' in Dark table then?

One thing I probably should've mentioned i is that a year ago a friend gave me a copy of Lightroom 5 on a CD.
I haven't loaded it on my PC yet as wasn't sure if it's out of date? and, and wouldn't know how to use it

 

[foxleybob]

Hi Bob - welcome to TPF!

I appreciate you posting first in the Welcome forum, but since you have a specific question about photo editing programs, I'll go ahead and move your thread to a place where you'll get a better chance for some feedback.

Keep posting and enjoy the forum!

Sorry terry, I haven't yet navigated through th e forum, I was to impatient to put my question across ha ha.
Thank you for the welcome.

 

[Ysarex]

thank you Ysqrex
that answers my question very well.
So I wouldn't be able to edit JPEGs' in Dark table then?

One thing I probably should've mentioned i is that a year ago a friend gave me a copy of Lightroom 5 on a CD.
I haven't loaded it on my PC yet as wasn't sure if it's out of date? and, and wouldn't know how to use it

Darktable and Lightroom are parametric raw processors. You can use them to edit JPEGs but they are not designed for that task and not ideal for that task. If you want to edit JPEGs a raster editor like Photoshop or Affinity Photo is more suited. The open source option is GIMP. I'd recommend spending the $$ for Affinity Photo (currently on sale).

Editing JPEGs is possible and lots of people do that but it does produce inferior results -- not too smart, but expedient.

Lightroom 5 is very out-of-date and odds are you won't be able to get it functioning.

 

[foxleybob]

thanks again, I guess I'll have to fork out for a decent edited, unless gimp?
I had a look at it a while ago and thought it looked a tad difficult, maybe I should look again, or fork out

 

[cgw]

Buy PS Elements. Tons of online tutorials. Move on to Lightroom once you've learned the ropes.

 

[smoke665]

I have used Adobe's CC subscription plan for several years now and for the money it's the best plan out there. They've integrated LR, PS & Bridge such that they work seamlessly for the more advanced production editing. That said, I'd caution you that it comes with a price. The software leverages the processing power and VRAM of the graphics card. Low end computer equipment will bring it to a crawl.

There are other parametric editors ((non-subscription) out there ranging in price from $50-$300. Most of them offer a free trial before buying. My suggestion is to try a few.

Also often overlooked, most camera manufacturers offer a free basic editor.

 

[foxleybob]

Yes, that's what I've decided to do (try a few).
I'm not in a hurry.

But if anyone else would like to share their experiences I'd be more than grateful.
I also need to look through some of the threads on here.
Thank you all.
Bob

 

[jeffashman]

First of all, howdy and welcome! I primarily use Lightroom and Photoshop Elements along with Topaz Denoise AI and Sharpen AI. I've looked at several different apps out there, and those are the ones I settled on, at least until I retire and have to cut out all the subscription software. On the open source/free side I have Gimp, and it's only been opened a couple of times, because the learning curve is very steep and I need some time to really take a look at it. I've also looked at Darktable and RawTherapee, both work well, but again there is a bit of a learning curve, but not near as much as Gimp. On the plus side, they have user forums where one can get questions answered. None of the free options are AI enabled, which isn't a huge deal, since AI is relatively new. For one-time purchase options, there are the Topaz products, with Topaz Photo AI being their new all-in-one flagship. I prefer Topaz stand-alone denoise and sharpen products, because they seem to have better results than their Photo AI product. Luminar Neo and Luminar AI are nice options, but like some of the discount air carriers, if you want frills (plug-ins) those cost extra and they are always trying to upsell those plug-ins. Probably the best of the one-time pricing apps is Photoshop Elements, which has both manual and AI modes, along with a nice collection of tutorials built in. My own personal workflow is to start with the RAW files with Denoise AI and Sharpen AI as needed, then in Lightroom to tweak the sliders for things like exposure, contrast, highlights, etc. I then export the image as a jpeg and polish it in Photoshop Elements before uploading to Flickr. That's a lot to digest, but I hope it helps.

 

[foxleybob]

Many thanks for the long explanation Jeff.
Another suite to look at/study

 

[Hardus Nameous]

I use RawTherapee for processing digital images. It's free and works great for the basic image processing I do.
It can be a pain to figure out at first but between playing around, forums and Youtube tutorials you get the hang of it pretty quickly.
Plus it's free; all my money goes to my darkroom images......

 

[Ysarex]

I use RawTherapee for processing digital images. It's free and works great for the basic image processing I do.
It can be a pain to figure out at first but between playing around, forums and Youtube tutorials you get the hang of it pretty quickly.
Plus it's free; all my money goes to my darkroom images......

RawTherapee is a very good raw converter but to really be used effectively you need to add a supplemental raster editor like PS or Affinity Photo. We all used to work that way: Fully processing a raw file was a two step effort where we would first convert the raw file into an RGB image using a raw converter and then move that RGB image into a raster editor for additional processing. Why? The raw converters typically lacked the ability to apply local adjustments and do retouch work. Although RawTherapee has made recent efforts to add local adjustment capability I wouldn't call it competitive or functional yet. The problem with the two app approach is that the gab between the two apps typically adds a destructive element to the processing workflow and then the raster editors adds additional destructive elements to the workflow.

In recent years considerable effort has been made to add both local adjustment and retouch capability to the better raw processors such that they could function as a single processing solution with the advantage that the raw workflow could be maintained as 100% non-destructive. Lightroom is a good example of this providing excellent local adjustment capability (but still weak retouch ability). Darktable as well has added at least reasonably functional local adjustment and retouch capability. The better commercial apps like C1 and Photolab have developed these abilities to a level where they have effectively removed the need to rely on a supplemental raster editor in all but the most extreme cases.

 

[smoke665]

The better commercial apps like C1 and Photolab have developed these abilities to a level where they have effectively removed the need to rely on a supplemental raster editor in all but the most extreme cases.

I've looked at Capture One many times, the basic (non subscription) purchase is $299. It's a stripped down version, doesn't include updates, and is only available on one device. To get the added features and updates, you have to go to a subscription plan, still only on one device it's $24/month or $179.04 if you pay yearly. The semipro, "all in one", plan gets you multiple devices, is $34/month or $258.96 if you pay yearly. The pro "Studio" plan is $59/month or $549 if you pay yearly.

I've never used DxO and didn't have time to try and filter through their confusing website for what they actually include, but to buy it, the one time license is $229 and upgrades are $99.

My CC subscription which includes LR, LR mobile, Bridge, Photoshop and about a dozen more web apps, on two devices, is $9.99/month on the annual plan, making it the most value for the money.