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Open source Raw processor Darktable gets substantial 3.2 update

13 Aug

Version 3.2.1 (3.2.0 was skipped from public release due to last minute bug fixes) of darktable, an open source raw photo developer available for many operating systems, is now available. This marks a major departure from the software’s typical annual release schedule. darktable’s team states, ‘The unfortunate state of global health has led to a marked increase in contributions and improvements. On top of that, version, 3.4 is still scheduled for Christmas 2020. 2020 will therefore be the first year in which the darktable team will have the pleasure to offer you two major versions.’ darktable version 3.0 was released around Christmas 2019.

There are numerous new features and upgrades in darktable 3.2.1. As soon as you launch the software, you will be met with a refined user interface, including a major overhaul to the lighttable, which is the software’s library and photo browser. There are a variety of new overlay modes on thumbnails, including quick access to organizational tools such as ratings, labels and more.

Digital asset management has been improved in the latest release. The metadata editor has been improved with a pair of additional fields: notes and version name. Further, users can expect improved tag management, seven new collection filters and additional image information in the information module.

darktable version 3.2 includes the new negadoctor module, designed to allow photographers to capture digital images of their film negatives and process them with many useful controls and settings. Image credit: darktable

For photographers who want to work with scanned film negatives, the old film negative invert module had a problem, it only worked on non-demosaiced image data. This means that it did not work with negatives scanned using a digital camera. Version 3.2.1 of darktable includes a new module, negadoctor, which is based on the Kodak Cineon sensitometry system developed in the 1990s. There is a lot to discuss when it comes to negadoctor, so if you are interested in using your digital camera to scan negatives, I recommend heading to darktable’s article about version 3.2.1 to read more about how the new module operators and what settings you will have access to when working on scanned image files.

With darktable 2.6, the team introduced filmic to improve color in scenes with wide dynamic range. The filmic module saw major improvements in version 3.0 and has been further improved with darktable 3.2.1. New color science has been implement for improved handling of highlights during editing.

The lighttable in darktable 3.2 includes improved performance, new visual options and a refined user interface. Image credit: darktable

In terms of image editing, the histogram in darktable incorporates a pair of major new features. First, you can now adjust the histogram height size. Secondly, there’s a new RGB parade mode. This displays waveforms that represent the levels of each of the red, green and blue layers. With this mode, you can better visualize the distribution of color components in your image. Although not visible, the histogram has been rewritten for better performance.

With respect to performance, Rico Richardson on YouTube has published a new hands-on video detailing the improvements in darktable 3.2.1 and he remarks that the software is quicker and smoother overall. You can see that video below. If you are interested in using the free, open source darktable software for your photo editing, I highly recommend visiting his channel for many tutorial videos.

There are a lot of new features in darktable 3.2.1. If you’d like to download the latest version or even try darktable for the first time, visit the installation page. Additional information about the darktable 3.2.1 release can be found on Github. User manuals, downloadable styles, a book on using darktable to process your photos and many tutorials can be found here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Adobe releases substantial update to the desktop and mobile versions of Photoshop for its 30th birthday

20 Feb

Today, on the 30th anniversary of Adobe Photoshop launching, Adobe has released an update for its desktop and iPad app, bringing substantial improvements to a few key features, as noted in its announcement blog post.

Adobe Photoshop CC 2020 (Desktop)

Adobe kicked off the updates with an impressive improvement to its desktop iteration of Photoshop with an improved Content-Aware Fill workspace, updates to the Lens Blur tool, a slightly updated UI and a number of bug fixes. We’ll take a look at the details of the updates in the sections below.

Content-Aware Fill

Previously, if you needed to make multiple Content-Aware Fill edits, Photoshop required you to make the edits one at a time. Now, with this new update, you can make multiple selections and apply multiple fills within the Content-Aware Fill workspace without needing to exit every time. This not only reduces the number of clicks, it also allows you to preview edits in real-time when more complicated scenes require multiple edits at once.

Lens Blur

Another major improvement in this update is to the Lens Blur tool, which now relies on the GPU of your computer, rather than the CPU. As seen in the comparison images below, offloading the processing of the Lens Blur tool to the GPU dramatically improves the realism of the edit through more refined edges, more accurate bokeh (thanks to specular highlights) and an overall sharper image that looks more pleasing than edits process with the CPU.


Lens Blur tool processed using CPU	Lens Blur tool processed using GPU

‘The results are created by an algorithm the [Photoshop engineering] team built by studying first the principles of physics and how light interacts with objects in the real world,’ says Photoshop Project Manager Pam Clark in the announcement post. ‘It is carefully tuned to simulate a 3D environment to create the most realistic results possible, while also consuming the least amount of computing power so you don’t burn up your machine.’

UI and Performance

Adobe has also added support for the new dark mode in macOS Catalina, with all of the new system dialogs matching the light/dark mode settings you have turned on at the system level.

Other improvements throughout Photoshop CC 2020 include improved mouse control, with better responsiveness when panning and zooming across an image, particularly with larger documents.

Photoshop for iPad

Moving onto the more mobile version of Photoshop, Adobe has brought its Object Selection tool and improved Text settings to Photoshop for iPad. Above is a quick promo video shared by Adobe alongside the update.

Object Selection

The Object Selection tool, which was first released for the desktop version of Photoshop, makes it easier to select multiple objects within an image to isolate them. Unlike the Select Subject tool, which is meant for images where there is a single, large subject, Object Selection is refined for more precise edits where multiple, smaller objects need to be isolated.

Type settings

Adobe has also updated the Type settings within Photoshop for iPad, bringing a number of controls over from the desktop version. Specifically, Adobe has added type layer, character and options properties within the Type settings. ‘This includes tracking, leading, scaling, and formatting things like all/small caps, super/subscript,’ reads the announcement. Adobe says Kerning will ship in a future update.

The updated versions of Photoshop should be live for Creative Cloud subscribers. If you’re not seeing the updates, try restarting your device and checking for updates again within the Creative Cloud app or iOS App Store.