Endless videos and Google searches later, it seems I cannot do what I want to do in Darktable map mode.

What I want to do is very basic: use geotag data to select a range of photos for editing, tagging, star rating, viewing, etc.

Now, ideally Darktable would work like any other photo organizing app where it would read GPS coordinates and automatically resolve those to searchable fields for Country, City, Region, etc. But it seems Darktable cannot do that. The next best thing would be to go to the map view, pick a location, and select all the photos in that location to make searchable tags. However, it seems that is also impossible under Darktable. The only work-around is making a "location circle" for every single city I've ever taken pictures in, and that is just far too tedious although I have done some of that.

Geotag data is incredibly useful (usually) because it's the only "tag" you get automatically and with precision accuracy out of a camera body. However, in Darktable is seems like geotag data is only minimally useful if at all. You can certainly use the map module to add geotag data to untagged photos by dragging them onto the map; but then what? How is that useful if I can't actually find and select photos by the geotag?

Am I just missing something? Do you find the Map module useful for something? On one forum someone mentioned a LUA script to reverse-lookup geotag data but I can't find any resource for that. Is there any way to easily accomplish what I'm trying to do- make use of geotag data for selecting photos? Thanks!

example image

It's pretty self-explanatory: the darkroom preview is brighter than it should be. The histogram, meanwhile, seeeeeeems correct.

This is NOT the usual 'embedded JPEG' issue, as I have that setting disabled, and it wouldn't apply in the Darkroom anyway.

Changing color profiles has no visible effect on the output file, but interestingly, it actually momentarily makes the darkroom preview even brighter, until I zoom out and back in again, at which point it returns to the left example. (edit: actually, it seems like most adjustments cause this momentary brightness change, such as lens distortion)

This issue also messes with the clipping indicators, as shown by the right image - inspecting the exported file shows quite few pixels at 100% lightness.

Does anybody have a fix? It seems like some adjustment is being applied twice in the Darkroom but not during export.

Steps taken:

• Photo is fairly under-exposed and very low-contrast, as it's a photo of a pencil drawing

• Imported photo (Nikon Z6 iii NEF, happened on a D3300 as well), profile is v5.0 RAW, color-space is SRGB

• Increased exposure by 3.4EV

• Increased local contrast by 250%

• Disabled "White Balance" module

• Corrected white balance with eyedropper in "Color Calibration" module

• Decreased output saturation to 100%

• Applied crop, sharpen (default profile)

• Took screenshot of Darkroom editor

• Exported 8-bit PNG with SRGB color-space

• Created the comparison image in paint.net

Setup:

• Darktable version 5.0.1

• Windows 10, build 19045.5608 64-bit

• OpenCL enabled

• HDMI full-range SRGB display, no unusual signal chain adjustments.

I am bit lost on how to use libraw on Win10 pc, I have SP510UZ Camera .orf file, and as understand libraw supports it, but no real clue how to add that function to darktable... yes I have googled but I feel way outside my wheel house now, after smashing my head at this problem, or most likely I have zero clue what the key words to look for are for guide, or preferably a video explanation.

There is this guide:
"Quick Fix rw2"

Which thought was be easy as putting in "orf" instead of "rw2" but I am guessing it's not that simple and missing a step.

I hope it is okay to post this, since the questions I saw seem to ask for to tutorials to learn DarkTable for people with experience with raw processing.

So far, I focused on learning how to take pictures on have been happy to use the jpegs the camera produced. Now I would like to learn raw processing and I would like to use DarkTable for that. Are there any tutorials with that in mind?

In other words, I am looking for something which explains how to do raw processing using DarkTable.

I'm ready to make the jump from Lightroom to Dark Table. Besides the the obvious changes in interfaces, etc., what do I need to be aware of?

I'm especially interested to know what I need to do in importing my existing raw photo files.

My desktop is my powerhouse base computer, but more and more I find myself doing more edits and getting more work done on my laptop on the go. I'm using Windows, but the concepts are the same. Going all-Linux is not an option.

With Lightroom, the catalog is stored in a single file. The solution I came up with was to use Syncthing, which would sync my entire photo library plus catalog to the same path on each computer (and a NAS). This worked out great, with the caveat that I'm changing to 50mb RAW files and, at some point, SSD space on each PC is going to become an issue. FWIW, I'm a new Darktable convert; I've found with similar effort I can get similar results, and I'm ready to move on from Lightroom.

The Darktable install is more complicated according to this source. There's a library database, a data.db file that contains presets/tags/styles, and a cache folder for image previews. All stored in different locations. It does appear that it might be possible to redirect these locations (like a network location).

So here are the options I'm considering right now:

Photos Sync'd Locally on Both Computers:

1) Sync the default data folders directly between computers (and a NAS since the computers won't be on all the time). Permission issues could crop up though since you're messing with files in system locations (vs. just a Lightroom catalog file).

1a) Sync the folders to another location and redirect Darktable on boot with a batch file. Might solve permissions issues.

2) Just run two instances of Darktable. After switching from one PC to another, re-import the photo directory. Would this work? Would Darktable seamlessly ignore duplicates, and grab the XMP files in-place? One issue with this is deletions. There's no easy way to remove dead links on Windows Darktable without a special environment to run a .sh script, and that wouldn't be ideal for daily use. [From what I've Googled]

Go All-Network:

1) First method- stop syncing photos locally altogether. Use 1 or 1a above to sync just the Darktable catalog, and keep all photos on NAS. Does anyone do this? How does Darktable speed go for you over LAN vs. WiFi vs. internet (like through a VPN). I'll probably do a lot of editing away from home or on WiFi, so just not sure how that would go.

2) Run Darktable in a Linux VM on NAS and do all editing by remoting-in. My biggest concern with this is the color accuracy of remote desktop software. You've got Darktable representing one thing in the VM on that colorspace, then a window into that through VNC or similar. Assuming running at maximum 32 bit depth, and assuming that accurately represents the image via remote-in, would the performance suffer too much over the internet? One plus to this- I can compile Darktable myself with the beta Libraw so I can actually edit photos from my new camera without converting to DNG (or so I've read)!

Alternative

1) Run different catalogs entirely, don't try to keep all photos available in one Darktable catalog. The idea would be to, say, have maybe a master catalog on a desktop computer while editing new photos on a laptop and then just "moving" those photos/XMP files when done and importing to the master catalog. Desktop could have a remote connection in case I need to access something from the master on the go. Downside: I might want to edit a single photo set on one computer one day, and the other the next.

I plan to test out some of these myself, but I wanted to get some thoughts and see what everyone else out there might be doing/advise in this situation.

In the exposure module - how does the exposure slider's eyedropper work? I click the eyedropper next to the exposure slider and it automatically starts with the entire area selected and I see nothing but black. So I shrink up the selection window as tiny as I can get it, and move it around here any there, light parts, dark parts, anywhere, and still all I see is black? What am I missing? And is there a way to make it an actual pin point eyedropper instead of a selection window?

I've got something like 9000 photos posted to Flickr, only those that I'm not embarrassed about. I've been trying to do this for years, but as I was editing some photos from a trip to Utah last week, I just kept bumping against the same walls I always come against -- bad color control, loss of details in shadows, out of gamut, etc... and after 20 years of this, I've finally realized that I have no clue what I'm doing. From composition to RAW editing, I'm completely lost.

I feel like I've got to get some kind of breakthrough so that I can edit without wasting so much of my life away. And that this image might be what gets me to put the camera down for good, or allows me to keep going.

When I edit it, I get broken shadows in the greenery in the lower 1/3 of the image, and lots of broken highlights in the middle portions of the sky. But the thing is, yesterday, I edited it to a certain point, then turned it into my background image for my desktop, and it looks great. But as I look at it in Darktable today, it is broken. So I have no clue what is going on. And I'm tired of spending hours doing this only to be completely disappointed in my work. I had thought about printing this one, something I haven't done for years out of sheer disappointment.

Is there any way I could get one of you experts to edit this to show of the vibrant colors from real life, without destroying the image? I'm looking for a slightly contrived reality, but with an overall natural look.

The image is in my Microsoft Live Shared Images Folder. It is a Nikon NEF from a D7500. Hand held at 1/30, f/11, 800iso, Nikon 18-200 VR lens. So the sharpness is not really a thing, but it isn't terrible. Here is my first try at the image as it is posted to Flickr right now... unprintable. Would be a waste of good paper. Did I do so badly on the exposure that it's a waste of time? What am I doing wrong?

My histogram shows in most if not all my RAW photos the red channel is exposed higher than other colors. Even after adjusting white balance and other visual adjustments to get what I want, the red channel is shifter farther right than others. What might be causing this, and what's the proper way to correct it? For context, these photos are outdoor daytime travel pictures, or indoor photos of my kids.

Here's one example. There's lots of red brick, but it doesn't appear to be brighter than the blue and white in the sky.

When i try to open any vertical photo in darkroom it automatically exits from the software

windows 11

version: 5.0.1

format : raw

like, imagine seeing a wall of this after moving storage around

Darktable experts please be honest: how easy is it for you to get a better result than the JPEG generated by the camera, especially in terms of things like sharpness and noise?

I know that I probably still have much to learn, but I am often frustrated when comparing my work to the out of camera results from my Canon body.

Do you develop the RAW for each picture, or only for the ones where you see problems that can't be fixed in the JPEG?

Thanks.

I have 3 computers (I know, I know... good start). Two of them are showing png bitmaps in the "Markers" list in Watermark. One is not (it only shows SVGs). When I hover over the Marker option, I get text "SVG Watermarks in <path>"

Did I miss a bit somewhere, to allow PNGs to show?

Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback. I spent a lot of time today creating a new version of the darktable workflow, and I am really happy with it. Of course, I am still open to any feedback and love to learn and improve.

Here is the new tutorial for anyone who is interested!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUc6LOzg_Nk

TL;DR: Camera files such as iPhone or other Apple ProRAWs incompatible with Darktable? Get the (surprisingly) 100% free Adobe DNG Converter and run them through there for "generic universal" DNGs, retaining the editing benefits of RAW formats. Available on Windows, macOS, and Linux (via WINE translation). Don't get mad at all the links, they're to explain any other possible questions in advance.

Detailed explanation: Okay, I've seen lots of posts and questions about how to use iPhone ProRAW DNGs in Darktable (which I will henceforth refer to as DT), as well as similar formats that show as unsupported and don't open in DT. Because of this, I'm making this simple post to help everyone out. As for all these links? Just trying to simplify the process to anyone curious or not feeling as confident in their technical abilities. Put simply, there's a 100% free application called Adobe DNG Converter (which I will abbreviate to ADC) that you can use to "easily convert camera-specific raw files from supported cameras to a more universal DNG raw file", in the words of Adobe on their website.

Now, I know seeing "Adobe" may raise concerns (trust me, I don't like them much myself), but this tool runs entirely offline and doesn't require signing into any accounts even just to download. Yes, there are most likely other programs offering this functionality for various devices, and it's entirely possible ADC might not support your camera's DNG files, but at least with iPhone ProRAW photos, I know this to be an easy, surefire working method. Can't speak for all cameras and versions of DT, but at least on version 4.0 (where I first used this) to the latest 5.0 (at the time of writing), I don't even have to change any compatibility settings in ADC to make them DT-compatible; I just choose the files or folder containing the DNGs I want to convert, click "Convert", and import the generic DNGs into DT.

One thing to note - Because ADC is converting the DNG files to a more universal "generic" format, you do lose out on some of the pre-applied camera adjustments. For instance, I sometimes have to rotate an iPhone ProRAW DNG again to the correct orientation, and I almost ALWAYS have to increase the exposure. Besides that though, you still get all the benefits of it being a raw DNG for editing. Pro tip – Once you've converted a few DNGs, you might even find a common correction "theme" and want to make a preset style for them. I've been meaning to do that for my edits; just make a quick preset to apply to all iPhone ProRAWs to increase exposure and adjust other settings all at once to speed things up a bit in the end.

Last thing – ADC is available on both Windows and macOS, both on x64 and ARM devices. If you're on Linux though, can confirm, ADC does run seamlessly through WINE (at least on x64, I haven't tried it on my ARM Asahi Linux MBA yet). You can use a wrapper application such as Bottles, Proton) via Steam, or probably just run it straight through WINE itself. I use Bottles on my Steam Deck to run ADC; only took a minute or two to set up and it works just like a native app.

Long link to ADC: https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/adobe-dng-converter.html

I have been hunting the answer for this question for a while but I am not able to find one.

I have been using darktable on an old MacBook Pro, and I put the database on iCloud for back up purposes until now. It has been working great. Now I got a new Mac mini M4, and I would love to use this for editing when at home but still be able to use the MacBook when mobile. I downloaded darktable on the Mac mini and change the pictures folder in the import settings pane to the same iCloud folder. I am assuming if I import new photos it would keep that synced, but I don't see any of the previous photos.

I am thinking there is some way for me to make the newer (Mac mini) instance of darktable to recognize the other library. This way, there is one library, and I can edit on both computers as I wish. There has to be a way for this and I am not able to find it.

I keep finding threads on using rsync etc to keep the folders on both computers synced, which I think iCloud is already doing, but I couldn't find any answers on how to make the newer instance recognize the previous library, and also the MacBook instance recognize newer imports that were made on the Mac mini.

Please tell me this is not a pipe dream and is possible. I am willing to try other methods, but I cloud would work great as I have a family plan with enough storage. Thank you.

Edit: After working on this for an entire afternoon, and corrupting my database, I have nothing to show for this. Thankfully, I have backups but this was just not fun. In 2025 cloud sync is almost a necessity. I recognize that this is FOSS and I am very appreciative of this, and I just wish there was an implementation to use our own cloud providers or self host or something to make the above possible seamlessly.

Hi everyone, I'm new to both negadoctor and film photography, and I'm struggling a bit while using negadoctor to scan my negatives. I have followed the video tutorial of Aurelélien Pierre and also followed the documentation, which are both well done, but I still have issues with my pictures. I usually have pictures with a red tint, which might indicate I have issues with white balance. How should I set the white balance? Should I use the color calibration module or the white balance module? I also noticed that by changing the input color profile, the final result can change, and so far I got the best result using linearRec2020 color profile. Which color profile do you use? Here is my setup: Darktable 5.0.1 on linux Scanning with Epson V600 using Epson Scan 2 at default settings, with gamma set at 2.2

The manual spells out using both in the same workflow, but some of the YT guides say don't use them both in the same workflow since one will essentially wreck the other. Is this good advise, bad advise? What's going on with that?

Hi,

So I'm very new to darktable, and I decided to try it out with and I decided to import the folder with pictures from my camera that takes both raws and jpgs, the issue is that now after checking that folder all of my jpg's turned into xmp files, what can I do to get them back? I know this is probably one of the first mistakes that most people do when they start learning with this program, so I decided to google it to be even more confused, any ideas of how to change them back?

I have an idea but I have no idea how to pull it off :

I want to shoot a color checker target with certain films (or maybe the "Leica Looks" presets) then scan the film, create a correction profile for each film and then "invert those changes".

This would allow me to apply those as a LUT to other pictures in order to achieve the same color rendering as with other pictures.

Is that possible?

If so : how?

Hi all,

More as a learning exercise than anything else, I'm trying to mask out this Robin so I can pull down the background a little and make the subject stand out. (1 is the original after-scene-referred defaults. 2 is my processed/cropped one)

I'm really struggling with the masking. It seems that anything I do with the parametrics bleeds in to the subject in some way. Hue selection struck me as the best bet, but even when combining it with a carefully drawn region, I can't select all the background without bringing some of the subject along or creating a weird halo around it.

I've been through Boris and Bruce's videos, but in those the subject seems to be more easily separable. Any tips on how to do this beyond a pixel-by pixel drawn mask (which I'm still not sure would work due to the fuzziness of the edges.

Is there a dictionary somewhere for terms like chrominance, luma and all these technical color science terms, that doesn't go into insane levels of overkill and actually explains how they relate to and affect photography? I can look them up on wikipedia and such, but the explanations are all so detailed and seemingly irrelevant to photography. When I try to educate myself I end up spending an hour reading about something in such levels of detail and abstraction that it really isn't useful and I still don't know how it applies to the digital darkroom.

Hi together,

is there meanwhile a way to edit Apple ProRaw pictures in darktable? Can I convert an ProRaw picture in another raw-format that works with darktable?

I'm trying to set up tethering with my Sony a6300 and after replacing the driver, it seems to work so far. However, I can't seem to adjust focus on the pc, I can start autofocus and autofocus in general works, but the buttons that adjust the actual focus in the live view module aren't clickable. Andy advice? Thanks