Raw Therapee freeware

[ProbirPune]

I am given to understand that one should always shoot in RAW and then use a good computer and good software to process the RAW files. Adobe products are subscription based and very expensive for an average amateur like me.
I have been advised that Raw Therapee is the best freeware as its developers provide best means to handle RAW files
What is the opinion of experienced members of this Forum?

[Manfred M]

What's wrong with the View NX-D that shipped with your camera? It's a decent raw convertor that is optimized for your Nikon camera?

[ProbirPune]

Perhaps you mean Capture NX-D? It might be very good. I have tried to use it. However, Nikon has not provided decent material that helps a user to use all the features of the product. It seems to assume that users are familiar with all the features and facilities it provides. I confess I was unhappy. Hence I looked around for another product. Raw Therapee tries to help the user to become better by documentation and videos and users too

[xpatUSA]

I am given to understand that one should always shoot in RAW and then use a good computer and good software to process the RAW files. Adobe products are subscription based and very expensive for an average amateur like me.
I have been advised that Raw Therapee is the best freeware as its developers provide best means to handle RAW files
What is the opinion of experienced members of this Forum?

Namaste Probir-ji.

RawTherapee is excellent, in my experience. If you prefer local adjustment with layers and masking, as opposed to just global editing, then I can also recommend the GIMP.

Others here could disagree ...

[Stagecoach]

Perhaps you mean Capture NX-D? It might be very good. I have tried to use it. However, Nikon has not provided decent material that helps a user to use all the features of the product. It seems to assume that users are familiar with all the features and facilities it provides. I confess I was unhappy.

I don't use NX-D but just a quick look revealed a 59 page PDF user manual available if you click the 'Help Menu', plus a Help Site.

[Donald]

I can also recommend the GIMP.

I would also recommend the GIMP, but that comes after you have processed the RAW file and created a TIFF.

With the GIMP you have to have a front-end RAW processor such as Raw Therepee.

I no longer use the GIMP, but did for many years when I was starting out. The one problem is that it is a steep learning curve and it does not have the back-up resources for learning that, for example, Adobe have for its packages.

The best training resource I found was - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMJ...pJx5CFsi0BfDGA. I see it has changed personnel, but I assume it features the same high quality videos it did when I used it.

[Manfred M]

Perhaps you mean Capture NX-D? It might be very good. I have tried to use it. However, Nikon has not provided decent material that helps a user to use all the features of the product. It seems to assume that users are familiar with all the features and facilities it provides. I confess I was unhappy. Hence I looked around for another product. Raw Therapee tries to help the user to become better by documentation and videos and users too

I have played around with Raw Therapee in the past and did not find it did anything for me that the other raw convertors that I use were doing. In fact, lack of support for Smart Objects and no native L* a* b* colour space are definite negatives for me.

My other comment is that this piece of software seems more suited to "experimenters" than "mainstream photographers". While the functionality is powerful, it is easy to go astray here, if one does not understand what the settings mean. BruceRGB? Never heard of it...

[DanK]

I am given to understand that one should always shoot in RAW and then use a good computer and good software to process the RAW files.

In case this isn't clear from the thread, this often means two software packages. The first is a raw converter that renders the raw file. These vary in terms of how much editing they let you do. At the end of the raw conversion, you will often pass the file to a second software package that is capable of more substantial editing. Sometimes you can pass the file directly, while in other cases, you have to store it in another form, usually TIFF, and then open that in the second package.

Over time, many raw converters have been enhanced with additional editing capabilities, so in some cases, one can edit photos with only that one. I can now edit some of my photos entirely in Lightroom. However, I don't know whether any of the free raw processors have that level of editing capabilities. I suspect not. If not, you will end up needing a second package as well, such as the GIMP.

[xpatUSA]

I have played around with [RawTherapee] in the past and did not find it did anything for me that the other raw [converters] that I use were doing.

What version? The latest is pretty good and even opens Foveon X3F files.

In fact, lack of support for Smart Objects

I thought "Smart Objects" is an Adobe thing. Pardon my ignorance of all things Adobe - do third party processors support Smart Objects?

and no native L* a* b* colour space are definite negatives for me.

Many RT functions are carried out in CIELAB space and many other RT functions offer a choice.

<>BruceRGB? Never heard of it...

Hmmm ...

http://www.brucelindbloom.com/index....SpaceInfo.html

... yep, that Bruce ...

Just for you, Manfred, here's Melissa:

[revi]

There's also Darktable as a free raw developer/editor.
But that also has a learning curve, like any raw developer. Extra complication: it allows two approaches to raw development
(scene-based, or display-based), which is not immediately evident.

And the freeware/opensource programs are probably harder to learn, because they tend to stick closer to the "metal" (the
algorithms that others try to hide behind an easy to use GUI). But that can allow more precise use once you understand
the mechanisms.

As said above, keep in mind that the GIMP is not a raw developer (it can call one from the interface, though).

[Manfred M]

What version? The latest is pretty good and even opens Foveon X3F files.



I thought "Smart Objects" is an Adobe thing. Pardon my ignorance of all things Adobe - do third party processors support Smart Objects?



Many RT functions are carried out in CIELAB space and many other RT functions offer a choice.



Hmmm ...

http://www.brucelindbloom.com/index....SpaceInfo.html

... yep, that Bruce ...

Just for you, Manfred, here's Melissa:

Ted - I have Version 5.8 of RawTherapee and version 3.0.0 of Darktable running on my machine. I also have GIMP 2.10.8. I try to stay reasonably up to date and tend to update them at least once or twice a year.

I don't use them regularly, but I do poke around them on occasion and unfortunately, they do little for the vast majority of the photographers out there. They are very much a leading edge development platform and some of the developments work their way into the "mainstream", but the focus seems to be on trying out new ideas rather than being a practical tool for most photographers. I definitely steer new photographers away from them because they are so complex that they can easily get inexperienced on the wrong track and in fact frighten them away from shooting in raw. Most newbies should be fine with the raw converters that ship with their cameras and they are often simple enough to get them going on the right track.

Most photographers don't need (or care) about the details that one can find in these freeware products. Nor do they need to. People drive cars and trucks and have no idea what the Otto cycle is and wouldn't have a clue as to the four laws of thermodynamics that underpin propulsive power. People who design engines need to know, but users don't. Photography is much the same way, people don't need to know the underpinnings of how the algorithms work, are generally more interested in what the final output looks like.

Yes Smart Objects are an Adobe construct that I find very useful for some subjects. Likewise, being able to natively work in the L* a* b* colour space. Both are non-standard approaches, but for some image these tools / approaches save me a lot of time and effort. I don't care how this is done internally, but rather need to employ that functionality in my pixel based editor to get the results I am looking for.

In general, photographers deal with three colour spaces (regardless of the warts and technical issues with them0; sRGB, Adobe RGB and ProPhoto RGB. All the other colour spaces might be of interest academically, but don't play a role in most peoples workflow.