Darktable 3.6 Open-Source RAW Image Editor Released with Many New Features

Darktable 3.6

Darktable 3.6 has been released today as a major update to this open-source, free, and cross-platform RAW image editor for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows platforms.

Darktable 3.6 comes six months after the Darktable 3.4 release to fully revamp the import module to allow you to see image thumbnails before importing, introduce a new default demosaic algorithm called RCD, along with support for dual demosaic for combining RCD + VNG4 and AMaZE + VNG4 for bayer sensors.

A new vector-scope is present as well in Darktable 3.6 to complement the current histogram, waveform and parade views, as well as a new Color Balance RGB module for all your color grading needs, and a new censorize module for hiding parts of the image by adding a blur or pixelization effect.

Starting with this release, Darktable now draws shapes on the original RAW image and then distorts them through the pixelpipe. Moreover, Darktable now displays a trace when importing a GPX file and allows you to set locations using polygons created straight from information reported by Open Street Map.

Among other noteworthy changes, Darktable 3.6 replaces the basic adjustments module with the quick access panel, adds a new section in the color calibration module to let you calibrate colors using a color checker chart, and introduces the ability to create an opacity mask based on an image’s sharpness.

Various improvements were also made to the various lighttable modules, the export module, the mix control in the contrast equalizer module, and the RAW chromatic aberration module. Also, the color calibration module received a new color preservation method, and the TIFF export module received numerous improvements.

Darktable 3.6 also adds support for removing multiple styles at once, improves the decoding of JPEG-2000 files, adds support for importing and exporting presets on mass, and introduces collect filter presets for displaying images based on their aspect ratio and import date.

As usual with any new Darktable release, camera support has been enhanced to support new models, including Fujifilm GFX100S (compressed), Fujifilm X-E4 (compressed), Fujifilm X-S10 (compressed), Leica D-Lux 7 (4:3, 1:1, 16:9, 3:2), Nikon Z 6_2 (14bit-compressed, 14bit-uncompressed, 12bit-compressed, 12bit-uncompressed), Nikon Z 7_2 (14bit-compressed, 14bit-uncompressed, 12bit-compressed, 12bit-uncompressed), Panasonic DC-G100 (4:3), Panasonic DC-G110 (4:3), Panasonic DC-GF10 (4:3), Panasonic GF90 (4:3), Pentax K-3 Mark III, Ricoh GR III (dng), Sony ILCE-1, Sony ILCE-7SM3, and Sony ILCE-QX1.

New white balance presets are now available for the Fujifilm GFX100S, Fujifilm X-E4, Nikon D780, Panasonic DC-FZ10002, Panasonic DMC-G8, Panasonic DMC-G80, Panasonic DMC-G81, Panasonic DMC-G85, Ricoh GR III, and Samsung GX20 camers, along with new noise profiles for the Canon PowerShot S110, Nikon COOLPIX P950, Nikon Z 7_2, Olympus E-M10 Mark IV, Pentax K-3 Mark III, Samsung GX10, Samsung GX20, Sony ILCE-1, and Sony ILCE-7C cameras, as well as new custom Color matrices for the Samsung GX20 camera.

Various language translations were updated as well, and numerous bugs squashed to make Darktable more stable and reliable. For more details on all the changes included in this release, check out the full release notes. Meanwhile, you can download Darktable 3.6 from the project’s GitHub page.

Last updated 3 years ago

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