#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom full
#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom pro
#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom software
#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom trial
#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom professional

DxO also recently acquired the excellent Nik Collection of image processing plug-ins, so we can expect some interesting additions and features.

#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom full

While it has an image browser, PhotoLab does not create a catalog, so this isn’t a full Lightroom replacement, but it is a superb raw developer. The ELITE version of what DxO now calls “PhotoLab” offers DxO’s superb PRIME noise reduction and excellent ClearView contrast enhancement feature. Noise reduction is “Perfectly Clear” from Athentech and works well. Here’s a low cost Lightroom replacement for image management and raw processing abilities. It is a Lightroom replacement only, but a very good one indeed. So Capture One cannot be used like Photoshop, to stack and composite images.

#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom pro

The MacOS version resembles the Windows Pro version.Ĭost: $299, and $120 for major upgrades, or by subscription for $180/yearĪs of version 11 this powerful raw developer and cataloguing program offers “Layers.” But these are only for applying local adjustments to masked areas of an image. Only the Pro version offers the full suite of raw development features, in addition to cataloging functions.

#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom professional

Windows users have a choice of either a Standard or Professional version. Lightroom Contenders: Five Raw DevelopersĪCDSee Photo Studio (current as of late 2017)Ĭost: $60 to $100, depending on version, upgrades $40 to $60. My question is, how well do they work? Are any serious contenders to replace Photoshop or Lightroom? Thus the popularity of these alternative programs.

#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom software

Though $120 for a year is not far off the cost of purchasing many of these other programs and perhaps upgrading them annually, many photographers prefer to purchase their software and not subscribe to it. Photoshop and Lightroom complement each other and are now available together, but only by monthly subscription through Adobe’s Creative Cloud service, at $10/month. Camera Raw and Lightroom have identical processing functions and can produce identical results. Camera Raw is equivalent to the Develop module in Lightroom, Adobe’s cataloguing and raw processing software.

#Darktable vs rawtherapee vs lightroom trial

Most have free trial copies available.Īdobe Camera Raw (ACR), Photoshop, Bridge, and Lightroom, the standards to measure others byĬost: $10 a month by subscription, includes ACR, Photoshop, Bridge, and LightroomĪdobe Camera Raw (ACR) is the raw development plug-in that comes with Photoshop and Adobe Bridge, Adobe’s image browsing application that accompanies Photoshop. Here are the image processing programs I looked at.

Export that folder of raw images to “intermediate JPGs” for assembly into a movie.Įven so, not all these contenders are up to the task.

Copy its settings to the hundreds of other raw files in the time-lapse set, then ….

But as with Lightroom, layering of images – to stack, composite, and mask them – is beyond their ability.įor processing time-lapse sequences, however, we don’t need, nor can we use, the ability to layer and mask several images into one composite.

The others are better described as Adobe Lightroom competitors – programs that can catalog image libraries and develop raw image files, with some offering adjustment layers for correcting color, contrast, etc. However, a number of contenders offer excellent features and might replace at least one member of Adobe’s image processing suite.įor example, only four of these programs can truly serve as a layer-based editing program replacing Photoshop. If you are hoping there’s a clear winner in the battle against Adobe, one program I can say does it all and for less cost and commitment, I didn’t find one. This review expands upon and updates mini-reviews I included in my Nightscapes and Time-Lapses eBook, shown at right. Even so, I think you will find there’s plenty to pick from! So sorry, fans of Paintshop Pro (though see my note at the end), Photoline, Picture Window Pro, or Xara Photo & Graphic Designer. I’ve indicated these.īut I did not test any Windows-only programs. I did not test these programs for other more “normal” types of images.Īlso, please keep in mind, I am a Mac user and tested only programs available for MacOS, though many are also available for Windows.

I tested more than ten contenders as alternatives to Adobe’s image processing software, evaluating them ONLY for the specialized task of editing demanding nightscape images taken under the Milky Way, both for single still images and for time-lapses of the moving sky. That is the question many photographers are asking with the spate of new image processing programs vying to “kill Photoshop.”