I’ve spend the last 3 months developing a RAW Editor for myself, since I never really found the perfect fit.
CalibRaw is GPU accelerated and supports the Basic edits know form other editors. Its UI was made to be simple to understand and the backend to be performant and have good looking (and mostly correct) processing.
LLMs were used in creating this project.
I switched to Linux some time ago and had since not found a good fitting RAW Editor for me, I’ve tried many but either the workflow was complicated, the processing didn’t look good or the software was just buggy and not optimized for Linux.
With CalibRaw I tried to create an Editor which is performant (runs even on lower end hardware), has a easy to understand workflow and is convenient with optional AI Features (Subject Mask, Object Mask, Simple Eraser).
V1 was just released after weeks of testing and improving.
For now CalibRaw supports Linux, Android and Windows. Mac being planned (already available as artifact, but I haven’t been able to test it).
I’d love to get some feedback on how other photographers like the workflow and the performance
@Duecki1, first of all, congrats with your project. It is always nice tinkering and creating something new.
But I can also relate a bit to @bazdesh, not to de quality your work. But I am not very interested in another basic RAW editor. I am sorry. I am also not interested in switching a carefully curated workflow. So I will pass on this. And to add, my experiences with RapidRaw, also a new LLM created editor have not been very positive. So thanks, but no thanks.
But, I have a question for me, what made you decide to create something yourself? What are you missing in darktable, RawTherapee or ART ??
I haven’t heard of Happy Photon yet, i’ll have to take look at it.
I used RapidRAW for quite some time, but on my system the UI felt too laggy and I ran into many bugs, which got worse over time. I also recommended it to friends, who then told me they were having issues with it crashing and being laggy. Of course, that’s just based on my own experience and the feedback I got from them.
That was one of the main reasons I made CalibRaw, as an alternative that better fits what I expect from a RAW Editor and to have an editor focused on linux and android support.
I really like the processing of darktable and ART, but the workflow/UI is just not something for me. I tried vkdt too, but that was even less fitting for me (tho performance was very good).
I mean lets be real, you need a diving suit for darktable, you need to spend a day deep diving through the menus to set your process up the way you want. And you also have to know what you want
Sure, though I think it is probably more a skill issue / personal preference than a problem with darktable itself
I mostly edit photos of people, so AI subject masks are really useful to me. I used Lightroom some time ago and being able to quickly select a person or subject really helped with speeding up the editing.
When I was using darktable it didn’t have AI masking yet (to my knowledge at least). And personally I find the masking workflow in something like RapidRAW (and CalibRaw) easier and faster.
And I really liked the sidebar with simple sliders grouped in a way that make sense in RapidRaw. Just how I know it. I never really had that with darktable.
Welcome to the forum. I know your motivation; about 9 years ago I surveyed the available raw processing software, both commercial and FOSS, and came up wanting. So, I set out to write my own. No LLM chat-bots at the time, so it was sifting through academic papers and StackOverflow examples, but I came up with a tool I use to this day.
Big thing, learned a LOT about image processing in the process. Try to do that as much as you can with what the LLMs provide.
Yes, i’ll definitely try to learn as much of the processing as I can. Its really interesting, but so complicated
Tho I dont think this would have happend without LLMs. Before I tried some different approaches by reusing Darktable/vkdt code, but that never quite worked out to a smooth experience.
I really appreciate the time and dedication it must have taken to develop a RAW editor back then.
Sure enjoy, but It sounds a bit odd to me… I agree darktable takes (considerable) effort to learn. Though I don’t recognise the day spending in menu’s. But because it takes too much time to learn darktable, you build a raw editor yourself… I am pretty sure that you have now spend more time building your less capable editor then you have spend in learning darktable?? But good luck with your project.
Yes, of course I spend more time building my own raw editor. But at least now I have something that works for me :). As far as I know the masking workflow is way different, I personally like the RapidRaw masking approach more than Darktables.
Congrats on CalibRaw! Well, I already like this editor. I usually use the ‘heavy’ Darktable, but sometimes I just need a handy tool for a specific purpose (quick edits, quick exports). The more choices I have, the better
You are coming in as part of a barrage of AI created editors and film sim projects and that is likely overwhelming and/or maybe even disconcerting in some ways for many. Others will be “hey” something new to try out… so I suspect you will get an array of responses…press on and see where it goes…
I think where in the past people might have jumped on board with their favourite project to contribute some ideas and content, now with AI there to do the heavy lifting there are individuals throwing out their visions right left and center… at times it could appear to many like re-inventing the wheel but as I said press on and see where you land…
For me I am curious, and I will poke around, maybe but its almost getting too much with a new editor or fimsim popping up every second day…
Thank you :D. And yeah, i can see why people might feel like there are already enough RAW editors out there, i feel the same.
But since I had already made CalibRaw for myself and my friends, may as well share it. If I can help somehow who is in the same situation as me (can’t find a fitting editor), then thats awesome.
(I’ve never heard of it until now)