If the camera applies some kind of dynamic range (DR) magic, it’ll underexpose (to save the highlights), and apply some processing to brighten the image (midtones and shadows). Lightroom may do the same (it may be able to interpret some metadata); darktable cannot do that.
But don’t worry: raise exposure (even if you see clipping), disable the base curve, and use filmic to unclip your highlights. (Turning off the base curve and enabling filmic + automatic exposure compensation will be done automatically if you set darktable to use the scene-referred workflow in preferences. By default it uses the legacy display-referred processing because that’s what most other software does and what new users are familiar with.)
You may even save a new exposure preset to be applied only for the X-T30.
Start with
Then read
and watch videos on YouTube (there are many more, but some, like Robert Hutton’s series that are also mentioned on the darktable ‘resources’ page, are outdated):
- Aurélien Pierre @anon41087856 , one of the core developers (there’s some maths, but not too much, most of it is practical info): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmsSn3fujI81EKEr4NLxrcg (there’s one for people coming from other software: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yod6iH4qJEw)
- Bruce Williams @Bruce_Williams has many tutorials: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkqe4BYsllmcxo2dsF-rFQw
- Boris Hajdukovic @s7habo does short, practical videos, concentrating on results, experimenting with modules: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnkphET6pYk&list=PLmZmCIhOC2Frt6Wq3gc0-egOy_P1sXjau
- RIco Richardson @Rico is also popular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_kAOQAtfGM&list=PLy01z3xJ2KuqLf8z4B-bldkf5hKcqnRJh
If you post problematic images, the community will probably be able to help. And you can check the PlayRAW topic: many people demonstrate developing images in different ways, using different software.