Hey all,
Are there any Fuji users here, that have implemented a workflow of DXO’s Pure Raw + Darktable? This is the missing link for me at the moment. I think DXO’s sharpening tools are probably the best out there for Fuji users, so I’d love to be able to implement them into the workflow.
If this is you, what is your process?
Thanks in advance.
I have Canon cameras, but for some noisy raw files i run them in PureRAW first and then process them in darktable. Keep in mind that the dng files you get from PureRAW are no longer raw files, so keep your original files.
I’m a Fuji user (X-T3, X-T5), but have no experience with DXO software. That being said, dt’s capture sharpening in the ‘demosaic’ module in combination with the various sharpening options in the ‘diffuse and sharpening’ module doesn’t leave anything to be desired on my end. Would love to see a comparison.
I do use DXO PureRAW 4 and Darktable with RAF’s from Fujifilm X-T1 and X-H1. That combo works perfectly fine.
I place SD card in the reader, drag photos straight from the card to DXO, select local SSD as the output and voila.
In Darktable you don’t need to bother with demosaicing, denoising and lens correction then, so in my case just basic operations with AgX, Color Balance RGB etc. Also, as DNG’s are already preprocessed, Darktable runs noticeably faster.
Thanks mate. Given the fact that when you put the raw file through PureRaw 4, are there any issues in darktable, given that the file is no longer a raw file?
None, whatsoever. Honestly, from typical user’s point of view, you might as well don’t know such DNG has been put through PureRAW. Works and behaves as a regular raw file – white balancing in Color Calibration, tone mapping in Filmic, AgX, Sigmoid, work with colour in Color EQ or RGB Primaries… all the same, normal 
I have used that workflow on occasion. DxO’s denoising is amazing, and so is its sharpening and distortion correction. But on the other hand, Darktable’s sharpening and distortion correction are very good, too, and DxO can’t process half the files I throw at it (no JPEGs, no smartphone raws). And at print resolution, most sharpening and denoising is irrelevant.
So, I’ve used it on occasion, but the workflow is cumbersome, and doesn’t always work. I prefer Neat Denoise. It’s not nearly as powerful, but it works on the JPEGs instead of RAWs, which is much easier to handle, and it’s WAY cheaper.
I realize that your question is more about workflow, but this thread might be of some additional help: A Raw Denoise Cross-comparison
For workflow, I “hacked” the external editor LUA script to activate on Canon CR3 so I could open DxO from within Darktable. Setting DxO to open DT allows the program to return a DNG file in DT collections, so they are all grouped together. I will then perform my full edits on the DNG within DT.
The downside is that the DNG files add about 3x the file size, so I’ll copy my edits back to the CR3 file for archival purposes and then delete the DNG as it’s no longer needed. It’s not an optimal approach because there’s some issue within DT where drawn masks in DNG, TIFF, or JPEGs don’t align properly against the original CR3, but it saves the edit and file space. However, I can recreate the DNG and the masks will copy back over without issue.
Of course, if you aren’t concerned about file storage then you don’t have to go through that process.
That’s just one approach and fortunately DT is extremely flexible so you have many different ways to accomplish your objectives.