When I started using darktable 3 years ago, my reference was also Capture One, and my impression was the same as yours: there must be something wrong with the colours. But don’t worry, as others have already explained, it is just that darktable renders your image from a more neutral starting point than Capture One, which gives you more flexibility in post processing.
Here is my take editing your image, using just basic tools:
It sounds like you haven’t read/watched any (recent) tutorials. In the modern, scene-referred workflow, the base curve shouldn’t be used. DT works more like colour grading film, where you start with something desaturated that you “clean up” and then “add” colour later in the process.
I recommend starting with this video by one of the developers:
Since it is based on DT 3.6, some of the modules may be a bit different now (Filmic notably), but nothing major.
These are a bit older and while AP’s videos are very good IMO they will overwhelm most new users.
I think Frank Walsh has some nice entry level videos to introduce DT and the various nuances and really a nice Blend of Technical and Practical is provided on @nwinspeare YT channel… This is one YT channel for DT I would highly recommend…
In addition to his video’s on scene-referred he has actually made a somewhat topical video for the OP…
EDIT: This one should be a mandatory view IMO as this facet of DT and dull colors and changing preview when the edit begins get queried over and over by new viewers…
The base curve is just another tone mapping operator. It can be placed at the end of the pipeline, allowing you to use editing tools on scene-referred, linear data. In fact, if you use the default module order, that’s where it will appear. What you have to be careful about is to bring its input back to the 0…1 range, e.g. by adding another exposure or tone equalizer instance just before base curve.
This is an important thing to call attention to. Its not like the Base Curve is early in the pipeline like it used to be and some people may still find ways to integrate it if they prefer the results…
You can also use the profiles that capture one uses , they help in getting that punchy colorful look easier , specially with base curve.
But that profile blows out highlights quickly for me and i have issues getting them under control , so in the end i switched back to regular darktable scene referred and it’s built-in profile .
I might give it another try just to see if i learned something in the last few months .
Add unbreak profile module and use the default gamma to check if that helps but there is an extra curve used with C1 this is why they can’t be used directly in general…
You might get some good info here and even some of the shared files might help…
Instead of trying so desperately to emulate C1, I really think you should first learn to use DT on it’s own terms, instead of fighting against it, so to speak. By messing around with base curves, colour profiles etc. when you barely know how to use DT, you risk always being disappointed and not getting the most out of it.
Here’s my attempt. I tried to make the colours punchy, without going too far. Since you haven’t shared the C1 jpeg, I don’t know how it compares to that.
We can only know that with access to the C1 settings as there can be a combinations of curves and profiles applied by default in C1 and those have not been stated or provided I don’t think… The OP would have to provide that and of course as you say the exported jpg as most people don’t have capture one…the extracted one is just the Sony reference… but it serves as another data point for comparison of the DT and C1 “looks” created in the various posts for this image…
Honestly, I don’t care at all about the C1 settings. I’m not trying to replicate them in DT (which would be a fools errand in any case). I just want to know what the result looks like, so that I can try to replicate the look. For that a jpeg exported from C1 is needed - a screenshot isn’t really good enough.
I downloaded C1 trial…using the A6300 generic profile and the auto curve and the high contrast film curve you get these 2 jpg files…I didn’t make any edits or touch exposure…
I agree I would just use capture one if that is the look you like…
EDIT:
Setting the curve to Auto and the profile to the proicc version and hitting C1 auto correct produces this… It seems like it only changed a couple of settings to produce this but I could be wrong… So maybe this would be the C1 default ish… look…
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