Linking Basic Adjustment sliders and other ideas in DT2.7

Software darktable
1

I’m testing Darktable 2.7, and I really like it. One of my favorite features is the Basic adjustments tool: it groups the most useful adjustment sliders in one tool. Before I had to open several tools/tabs to be able to do these adjustments.

Here are some ideas for this tool:

  • The sliders in this tool are duplicates of other sliders. Is it possible to link them together? e.g. the exposure slider should have the same value than the exposure slider from the Exposure tool. So by moving this slider, the exposure tool should activate and the slider in the Exposure tool move too. To sum up, this tool would affect the UI, without making proper processing.

  • I would add to the Basic adjustments tool the following sliders:

    • White balance (combo box with predefined values and an eyedropper tool for white point selection)
    • Sharpening/local contrast
    • Noise reduction
    • Rotation

  • Eventually make this tool configurable (select which sliders to display).

What do you think?

2

I don’t think duplicating tools multiple places will be helpful. You should add them to your favorites tab and then they’ll all be in the same place.

3

Plus, you can have several instances of some of the modules, which instance(s) should the sliders link to?

4

Basic adjustments bundles modules that should be active in different places in the pixel pipe, so it doesnt make sense to integrate further modules. Better way is defining a set of favorites with the required modules

5

@paperdigits The Basic adjustments already duplicates some functionality, that’s why I suggested to link them with the original tool.

@chris Good point…I didn’t think about that. That said, there are already some linked tools in DT, for example dragging the histogram will adjust the exposure and black point sliders.

MStraeten Yep, defining a set of favorite tools is the solution at the moment; and it’s also a way to work with the images (to get full control with the modules you use). Anyway, I’m glad that DT got the Basic adjustment tool, because I prefer that to make some quick adjustments.

6

As far as I understood this functionality will be removed at some point to reduce such interdependencies and inconsistencies. I also learned recently that it is not a good idea to adjust blackpoint at all, as this may remove shadow details due to clipping to avoid negative values very early in the (default) pipe. But I fear the alternatives depend on the actual picture. I hope this is somehow correct and I am not writing totally nonsense …

7

There is also the fact that in darktable ‘there are more ways to skin a cat’. Just because there are more modules to change something (like exposure or black point) it does not mean that all of them use the same mathematical way to do it and that a value of 2 in a slider on one module will be equivalent to a value of 2 of a slider in another module …