Hi!
I need some help understanding what went on inside my camera as this image was generated – Specifically, the golden highlights on the top of the church tower. The OOC jpg does not have the haze/halo around it, but I cannot identify what darktable module would help me mimic that cleanup. (First image is processed raw)
I loaded your jpeg from DT as xmp, as it looks like the xmp posted belongs to the jpeg (didn’t confirm) and had a look through your modules in use.
The bloom (for want of a better word) seems to be being produced or emphasised by the two instances of diffuse or sharpen acting on local contrast. I switched those two off, and added my favorite local contrast/sharpness preset instead. Looks like this. I don’t have a full enough understanding of the D&S to say what was making it behave that way though.
The chromatic aberration module also seems to be involved a little, but doesn’t look too bad with out the D&S modules.
Edit: I didn’t like the effect of that chromatic aberration module, so switched it off and used the TCA overwrite in the lens correction module instead. P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).ORF.xmp (37.3 KB)
And – thank you calling out those modules!
I got so stuck with filmic and highlights and all that, I didnt even try the obvious “turn off modules 1 at a time”. Or in this case…2 modules.
I spend so much time trying to get a good “starting point” (OOC jpg ish), that the preset i eventually made is very cluttered. I look at yours, and its half the modules. Of course, you didn’t leave defaults either. I have never used the “automatic” exposure. Its yet another setting within settings… I like it though.
Man this program continues to exceed my skills.
But! I have a new, simpler collection of settings to mess with. Thank you for the xmp
Sometimes ‘less is more’ (unhelpful I know ) but at the same time trying to match a given result can be quite educational.
My starting point usually consists of just:
sigmoid (or filmic)
exposure
possibly a couple of minor saturation tweaks in color balance rgb (essential if using filmic as unlike sigmoid it doesn’t increase chroma at all)
lens correction
profiled denoise
a diffuse or sharpen preset
I think that’s about it… using just these, it usually possible to get the overall impression pretty similar to the jpeg. Not identical, but reasonable.
Then as needed I will also use tone equalizer (very useful to rein in highlights and shadows if you like pushing contrast as I do in sigmoid), color zones for more delicate color adjustments, more diffuse or sharpen instances… and so on… but often not much!