OOC JPG vs RAW on a sunny day. (Cathedral in Aachen, Germany)

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)



P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).JPG.xmp (2.5 KB)
P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).ORF (13.7 MB)

This file is licensed Creative Commons, By-Attribution, Share-Alike.

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I think your camera corrected chromatic aberration, but the raw edit did not.

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My version…

P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).ORF.xmp (14.0 KB)

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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. :slight_smile:

The chromatic aberration module also seems to be involved a little, but doesn’t look too bad with out the D&S modules.


P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).ORF.xmp (35.8 KB)

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)

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The OOC JPEG is over-sharpened … quite a halo at the tower’s top left.

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Thanks for posting
darktable 4.4.2


P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC)_03.ORF.xmp (17.8 KB)

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Oh! How did that sneak in there.
P7160024 (2023_08_27 19_03_17 UTC).ORF.xmp (23.5 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.

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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

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Sometimes ‘less is more’ (unhelpful I know :wink: ) but at the same time trying to match a given result can be quite educational. :slight_smile:
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!

Just my 2c :face_with_raised_eyebrow: :smile:

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