digiKam usually does a decent job of decoding RAW files using the default settings. But if you prefer to have complete control of how the application processes RAW files, choose Settings » Configure digiKam, switch to the RAW Decoding section, and enable the Always open the Raw Import Tool to customize settings option. Next time you open a RAW file for editing, digiKam drops you into the RAW Import interface where you can tweak the RAW import and post-processing settings. Continue to read
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.digikam.org/news/2011-05-04_process_raw_files_in_digikam/