Open Source Lightroom Alternative Darktable 2.0 Released

The developers of open source raw photo editing program Darktable have released version 2.0 of the application. Darktable 2.0 is available for OS X and Linux and now uses gtk+3 instead of gtk+2.

The previous stable version was version number 1.6 and it saw the light of day at the end of 2014. Darktable works just like other photo development programs with so-called sidecar files, through which photos are edited in a non-destructive way. Because significant changes were made between versions 1.6 and 2.0, it is possible to open 1.6-xmp files in Darktable 2.0, but it is not possible to use files edited in 2.0 in older versions.

The main change from the previous versions is the port from gtk+2 to gtk+3, although that is not immediately visible from the outside because Darktable uses its own interface. The difference is visible with users with high-resolution screens. A more eye-catching addition is the print module, which now also makes it possible to print directly via cups from Darktable, together with print simulation of the specific printer on the screen. With the option to print, immediately comes the option to export to PDF.

Like the gtk change, the new way thumbnails are cached isn’t immediately visible, but it should provide improved stability and speed. What is visible is the addition of the option to add a watermark. The full list of changes can be found on the project’s GitHub page.

Image borrowed from the ‘The six best smartphone cameras’ review