Processing RAW files with RawTherapee
Digital Darkroom
© raven, Fotolia
RAW format images offer more options for editing than JPEG formats – RawTherapee brings this potential to Linux.
Just imagine the disappointment: When you get back from vacation and check your snapshots on your PC, you find out that your favorite image is color cast and the darker sections totally lack contrast. If you used the typical JPEG format, even the most capable image manipulation program would offer little help in restoring the shots. RAW format images, on the other hand, contain far more image data, which provides greater opportunity for post-processing (see the box titled "RAW Digital Negatives"). For example, you can correct underexposed images without affecting the quality of the original.
Camera manufacturers such as Canon and Nikon use proprietary RAW formats, and you typically need a commercial Windows program to open them. To avoid the Windows trap, try the freeware program RawTherapee [1] (Figure 1), which is based on DCraw [2]. RawTherapee can open nearly any RAW format, and it has a huge set of manipulation features. The project website [3] compares RawTherapee with other RAW converters. The program is also useful for editing JPEG- or PNG-formatted files.
In this article, I describe the stable version 2.3. A beta version of the 2.4 release is also available for download. Version 2.4 offers comprehensive metadata support (Exif and IPTC), that 2.3 lacks.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.