FOSS Photography

Any one moved from Windows, MacOS, or other commercial ecosystem to a free and open source software (FOSS) environment based on Linux?

You might find a better response if you ask this question on the Computers sub-forum

I have not, but I ran Linux on my Mac for a while to run some photo/image processing applications. It was pretty easy to do, so if your current platform enables virtualization, maybe you can give it a try if you are weighing the options of committing to a Linux environment.

Kirk

Thanks,

Actually I got to this point because of limited Mac HW choices. So I planned to build a Hackentosh. One choice for how to do that is to run MacOS on type 1 or 2 hypervisor. I thought type 1 bare metal would be better. But the more I investigated, the more I like the idea of just running Linux native mode with FOSS apps. So I will likely start the Linux Mint installation tomorrow and install Raw Therapee, darktable, Gimp, Digikam, and Rapid Photo Downloader as a start. I will keep the iMac for a while so I can transition everything over to the FOSS world. Looks like both Raw Therapee and darktable are excellent apps.

Raw Therapee, for the uninitiated, can be dizzying in the amount of controls accessible to the user. That said, if you are into raw conversion, you will likely be familiar with many, if not all, of the controls. The application also provides the user several different ways to do the same thing (color models, tone mapping, sharpening and noise reduction, local contrast), which can give one flexibility but can also lead to a trip down a rabbit hole. The application also has a built-in film simulation panel, which permits the user to download and use LUTs stored as HALD images. If yo do a Google search for "HALD film simulations" you will basically find most of VSCO and DxO film sims made into HALD images. You can also create your own HALD LUTs by color grading and then applying that grade to a Neutral HALD image and loading it into the folder where Raw Therapee looks for the HALD LUTs. Lots to explore and always being developed.

Darktable is an interesting take on raw conversion. I have only used it a few times, but I like the workflow model, essentially stacking nodes of raw conversion steps into a workflow. I have not used it recently, but I think it, too, is being constantly refined and developed.

Good luck! I do not know how refined the Linux OS is with respect to supporting raw files, or how quickly new support is released for new cameras, but it sounds like you will use utilities that do not rely on the OS to construct your workflow, so that will probably solve any issues with slow OS updates related to camera compatibility.

Have fun! I think the downside (feature!) is probably lack of third-party plug-ins and commercial app support.

Kirk

Today I completed my initial build, loaded all the apps, setup firewall, got Firefox and Thunderbird up and running.....and got Timeshift to backup the entire FS. Also twicked the wallpaper, icon colors and similar items to get me up and running.

Probably the biggest difference is running a 32" Dell P3216Q @4K compared to 27" iMac at near 4K. It is so good be have multiple windows on plenty of screen space. I can see why Apple went 32" for the Mac Pro ultra expensive monitor.

Now....time to learn so photo apps I have never used before. At least after Adobe, Phase One, and On1 apps.....the learning curve might not be vertical.

Cool. I'm interested to hear how it all turns out!

Kirk

Long time Linux user, but still use Win10 on fast desktop for Adobe based work. Switched an 8 y o i7 8g ram laptop over to Mint 20 LTS. Very nice. GIMP is very close to releasing a milestone 3.0 release. I have used XN View MP on my Linux machines. Explore this app.

Also - see this thread on the Affinity forums about getting Affinity products to run in Linux:

https://forum.affinity​.serif.com …y-on-linux-finally-works/

They are thrashing away to try to get Affinity Photo to work virtually in Linux. Long story short - some people can get it to run, but it crashes when they try to open an image, etc. It is not useable, but maybe someone will figure it out.

Kirk

I moved back to Windows for Adobe at that time basically GIMP and RAW Therapee actually made a book using GIMP but what a pain and that's what i'll leave it at.

You might consider this:
https://itsfoss.com/

Looked at Raw Therapee. Very deep and detailed editing capabilities. I am totally lost as to why they do not offer local adjustments with masking. I would not want to apply all the wavelet capabilities across most images.

The more I use Darktable, the more I like it. The base curve reminds me of C1P giving you the ability to change the ratio of input and output on a curve across the tone range. I understand there will be release in August and a major release in December.