The Darktable team has just rolled out a brand-new bug-fix release, Darktable 5.0.1, bringing a wealth of stability improvements, performance enhancements, and camera support updates to this free and open-source cross-platform photo editing software designed for photographers.
Perhaps the most important detail for existing users is that your current edits will be preserved when transitioning from the 4.8 series to 5.0.1. However, note that the new library and configuration files will not be backward-compatible with Darktable 4.8.
Therefore, creating a backup of your existing configuration before upgrading is strongly advised. This way, you can seamlessly revert to an earlier version if necessary.
For those who prefer building Darktable from the source, the developers emphasize not using the auto-generated tarball provided by GitHub on the release page.
Instead, you should download the official “.tar.xz” archive they offer or, if you’re simply compiling for personal use, consider cloning the source code via Git. This method is both convenient and ensures you have the most up-to-date patches right at your fingertips. Now, back to the novelties.
One specific improvement worth highlighting in this last release is the enhanced performance when discarding history from selected images. Moreover, Darktable 5.0.1 introduces or refines support for several cameras, including:
- Leica SL3-S (DNG)
- Minolta DiMAGE 5
- Panasonic DC-S5D (3:2)
Additionally, noise profiles have been added for the Fujifilm GFX100 II, Fujifilm X-S20, and Fujifilm X100VI, which allows for more precise noise reduction tailored to these camera models.
As a bug-fix-focused release, Darktable 5.0.1 shines when polishing the existing feature set. Notable corrections include:
- Scrolling Behavior: A fix for the collections module that now remembers and returns to the correct scroll position.
- Crash Prevention: Resolved several scenarios that could have previously caused crashes, such as moving shapes in the mask manager, applying styles in the darkroom, or closing the darkroom’s second window on macOS.
- Module Functionality: Improved handling of user presets, corrected listing in the “module” filter, and refined the iop-order preset selection mechanism.
- Better TIFF Handling: Restored the ability to read 2-channel TIFF files and those with more than four channels.
- Miscellaneous Improvements: From properly centering images on the map view to preventing filmstrip jumps, Darktable 5.0.1 introduces numerous small yet welcome changes that make the software more user-friendly.
Furthermore, the Lensfun database is now included directly in the AppImage, saving you extra steps when configuring lenses for distortion correction and other optical enhancements. Meanwhile, JPEG XL files’ newly adopted orientation handling ensures more accurate transformations when Exif data is present or absent.
Though no major Lua features debuted in this release, the API version has been bumped to 9.4.0, ensuring consistency for script developers.
Lastly, on the translation front, Darktable continues to broaden its international reach, with updated translations available in languages ranging from Albanian and Czech to Chinese (Traditional), Swedish, and Ukrainian.
For more information, see the announcement. The app is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Linux users can download and install it as a distro-agnostic AppImage or Flatpak.
