Darktable, the powerful open-source photography tool, has officially released version 5.2.1, the latest bug-fix update to this popular RAW editing software, addressing 11 specific issues since version 5.2.0.
One of the handy UI tweaks includes better handling of multi-monitor setups. Darktable now smartly resets the window position if it can’t place the app exactly where you last left it. And for those of you working with GPS tracks, the update adds a busy cursor during track preview generation and a convenient progress bar when applying positions to images.
Bug fixes include resolving compilation errors when OpenMP is disabled and ironing out issues with OpenCL in the raster mask module for non-raw images.
Windows users will particularly appreciate the fix for external raster masks that couldn’t handle filenames with Unicode characters. Additionally, older Canon cameras (we’re talking really vintage, 20-year-old models) had trouble with raw files bearing a .tiff extension—this update sets that right again.
There’s also good news for anyone dealing with Paletted TIFF files: previously, color information was getting lost. Now, these files will be correctly handled via the GraphicsMagick/ImageMagick fallback loader.
On the Lua scripting front, darktable bumped up the Lua API version to 9.5 and added the ability to apply sidecar files directly from scripts, making scripting workflows smoother.
Camera support has improved too, adding base support for models like Nikon D200, D5300, Panasonic DC-GH7, Pentax K-r, and Samsung GX-1L. The developers also fine-tuned the white balance presets for cameras such as Fujifilm GFX 100 and Nikon Z50_2, alongside improved noise profiles for Fujifilm GFX100S II, Panasonic DC-S5M2X, and Pentax *ist D.
Lastly, keep in mind, though, some camera support has been temporarily suspended due to a lack of available raw samples—so if you want your camera supported better, the darktable team encourages contributing raw samples.
For more information, see the announcement. The full changelog is here. The app is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Linux users can download and install it as a distro-agnostic AppImage or Flatpak.
