cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34104202
Guys, I just learned about this new FOSS editor called “RapidRAW” on GitHub, and this might well be the Lightroom (non-Classic) killer as Darktable is to Lightroom Classic. See, as much as I love Darktable for its power and feature set, most of my non-tech photographer friends have mentioned how its power comes at the cost of complexity even beyond LrC. Yes, I love DT, but I do have to agree – It can be overwhelming to a newer user not as familiar with LrC or wanting to learn a whole new program just for quick edits.
…and then I found RapidRAW! This looks like it could be it: A sleek, lightweight, elegant, comprehensive (enough) editor that seems to finally strike the balance between power and beginner-friendliness! Even better, like Darktable, it too appears to be FOSS, breaking away from the money-hungry Adobe corporate software! Now, I’ve only just started looking into it, but what do you think? Could this be the next piece in the essential toolkit for Ex-dobe users switching from Lightroom but not quite wanting a full LrC replacement? Check it out!
It was vibe coded in two weeks. It doesn’t have color managed. Its missing a lot of things.
Most WIP projects are missing things that might prevent some people from making the full switch just yet. That’s why they’re works-in-progress. Catch bugs, implement placeholders, flesh things out, and improve the product (and your knowledge along with it).
Again, something being vibe coded doesn’t have to mean a bad thing – no one else built it, so they did. You’re 100% allowed to question their means of getting there, and you don’t have to use it in the end, but the fact of the matter is… some things DO work and the basis has been laid out, it’s FOSS so anyone can take a look at things themselves, and the program exists when it did not before.
Its going to be rough getting the things that are fairly necessary for a photo editor: color management, calibraiton, etc etc. God speed to the dev, but I’m not sure I see this getting to the point of replacing darktable for me.
Understandable – and that’s not what this is trying to be. Just as Lightroom ≠ Lightroom Classic, RapidRAW ≠ Darktable. Dt is much more suited to be a LrC competitor, and RR is much more of a Lr competitor in terms of features and usability.
darktable should not be an LR anything. ;)
Oh yeah, I literally just mean in terms of power and use case. I’m 100% for Darktable and have been loving it since version 3.0. I recognize Lightroom and LrC’s purposes though, and (at least for the tech support and recommendations I do for others) believe it important to keep these things in mind for anyone else looking to switch.