RAW Therapee Review: Is This Free Editing Tool Any Good?
RAW Therapee is a free to use photo editing software. It is my go-to tool for editing images without paying anything. I have also used some of the paid tools, such as Adobe Lightroom, which most of you must be familiar with. If you are looking for an alternative to paid editing software, you have come to the right place. Here is my RAW Therapee review with everything you need to know about the tool and its features.
Raw Therapee Photo Editing Tools and Features
Let’s cut to the chase and look at the tools and features you can use in Raw Therapee. When it comes to professional-level photo editing, photographers often look at Adobe Lightroom, maybe because it has been there for a long time.
However, I have noticed that in the last few years, many editors have turned to other alternatives to Lightroom, such as Capture One, ON1, etc, for better quality and workflow. Raw Therapee is one of the free alternatives that have enough features to offer.
The best thing about Raw Therapee is its direct file browsing system that does not use any cataloging like Adobe. I prefer straightforward management. For some users, the lack of advanced sorting, such as smart collection, filter by tags, metatags, and ratings, might be a deal breaker. I think beginners might find RT handy with a direct approach without going through importing.
The photo editing abilities of Raw Therapee are nothing cheap. It can really bring out the best in your photos. The raw file processing is where Raw Therapee shines, and it really justifies its name.
You can control how raw files are processed. For free photo editing software, Raw Therapee provides limitless options for raw processing, including customizable noise reduction, support for numerous raw formats, custom profiles for niche cameras, chromatic aberration corrections, etc.
Moreover, you can implement deeper color corrections and use Raw Therapee presets, both customized and shared by other users on sources like GitHub.
Raw Therapee has been actively developed since 2005, and with the latest 5.11 version, you will get plenty of new features. The path template now supports more format specifiers, such as dates and path types.
You can also configure maximum zoom and take advantage of enhanced support for some cameras. Moreover, the white balance tint range has been extended, and you can use additional tone mappers for Cam16.
Raw Therapee Platforms
Raw Therapee is available to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Multiple platform compatibility makes it a more versatile option compared to other photo editing tools. The installation process is also uncomplicated. All you have to do is go to the official website and install a compatible file for your platform. Next, simply follow the prompts to get the software running.
Darktable vs Raw Therapee
Darktable is another open-source photo editing tool popular among photographers. I won’t say it is my go-to software, but I have used it a few times for testing purposes and when Raw Therapee gets too slow, which is the most annoying thing about the tool.
As far as a user interface is concerned, Darktable is not for beginners. If you are used to Lightroom’s sorted approach towards editing and management, you will never get the hang of Darktable at first sight. In comparison, Raw Therapee does not feel that complicated, at least not to me.
For editing, I think both work well, with plenty of options to render quality images and adjust elements, but Raw Therapee has more comprehensive tools for color correction and grading, which even beats Lightroom. Additionally, you get professional-grade LAB corrections and highlight constructions to prevent flat images.
Raw Therapee Reviews
I never compromise on the quality of my photos and can never choose some random free tool for editing. So, when I opted for Raw Therapee, I went through various reviews and testimonials.
Most people seemed perfectly happy with Raw Therapee, but some complained about limited plugins and presets compared to Lightroom and a little learning curve to understand the interface.
Well, I agree because one is a paid household name in the editing software industry while the other is an open-source community-driven platform, so there are some obvious differences. However, I think Raw Therapee works great because you don’t have to pay anything to use advanced editing tools.
Bottom Line
I hope this Raw Therapee review clears up all your doubt this tool. RT is an amazing free photo editing platform with too many features to offer. It has become more versatile with every release, and I think in a few years, It will be a tough-to-beat tool.
Nonetheless, some people find it difficult to navigate, but you can watch Raw Therapee tutorials to learn everything. Moreover, you can also go through the documentation available on the official website to see how It works.
FAQs
1. What does a RawTherapee do?
Raw Therapee is an open-source tool for processing raw photographs from digital cameras. You can also use it to edit non-raw images, such as JPEG and PNG formats.
2. Is Lightroom better than RawTherapee?
Both Lightroom and Raw Therapee are extensively detailed and high-quality editing platforms. The major difference is Raw Therapee is an open-source free tool, while Lightroom costs money. Moreover, both tools have some strengths and weaknesses.
3. What is the difference between RawTherapee and ART?
ART is another open-source raw processor by the developers of RT. It has almost the same features but is intended for better customization and ease of use. It is basically another Raw Therapee.
4. What is the benefit of RAW photos?
Raw photos have more room for post-processing and contain better details and dynamic range. Simply put, they offer richness, and you end up with more vibrant and balanced images.
5. What is ISO in photography?
ISO represents the amount of light that enters a camera. It is an exposure your image gets from sensitivity to light. Low ISO means your image is less bright and vice versa. However, higher ISO also introduces grain in the image. So, the key is to keep ISO at a range that brightens the image without introducing noise.
6. What is white balance in photography?
White balance is a camera setting that keeps the image color tones natural. White balance helps eliminate the hues of warmer and cooler colors.
