Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools

[MacRumors]

Photo editing app Darkroom today announced the launch of new highlight and shadow recovery tools, which are available as an expansion of the existing recovery sliders.

Darkroom says that the Exposure, Whites, Highlights, Shadows, and Blacks sliders have been rebuilt from the ground up in a major technical investment that allows users to access edits that were previously out of reach.

A luminance curve adjusts the dark and bright areas of the image, while a histogram-equalization algorithm enhances clarity in the midtones to avoid a flat look. A frequency-domain algorithm detects busy areas in the image and enhances contrast, and all of the new algorithms are spatially aware to allow for tweaks to each part of an image.

The highlight and shadow recovery tools are available for all image types, but Darkroom says they work particularly well for RAW photos as there is more detail to recover.

With the launch of the new tools, Darkroom is discontinuing the Photos Editing Extension that allowed the Apple Photos app to be used to make Darkroom edits. The feature is being discontinued because of memory constraints and resolution limitations.

Darkroom is free to download, but premium Darkroom+ features are available for $5 per month or $30 per year. Darkroom can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools

 

[Ryan H]

Always scepticle of these before/after, does RAW really capture enough to bring back all the colour and contrast?

 

[GtrDude]

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.

 

[xxr]

Darkroom more or less as good as iOS Lightroom at this point. The only thing I would wish someone would bring to a mobile editing app is full editing within masking. As of now, only Capture One for desktop has this

 

[darkroomapp]

Always scepticle of these before/after, does RAW really capture enough to bring back all the colour and contrast?

Hi Ryan, these images are exports from Darkroom, both of them. If you look at our launch video, you can see usdemonstrating it live:

 

[xxr]

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.

You can pay to "Unlock Everything Forever"

 

[darkroomapp]

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.

Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.

 

[getmac]

Does the Darkroom App have a built in camera function with "pro" features to adjust shutter, exposure, etc. and take RAW photos like the LightRoom App?

 

[myphotoyear]

Big fan of the Darkroom app, as a premium photo editor (plus video editing, though I have never used it for that) it’s one of the best on the platform. If photography is your hobby or you are an enthusiast, it’s well worth considering. Probably not the most exciting sounding new feature but one that should take it to the next level by the looks of it, for bringing out more details in photos. I bought the app (one-time purchase) when the masking feature was released earlier in the year and I have used the app almost daily since.

 

[DaveTheRave]

Hi, when we switched to subscriptions, we did not remove access to any features you paid for, rather added Flag & Reject and Video editing as add-ons to your purchase for free.

Since the release of Masks, we no longer include new premium features in your "Legacy" purchase, but you continue to have access to what you purchased for free.

I think this is fair to both the user who made a purchase and the developer who needs to make a living.

 

[myphotoyear]

Does the Darkroom App have a built in camera function with "pro" features to adjust shutter, exposure, etc. and take RAW photos like the LightRoom App?

No it’s purely a photo and video editor. Reeflex Pro Camera is great companion app, it’s reasonably priced and has those type of features.

 

[Mr. Dee]

If someone told me 10 years ago I would be able to do desktop level photo editing on a phone; I would have laughed them out of the room. These are the things that amaze time and again. The miniaturization of technology is just mind boggling. There is just no limits anymore.

We just need flying cars at this point.

 

[GtrDude]

You can pay to "Unlock Everything Forever"

Yes, I can do that and I was promised that very thing when I first "bought" it at 9 dollars.
Now I can do it again for 75 bucks!!!
Yes, I can still access the app and go in there but as of about two years ago I have not gotten any updates whatsoever.
So it's just a matter of time when the app becomes incompatible with the new iOs's.
But yes, I can indeed buy it again for another lifetime license...

 

[myphotoyear]

Yes, I can do that and I was promised that very thing when I first "bought" it at 9 dollars.
Now I can do it again for 75 bucks!!!
Yes, I can still access the app and go in there but as of about two years ago I have not gotten any updates whatsoever.
So it's just a matter of time when the app becomes incompatible with the new iOs's.
But yes, I can indeed buy it again for another lifetime license...

I did the same, purchasing “Darkroom – Photo Editor, Pro Tools & Premium Filters” for a tenner back in 2018 which unlocked all those features at the time but things move on. Darkroom did about as much as they could to explain why they changed pricing and only with masking in April did they start to paywall new premium features as part of Darkroom+ subscriptions, that had been introduced two years prior, with the commitment:

“All the features you as a legacy customer have access to today will continue to be available to you”.

 

[Morgenland]

Hi Ryan, these images are exports from Darkroom, both of them. If you look at our launch video, you can see usdemonstrating it live:

nope, recognizable by the pixelation and the shot gradient areas. is just accurate advertising.

Nevertheless their promo clip is actually way more believable than this one:

 

[darkroomapp]

Does the Darkroom App have a built in camera function with "pro" features to adjust shutter, exposure, etc. and take RAW photos like the LightRoom App?

We do not

View attachment 2107431
nope, recognizable by the pixelation and the shot gradient areas. is just accurate advertising.View attachment 2107433

The app is free to try yourself...

 

[PeteBurgh]

Darkroom is a terrific app, and very good value. I look forward to trying these new features.

Yes, I can do that and I was promised that very thing when I first "bought" it at 9 dollars.
Now I can do it again for 75 bucks!!!
Yes, I can still access the app and go in there but as of about two years ago I have not gotten any updates whatsoever.
So it's just a matter of time when the app becomes incompatible with the new iOs's.
But yes, I can indeed buy it again for another lifetime license...

I think this message perfectly (though perhaps inadvertently) makes the case for the subscription model.

Charging $9 for an app to be maintained in perpetuity simply isn't sustainable, and never was.

Significant one-off purchases prices in the $30-100 range would be more realistic in terms of the overall cost (prices long since the norm in the desktop world). But customers are understandably reluctant to commit not knowing how long an app will be supported for (less of concern in desktop computing when slow moving OSs tend not to break things as often). So subscriptions it is.

Personally, I think of all my software - even 'permanent' licenses - as temporary. I have a permanent license (and the CD-ROM!) to run Office 98 somewhere in the attic, but I don't have a Macintosh running OS9 anymore - so not much use. Everything has an expiry data - subscriptions give the customer certainty about when.

If sure some people think this is crazy talk, and that it's all price gouging. I would say, if you think that it's possible to profitably build, update and maintain a complex app for $5-10 for a permanent licence (or a tiny monthly subscription) - go for it! Start you company, and undercut those charging subscriptions. I suspect it's easier said than done.

 

[Mousse]

Always scepticle of these before/after, does RAW really capture enough to bring back all the colour and contrast?

RAW has more data than the final processed image. Color and contrast are easy to adjust if there is enough data to differentiate the pixels.

In trickly lighting, I alway under expose since it's easier to pull details out of the shadows than fix blown highlights. The odds of the dark area being completely black (000, RGB) is practically zero, whereas bright areas being completely white (255,255,255 RGB) happens way too often.

 

[Morgenland]

We do not

The app is free to try yourself...

I'll wait until normal app users present their pictures here, then maybe I'll believe miracles. If they actually exist.

But I've been in the business a long time, and the promotional example shown really seems a bit over the top.
But OK, somehow you try to get money.
And certainly the App might not be the worst.

 

[Morgenland]

RAW has more data than the final processed image. Color and contrast are easy to adjust if there is enough data to differentiate the pixels.

In trickly lighting, I alway under expose since it's easier to pull details out of the shadows than fix blown highlights. The odds of the dark area being completely black (000, RGB) is practically zero, whereas bright areas being completely white (255,255,255 RGB) happens way too often.

You are right, of course. But can you post us your own photo improved with Darkroom?
The promotional image seems to me to promise somewhat surprising results.

 

[Rocko99991]

I used to like this app and used it a lot. Bought it a while back for 9 dollars.
Then they went to monthly ($5) and annual ($30 bucks!!) subscription services, that's when I found another app.

What app do you use now?

 

[Mousse]

You are right, of course. But can you post us your own photo improved with Darkroom?

I don't use Darkroom, so I can't. I used to use PhaseOne, but now I'm using/learning RawTherapee.

The promotional image seems to me to promise somewhat surprising results.

Those results are beyond my skill level. Someone with top tier post processing skills could pull it off.

I think the original capture wasn't as bad as the Before. 🤔I think, they compressed the mid to dark area to make everything look nearly black before starting their magic.🤔 I want to see the process from opening the RAW to be sure there's no funny business going on. I do believe their claim, althought I think the demo is a bit misleading.

I have managed to salvage numerous photos thanks to these RAW converter apps allowing me to pull details out of the shadows.

 

[darkroomapp]

I'll wait until normal app users present their pictures here, then maybe I'll believe miracles. If they actually exist.

But I've been in the business a long time, and the promotional example shown really seems a bit over the top.
But OK, somehow you try to get money.
And certainly the App might not be the worst.

How about this

https://twitter.com/x/status/1588223694572343296

 

[darkroomapp]

Darkroom is a terrific app, and very good value. I look forward to trying these new features.


I think this message perfectly (though perhaps inadvertently) makes the case for the subscription model.

Charging $9 for an app to be maintained in perpetuity simply isn't sustainable, and never was.

Significant one-off purchases prices in the $30-100 range would be more realistic in terms of the overall cost (prices long since the norm in the desktop world). But customers are understandably reluctant to commit not knowing how long an app will be supported for (less of concern in desktop computing when slow moving OSs tend not to break things as often). So subscriptions it is.

Personally, I think of all my software - even 'permanent' licenses - as temporary. I have a permanent license (and the CD-ROM!) to run Office 98 somewhere in the attic, but I don't have a Macintosh running OS9 anymore - so not much use. Everything has an expiry data - subscriptions give the customer certainty about when.

If sure some people think this is crazy talk, and that it's all price gouging. I would say, if you think that it's possible to profitably build, update and maintain a complex app for $5-10 for a permanent licence (or a tiny monthly subscription) - go for it! Start you company, and undercut those charging subscriptions. I suspect it's easier said than done.

To provide some concrete examples: This update alone cost us almost $250,000 to develop, considering the time and the salaries of the folks involved in putting together this update.

If you want novelty apps that come and go as fashion-statements (i.e. Here's an app to make your video look like VHS), then that's a hit-based economy, and small-dollar prices work.

If you want apps like Darkroom, which are independently owned and bootstrapped and have been around for 7 years, making these big investments, you need to align our incentives with yours. In other words, we need the financial support of our customers. Apps like ours don't have the audience of a social network to make advertising work.

 

[PeteBurgh]

To provide some concrete examples: This update alone cost us almost $250,000 to develop, considering the time and the salaries of the folks involved in putting together this update.

If you want novelty apps that come and go as fashion-statements (i.e. Here's an app to make your video look like VHS), then that's a hit-based economy, and small-dollar prices work.

If you want apps like Darkroom, which are independently owned and bootstrapped and have been around for 7 years, making these big investments, you need to align our incentives with yours. In other words, we need the financial support of our customers. Apps like ours don't have the audience of a social network to make advertising work.

Thank you for sharing. I couldn’t agree more.

I am not a developer, but quite a few of my immediate colleagues are. What always strikes me about their work is how much time and effort is needed to simply stand still. It’s amazing how often a new software release - even a .x update - breaks something. Even in an area where there have been no user-visible changes. Days spent tracking down bugs/undocumented behaviours before work on new features can begin.