LinuxPhoto.org
The place for all photography and linux fans
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licence:
commercial (199$)
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dependencies:
not known but propably libc.so.6, libstdc++.so.6, libdl.so.2, libgcc_s.so.1, ld-linux.so.2, libm.so.6, libX11.so.6, uses boundled java
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about:
Lightzone is a unique software that makes photo editing a true adventure. It is not an image editor that will allow you to do everything you want with the image, it is rather a photographer's tool that does most of the things photographers want to do with their photos and it does it well. It supports natively most RAW files, has 16 bit color space and color management (monitor proofing, exporting using color profiles, soft proofing), batch processing and many more.
Lightzone is a java based program that uses DCRaw for decoding RAW files (but it uses it's own demosaicing algorithm), and little color management system (lcms) for color management. The rest is created by Lightcrafts. Installation is very easy. Just download it, unpack to a folder you wish to keep it, and run. During first startup it unpacks its java libraries and voila! No need for external java environment (actually it is not recommended to use other than boundled java), no complicated dependencies and configuring.
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linear color space:
Lightzone opens many RAW file formats (check out Lightcrafts home page for more information about that) as well as TIFF and JPEG images, using its own, 16bit linear color space. This mean you can find images in Lightzone to look a bit different than in software that do gamma correction. The main difference is a bit brighter shadow area (and therefore smaller contrast). Image on left shows three versions of a photo. The one on the left was developed in Lightzone, without any (even default) tools applied. It shows the linear color space being less contrasty and brighter in the shadows. The one on the right is a default (gamma corrected with automatic white balance) DCRaw result. The image between those two was developed in lightzone using camera default tools. Notice darker shadows but brighter lights. This shows that it is possible to get very close, or even copy overall contrast and tonality of gamma corrected images (if someone needs that).
I found the default tonality of Lightzone to be perfect for getting the most details from the shadows. It is possible to create beautyfull, HDR like, images with ease.
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true non-destructive editing:
Before I will get to the editing capabilities there is one thing that should be explained right away. Lightzone is TRUELY non-destructive. This mean that it not only do not overwrite RAW files (this is a standard for any photo software excluding Nikon's) but resaving or reediting do not result in quality penalty. Typical software opens RAW file, apply changes and save result to a file. When the new file is opened user starts with file having all changes applied, therefore there are jpeg artifacts, some color posterizations, and there is no way one can undo previously applied tools. This is not true with Lightzone. If you save processed file into lzn-jpg or lzn-tiff created file has path to the original one (usually RAW) and parameters of all applied tools. When you open such a file it reads the original file and apply all tools to it. Thats why opening files is slower in Lightzone, but don't even dare to complain about it. You can undo all previously done operations including cropping, you can also resave into jpeg without loss of quality. This allows user to concentrate on retouching, not dealing with files. The good thing is that other applications can read lzn-jpg and lzn-tiffs as ordinary images, without any problems, and if you don't want to save image in this mode use convert option to save to standard jpeg/tiff files.
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tools, regions, possibilities:
Editing in Lightzone is a real fun. There are only few tools (place for improvement) and most of them are quite generic, but the way they are applied is a true blessing. So called tool stack has all of the applied tools on it. We can change their order, turn on and off every tool or even change its parameters, no matter when they were used. It works like layers but gives you TOTAL control over every one of it. This leaves photoshop-like software far behind. For example black and white conversion is as easy as never before. Use channel mixer (BW tool) and then apply some other tools. Put the tools on the tool stack before channel mixer and play with them watching the black and white resulting all the time. You don't have to guess how it will look in the end, you can visually tune the image. This is a reason why tools in Lightzone are quite basic. One simply does not need sophisticated plugins and complicated tools with hundreds of options to have control over every aspect of photography. Nevertheless I do think that it's high time to improve some of the tools. To be honest the zone mapper is another interface for curves, BW tool is the same as channel mixer (again, with different interface), gaussian blur is very simple, noise reduction works a bit like selective gaussian blur, clone and spot heal is in fact the same tool. This may sound a bit cheap and in fact it is. State-of-the-art relight tool, blend modes and opacity helps a lot but I think that this is the weakest part of the software.
By the way, if you experience problems using relight tool (this is an improved tone mapper introduced in Lightzone 3) you can read my short introduction to it right here.
Please don't be sorry because of what I wrote about tools. It's not hopeless. Every tool can be applied with different blend mode (I personally use soft/hard light a lot) and every tool can be applied to a specific area in a very smart way. So called regions have feathered edge. It is very simple and easy to use but changes the way you do selective editing for good. Forget about boring selecting every edge manually or clicking the image all crazy. In Lightzone you don't need to select everything perfectly, just use the feathering area and be surprised with the results (check out this pdf for more information). Another way of doing that is using a luminosity or color based selections. Just set it using eyedropper or sliders. Simple, effective, powerfull.
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managing photos:
Let's say it straight - Lightzone is a RAW editor, not a DAM application. It's browser allows to rate (via XMP files), sort images and edit IPTC data but that's it. Lightzone Basic got even simplier browser with no batch processing. If you are looking for fast photo manager look for specialized software.
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known problems:
This is a new release and propably many issueas are not well known but remember to put color profiles you need into /usr/share/color/icc or ~/.color/icc before complaining. If you are using window managers that may have some problems with java applications (like new Window Maker) you may find that mouse is not working properly. Just move your window a bit and the problem is solved. The program also runs out of memory fast, so if you have 2Gb of ram you are a happy person.
There are some problems with highlights on Konica Minolta Dynax 7D, and with green stripe on border of the image on Olympus cameras. Those are true for all Lightzone versiona (including Windows and Mac).
Other known bugs are: error that occurs during program startup if it was closed not using the menu item (annoying but harmless), not working noise reduction and reduction of resolution when using crop tool.
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conclusions:
Lightzone is not a replacement for Photoshop and is not developed for those who spend hours retouching their images. It is something more, a perfect solution for photographers who DO photography, not computer graphics. If you love artistic shots and know all wet darkroom tricks - you will be delighted with Lightzone. To get the best results try to experiment with tools and blend modes, now you can.