Free and easy photo editing application for RAW images

RawTherapee

RawTherapee

  -  42.87 MB  -  Open Source
  • Latest Version

    RawTherapee 5.12 LATEST

  • Review by

    Sophia Jones

  • Operating System

    Windows Vista64 / Windows 7 64 / Windows 8 64 / Windows 10 64

  • User Rating

    Click to vote
  • Author / Product

    Gabor Horvath / External Link

  • Filename

    RawTherapee_5.12_win64_release.exe

  • MD5 Checksum

    7564d4e56e4af0f52299f684834da551

RawTherapee is a powerful and open-source raw image processing software for PC designed for photographers and digital image enthusiasts.

It offers a wide range of tools and features to help you develop your raw photos into stunning, high-quality images.

RawTherapee is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a broad user base
.

Main Features

Non-destructive Editing: It works on the principle of non-destructive editing, meaning your original raw files remain untouched while you make adjustments.

Advanced Color Correction: The software offers advanced color correction tools, including support for ICC color profiles, white balance adjustments, and precise color management.

High-Quality Demosaicing: It uses advanced algorithms for demosaicing, resulting in sharp and detailed images.

Noise Reduction: It provides powerful noise reduction tools to enhance image quality, especially in low-light conditions.

Lens Correction: It includes lens correction profiles to remove distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration.

Exposure Control: You have control over exposure, contrast, brightness, and tonality through various adjustment sliders.

Batch Processing: Automate your workflow by processing multiple images at once, saving you valuable time.

Customizable Interface: The interface is highly customizable, allowing you to arrange and access tools according to your preferences.

Support for Various File Formats: It supports a wide range of raw image file formats, including popular ones like CR2, NEF, and DNG.

Presets: It comes with a selection of built-in presets to quickly apply different styles and looks to your images.

User Interface

It has a clean and functional user interface. The layout is customizable, allowing you to arrange panels, tabs, and tools according to your workflow.

While it may not have the flashy aesthetics of some commercial alternatives, it excels in functionality and usability. The interface is well-organized, making it easy for both beginners and experienced users to navigate and access the extensive toolset.

Installation and Setup

Installing the app is straightforward on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems. You can download the installer from the official website or FileHorse and follow the on-screen instructions.

The software is regularly updated, ensuring you have access to the latest features and improvements.

How to Use

Import Images: Start by importing your raw images into RawTherapee's file browser.

Adjust Settings: Use the various adjustment tools and sliders to enhance your photos. You can adjust exposure, white balance, sharpness, and more.

Apply Presets: Experiment with built-in presets or create your own to achieve specific looks.

Export Images: Once you're satisfied with your edits, export the images in your preferred format and quality settings.

FAQ

Is RawTherapee FREE to use?
Yes, RawTherapee is open-source software and is available for FREE.

What file formats does RawTherapee support?
It supports a wide range of raw image file formats, including CR2, NEF, DNG, and more.

Can I use RawTherapee for basic photo editing, or is it only for raw images?
You can use the software for basic photo editing tasks, even if your images are not in raw format.

Is there a user community or forum for RawTherapee support?
Yes, it has an active user community and an official forum where you can seek help and share your work.

Does RawTherapee have batch processing capabilities?
Yes, it supports batch processing, allowing you to apply edits to multiple images simultaneously.

Alternatives

Luminar Neo: A user-friendly, AI-powered photo editing tool that offers both basic and advanced features.

Adobe Lightroom: A commercial option with a user-friendly interface and strong integration with Adobe's ecosystem. It's well-suited for photographers who use Adobe's other software.

Darktable: Another open-source alternative that focuses on non-destructive editing and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Capture One: A professional-grade raw processing software with a reputation for exceptional color grading and tethered shooting capabilities.

Pricing

The software is FREE and open-source software, making it an excellent choice for budget-conscious photographers and hobbyists who want access to powerful image processing tools without any cost.

System Requirements
  • Windows 11, 10, 8 or 7
  • 2GB RAM (4GB or more recommended)
  • Dual-core processor (Quad-core recommended)
  • 5GB of free hard drive space
PROS
  • Powerful raw image processing capabilities
  • Extensive adjustment tools and features
  • Non-destructive editing
  • Customizable interface
  • Free and open-source
CONS
  • Steeper learning curve for beginners
  • Not as polished as some commercial alternatives
Conclusion

RawTherapee is a formidable contender in the world of raw image processing software. Its extensive set of features, non-destructive editing approach, and open-source nature make it an attractive choice for photographers looking to take control of their image editing process.

While it may have a learning curve for beginners, the results you can achieve with the program are well worth the investment of time and effort. Whether you're a professional photographer or an enthusiast, RawTherapee is a powerful tool that deserves a place in your post-processing workflow. Give it a try and unlock the potential of your raw photos today.

Also Available: Download RawTherapee for Mac


Why is this app published on FileHorse? (More info)
  • RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshots

    The images below have been resized. Click on them to view the screenshots in full size.

    RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshot 1
  • RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshot 2
  • RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshot 3
  • RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshot 4
  • RawTherapee 5.12 Screenshot 5

What's new in this version:

New Features:
- The Raw Black Points has a new option called Dehaze. It sets the black points to the minimum values in the image, which often has the effect of reducing haze.
- Distortion Correction gained a de-fish feature that converts fisheye images into normal (rectilinear) images. It works best with the equidistant fisheye projection. The new Scale adjuster in Lens / Geometry allows manual scaling of the transformed image for when Auto-fill yields unsatisfactory results.
- All images in a Canon RAW burst mode file are accessible. Previously, only the first 6 images were accessible.
- A new tool called Gamut Compression applies the ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) Reference Gamut Compression operator to improve the look of highly-saturated colors and bring colors within a selectable gamut before applying other color-related tools offered by RawTherapee.
- The Resize tool gained a framing feature that adds a decorative solid color border around the image before it is saved. Various sizing options allow great flexibility in adjusting the border thickness and image dimensions. To reflect the tool’s capabilities, it has been renamed to Resize & Framing.
- Demosaiced floating-point DNGs are now supported
- The Abstract Profile tool has a new Contrast Enhancement feature that offers a simple way to add local contrast. It can be used to restore contrast lost due to the application of the abstract profile.
- The Color appearance tool in Selective Editing gained several Tone Mapping Operators (formerly Highlight Attenuation & Levels) enhancements in Source Data Adjustments. The RGB channel Slope tone mapper (formerly Levels) has new options. There is a new Sigmoid based tone mapper.
- More Sony lenses are recognized, improving the data displayed in the quick info overlay and enabling automatic profiled lens correction
- The Shadows/Highlights & Tone Equalizer tool in Selective Editing gained the Generalized Hyperbolic Stretch (GHS) global tone mapper. To reflect the tool’s new tone mapper, it has been renamed to Shadows/Highlights, Equalizer & GHS.

Added or improved support for cameras, raw formats and color profiles (not an exhaustive list because unconfirmed support is excluded):
- Canon EOS R8 (DCP, black level in electronic shutter mode)
- Fujifilm X-E4 (raw crop in electronic shutter mode)
- Sony ILCE-7CR (pixel shift)
- Sony ILCE-7M3 (black level)
- Sony ILME-FX3 (black level when not using LibRaw)

LibRaw
- LibRaw is a software component used to read raw files. RawTherapee had always used a different raw file reader: an enhanced version of dcraw. dcraw has not been updated in almost 7 years, making it a burden on RawTherapee developers to support new cameras. Starting in 5.11, RawTherapee can use LibRaw to read raw files. If LibRaw determines it cannot read a raw file, RawTherapee will fall back to the enhanced dcraw. Official packages distributed by the RawTherapee team contain an enhanced LibRaw. Unofficial packages distributed by 3rd parties may decide to use a different version of LibRaw, which may not support as many cameras.
- Switching to LibRaw is a significant change. Although LibRaw originated from dcraw and the RawTherapee team made an effort to ensure the smoothest transition, there may be some raw files that LibRaw cannot handle as adequately as the enhanced dcraw. If you encounter this scenario, please submit a bug report as described below in Reporting Bugs. LibRaw can be disabled in the preferences. Keep in mind the enhanced dcraw cannot read certain raw images that LibRaw can. LibRaw will become mandatory in a future version of RawTherapee, so don’t keep those bugs to yourself!

Installation Instructions
- Find the installation instructions for your operating system below

If RawTherapee 5.12 is not yet available in your package manager, you can use the AppImage:
- Download it.
- Make it executable: chmod u+x RawTherapee_5.12_release.AppImage
- Run it: ./RawTherapee_5.12_release.AppImage

Windows:
- Just open the zip file and run the executable installer