Sparkling gems and new releases from the world of Free and Open Source Software
FOSSPicks
Graham tears himself away from updating Arch Linux to search for the best new free software.
Photo processing
Filmulator
There's never been a better time to be an avid photographer with an interest in Linux and open source. As is often said in these pages, applications like darktable and RawTherapee can compete with some of the best commercial software on any platform, even allowing professional photographers a workflow that takes them directly from raw photography to final output from their Linux desktop. Filmulator is another application that adds to this toolkit, because, despite its alpha status, it's already capable of exceptional results.
Initially, the name Filmulator might imply a processing effect that could make photos look like film, maybe by adding grain, color distortion, and noise, for instance. Instead, it lets you process RAW images as you might film photographs in a developing lab. Its power comes from tone mapping, a subject mentioned two months ago when I looked at Luminance HDR. Tone mapping is commonly used for those high-dynamic-range photos provided by estate agents and the cool kids of Instagram. It remaps the color and intensity of the pixels in both the shadow and highlight regions of a photo to improve the contrast, without affecting the global contrast level, seemingly adding more detail to an image. This is much how our eyes and brain work when perceiving detail and contrast in a dark area that can't otherwise be represented in a static image. Filmulator attempts to add these details by simulating the nonlinear nature of film development, only with a much more restricted set of parameters. But first you need to get the application installed.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, packages will be available for your distribution. If not, you'll need to resort to source code and build it using the Qt Creator project file, rather than through a standard Make system. This is something to consider if you're desperate to try Filmulator for yourself. The only other caveat is that processing is slow and uses plenty of RAM, but that's the nature of RAW processing, especially in the early stages of application development. This will surely improve as the application matures.
It's worth the effort. The workflow is easy to understand, as you import images or folders, view them on a timeline, and select images to process. Processing is greatly aided by several histograms that update before the images do, so you can see how contrast and dynamic range is likely to change before you even see the results. This is also helpful when setting the limits for some of the parameters. Most modules, such as tint, exposure compensation, highlight and shadow brightness, and vibrance perform the same kinds of functions they do in applications like darktable, but with more film-specific modules, too, and everything is tailored to produce film-like output. One of the best modules is Film Area, which lets you change the approximate size of the physical film the photo would have been on and, consequently, reduce the dynamic range of the format. It looks very, very natural, as does the Drama parameter, which acts like an intensity slider for the various film effects.
Project Website
https://github.com/CarVac/filmulator-gui
Audio effects
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.