The popular and superb open-source photo editing app darktable has been updated to version 4.6.0, which adds a slew of new capabilities.

In a recent blog post, darktable developer Pascal Obry discusses the changes to darktable 4.6.0, including information about the app’s improved editing history user interface, better color correction capabilities, more advanced control over color and lighting, and overall increased performance.

Obry says of the color tools, “A new processing module for RGB primaries has been added.” This module is useful for both subtle color adjustments and imaginative color grading. It lets you to shift the primary colors red, green, and blue around by utilizing the “hue” and “purity” settings. The fundamental pixel action is identical to channel mixing.”

Obry and his colleagues have also added a new “primaries” component to the existing “simoid” module, allowing photographers to fine-tune the look of photographs recorded in difficult lighting conditions. “Changing these parameters can result in more pleasing sunsets, better skin tones, and so on.” This functionality is only available in sigmoid’s per-channel mode and is partially inspired on ideas from Troy Sobotka’s AgX and associated Blender community work. “The included’smooth’ preset should serve as a good starting point for further corrections using this feature,” Obry explains.

These updates make darktable an even more tempting alternative to Adobe Lightroom and other high-priced photo editing software. Raw Photography Tutorials on YouTube has released a new video that details all of the changes in version 4.6. The YouTube channel includes a variety of teaching films to help new users understand the ins and outs of darktable. On the darktable website, the app’s developers also provide a wealth of instructional resources.

New and existing darktable users can also keep up with the software by visiting the Pixls.us community, where Obry is a regular contributor and photographers help one other get the most out of darktable.

Along with new features, updated tools, improved performance, and numerous bug improvements, darktable 4.6.0 introduces camera support for a variety of old and current cameras. Compatibility with the Leica SL2 and SL2-S, Leica M11-P, OM System TG-7, Nikon Zf (14-bit compressed RAW), Pentax K-3 III Monochrome, and Sony’s latest cameras such as the a6700, a7CR, a7C II, and ZV-E1 are among the highlights.

Darktable is available for macOS, Windows, and Linux, and all required downloads may be found on GitHub. The launch of version 4.6 on macOS is fantastic news, as the darktable team requested assistance with macOS development earlier this year, fearing that the macOS version would no longer be supported.