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Darkroom Photo Editing App Gains New Highlight and Shadow Recovery Tools

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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 update highlight shadows
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.

darkroom sliders before and after
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]

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Top Rated Comments

darkroomapp Avatar
darkroomapp
51 months ago

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:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
GtrDude
51 months ago
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.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robfoll Avatar
robfoll
51 months ago
As an ex-app-dev (failed), I can tell you it costs many tens of thousands $$ just to keep up with Apple OS updates, required coding changes, fix bugs and that's all before adding features. As @PeteBurgh says, it costs a fortune just to stand still. I gave up on my app as, despite good reviews, I could not generate enough revenue to cover the costs of regular updates. @darkroomapp is being honest and fair here IMHO. PS just downloaded Darkroom to try.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
DaveTheRave
51 months ago

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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkroomapp Avatar
darkroomapp
51 months ago

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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GtrDude Avatar
GtrDude
51 months ago

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...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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