Pixelmator Photo

Discuss Photomator and photo editing.
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2023-01-11 11:52:29

I’m trying to find me a good photo processing app for my iPad Pro, your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated. I’m trying to get away from the subscription model and more of a “old school” buy it once option hence as to why Lightroom is not here. I noticed Darkroom is $74.99 and Pixelmator photo is $54.99 for the “buy it once” option, not exactly sure what I gain for paying more for Darkroom, or saving a few bucks and purchasing Pixelmator. If anyone has had some experience with either of the two I’d love to read about it.
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2023-01-12 16:17:37

The only thing I find that Darkroom has over Pixelmator Photo is masking, and a Mac version of the app. Both features are on the roadmap for Pixelmator Photo (a Mac version has even been previewed by them), but who knows when they'll actually happen. Beyond that, personally I prefer the results I get editing a photo in Pixelmator Photo over Darkroom. Also, I like Pixelmator's UI much more.
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2023-01-12 18:08:22

Yes, I think with all such things, your own personal preference and needs will be a big part of how you make this decision.

I have tried all of the possible options, which like yourself was driven by a desire to get away from the perpetual subscription trap (I was a Lightroom user for quite some time).

Having tries most of them, I find that nothing is a perfect solution for me. I use Apple Photos as my main cataloguing app, with a 2TB iCloud account for storage and syncing (it's difficult to not have some kind of subscription). So I need apps that integrate well with that.

Although both Pixelmator and Darkroom integrate with Photos, and allow direct editing of the images, neither does it in an ideal workflow.

However, I too find Pixelmator is the best of them here. It has a very decent library browser, and opens images and saved edited copies back into the library. It does save huge sidecar files (can be 6-8x the original file size, depending on edits applied) in an external folder though, so storage for these can be an issue.

Darkroom has been a non-starter for me, as it's library browser is awful, and does not display my carefully curated album structure at all.

I also have Raw Power, which also integrates well, much better than anything else, but is a bit too buggy.

If none of that is an issue, or priority, then I'd suggest trialling them, and see what works best for you. At least try making a list of features you require/desire, and see which fits the bill the best.

Cheers.
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2023-01-12 19:21:16

by Andy Hewitt It does save huge sidecar files (can be 6-8x the original file size, depending on edits applied) in an external folder though, so storage for these can be an issue.
This is one of my biggest issues with Pixelmator Photo. The massive sidecars are a huge downside for me to Pixelmator Photo.
by Andy Hewitt I also have Raw Power, which also integrates well, much better than anything else, but is a bit too buggy.
Out of the 3 I'll usually go to Raw Power first. I like the extended raw processing capabilities, plus the developer has added support for raw files that Apple won't (specifically compressed fuji). While I like the results as much as I like from Pixelmator, the UI is not as smooth and agreed, there are some bugs.
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2023-01-14 08:43:17

by Nadeem
This is one of my biggest issues with Pixelmator Photo. The massive sidecars are a huge downside for me to Pixelmator Photo.

Out of the 3 I'll usually go to Raw Power first. I like the extended raw processing capabilities, plus the developer has added support for raw files that Apple won't (specifically compressed fuji). While I like the results as much as I like from Pixelmator, the UI is not as smooth and agreed, there are some bugs.
Fortunately all my Raws seem to work well in my apps now, I have a bunch over the years from old Olympus E-series, Fuji, Panasonic, and now Nikon. The Fuji ones were tricky for quite some time, and even converting to DNG didn't help initially. But more recently, although the 'RAF' files themselves are still not supported (not even in Raw Power), the converted DNGs are now editing much better, and need no additional software.

Of all the add-on app for the iPad, Pixelmator Photo is my most used. After a lot of testing, and re-editing, over the years, I've come to the conclusion that Photos itself does all I need for most of my images (it's just a hobby here, and I don't sell anything, they're just for my own enjoyment, and sharing with family). However, I find Pixelmator is the best around for editing things like old scanned negatives/photos, where some cleaning up is required. The repair tool is excellent and quick, and the editing tools are great for old faded and scratched photos.

I use the non-destructive options when carrying out the editing, but then I delete the sidecar files after I've finished. The edited JPEG full-res Preview copy remains in Photos (correctly linked with the original in the Photos library). To be fair, if I was to go back and redo any of them, I'd probably hit the reset button and start again anyway.

I wouldn't want to use this method on my entire library though, and lose non-destructive editing on everything. It's a shame about the sidecar file sizes, or the fact that they can only be stored on the iPad, or in iCloud, it's such a limitation. Perhaps if you could attach an external drive (USB stick even) just for the sidecar files? It's certainly easy enough on an iPad Pro with the USB-C port.

I would use Raw Power for that, but the bugs I'm experiencing are too severe to make it viable.