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I am looking for lightweight Lightroom alternatives that have the following features. It's fine (even preferable) if this set of features is satisfied by multiple programs working together rather than a single monolithic program.

  1. No catalog! This is my most important criteria. I want this software to work on network-mounted plain directories containing images (jpeg or raw), with no catalog or extra import steps.

  2. RAW support. I need support for Fuji X-T10 and Fuji X-E2 RAF files, but obviously the more supported formats the better.

  3. A fast way of culling files.

  4. Basic batch darkroom-style adjustements. I only do very basic image manipulation, mostly the same things I'd do in a traditional darkroom:

    • cropping
    • color balance
    • curves adjustement
    • dodge and burn

    I'd also like support for:

    • noise reduction
    • lens correction

    I'd like to be able to do these opearations in batch over a set of files.

  5. Native macOS look and feel. For example rawTherapee doesn't feel like a native macOS program. I'm okay with command-line programs where it makes sense.

I don't need this, but XMP support (in sidecar files) would be great.

I'm open to any kind of program, commercial or open source, as long as it has the features I want, and as long as it's not subscription-based.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Have you looked at Fuji's Raw File Converter? It doesn't exactly have a sexy name, but it is designed by Fuji to convert raw files from their cameras. \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 19:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ I tried it and found it awful, it's a PITA to use and it doesn't have HiDPI support. In my opinion dcraw is a far better option if all you want is pure raw conversion. Raw conversion is the easy part though, it's the image editing part which is difficult. I've been told that Capture One has a session-based workflow instead of a catalog-based workflow, so maybe I should try that. \$\endgroup\$
    – Aram Hăvărneanu
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 20:16
  • \$\begingroup\$ For a Fuji-specific dcraw frontend, I have found Iridient X-Transformer to be excellent. There's also the generic Iridient Developer. These are all great tools, but they don't do #3 and #4 from my list. \$\endgroup\$
    – Aram Hăvărneanu
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 20:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ I passed over Lightroom for a similar catalog reason. Too much unwanted stuff between me and my images. I just use Photoshop, it is the same ACR module that is in Lightroom, editing works the same. Use its Bridge to open by pointing it to any folder your PC can see. It does then build sort of a minimal catalog, which you can completely ignore It is not a factor, just open any disk folder with images. \$\endgroup\$
    – WayneF
    Commented Nov 10, 2017 at 21:57
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    \$\begingroup\$ Probably best suited for softwarerecs.stackexchange.com \$\endgroup\$
    – Olivier
    Commented Nov 11, 2017 at 12:38

5 Answers 5

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OK, will post as answer, thanks. Works perfectly for me too.

I passed over Lightroom for a similar catalog reason. Too much unwanted stuff between me and my images. I just use Photoshop, it is the same ACR module that is in Lightroom, editing works the same. Use its Bridge to open by pointing it to any folder your PC can see. Select one or many or all images there, then Right click to Open them in ACR. It does then build sort of a minimal catalog, which you can completely ignore. It is not a factor, just open any disk folder with images.

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Rawtherapee

It doesn't require importing photos, and works right off of you file system. When you edit a photo it creates a file along side that photo that can contains the edit info, and leaves the photo untouched.

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Aftershot Pro is worth considering. It uses an optional catalog, so if you know where your files are, you do not need to use it. If we want powerful search, then you can opt in.

It supports RAW. It is quite fast too and has basic controls for photo editing as you ask. I am not a Mac user, so I have no idea what it looks like on a Mac nor if it matches whatever else is there.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ +1 for Aftershot Pro. It's not subscription based, saves XMP data in sidecar files per default and llok native on Mac (based on video tutorials on youtube). (i'm not affiliated with Aftershot Pro and Corel in any way and used Aftershot several years on Linux). \$\endgroup\$
    – Zenit
    Commented Nov 14, 2017 at 12:56
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I thought of Darktable, too. But it requires importing photos and its UI is far from being designed for photographers like LR and no native OS X/macOS one.

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Have you considered looking at ON1 Photo Raw 2018 www.on1.com ? It seems to be getting a good number of positive reviews and is available as a 30 day trial - so not much to lose

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