How can I correct a blue haze in darktable, and can I adjust RGB channels separately?
Asked 1/19/2015
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I sometimes fix a blue haze in photos by adjusting levels per channel in GIMP/Photoshop. In darktable, the Levels module doesn’t appear to offer separate RGB channel controls, and Tone works in LAB. Is there a way in darktable to adjust channels independently, or another good method for reducing blue haze?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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The Color Balance module lets you adjust each of the RGB channels independently, though not with the same interface as Levels.
You can also target any of the modules towards parts of your image by setting the Blend to Parametric Mask. For example, you can apply Levels with the Parametric blending mode to areas that have a certain amount of blue in them, or that fall into a certain brightness range.
Depending on how strong the haze is -- and whether you actually want to remove the color or you want more sharpness -- Local Contrast or the Equalizer can be useful.
Originally by user26476. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user26476
11y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Darktable’s Levels tool doesn’t work like per-channel RGB Levels in GIMP/Photoshop, but you can still correct this in a few ways.
The main option is the Color Balance module, which lets you adjust the RGB channels independently, even though the interface is different from a traditional Levels tool.
You can also target corrections more precisely using a Parametric Mask in the module’s Blend settings. For example, you could apply an adjustment only to areas with strong blue content or to a particular brightness range.
If the “blue haze” is also reducing clarity or contrast, not just shifting color, Local Contrast or the Equalizer can help improve the image. Those tools are useful when haze affects perceived sharpness as well as color.
So: no direct per-channel Levels in the same sense, but yes—darktable can correct it using Color Balance, optionally combined with parametric masking, and haze-related contrast tools when needed.
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