RawTherapee is a Windows/Linux free opensource Raw image converter. RawTherapee features non-destructive editing with all the internal processing done in 16 bits/channel. Besides numerous RAW files from digital camers, RawTherapee also opens and outputs JPEG, (8 and 16bit) TIFF and PNG images. The main questions for RawTherapee: the quality of Raw conversion and how it compares with other Raw tools?

Surprisingly this free Raw converter can easily outperform such heavy commercial players as Adobe Camera Raw, Capture One and Bibble. RawTherapee features three different high performance demosaicing algorithms (EAHD and HPHD and VNG-4) as well as advanced highlight recovery algorithms which are crucial in converting Raw images. Raw Therapee really shines at extracting fine detail and highlights recovery.

RawTherapee user friendly UI has a file browser with image thumbnails accompanied by the brief shooting info. The browser includes 5-star rating, flagging, and EXIF-based filter. While the image is opened for editing, the user is provided with a preview window with pan and zoom capabilities and a color histogram. History list as well as option to make multiple snapshots allows you to revert any of the changes. RawTherapee has also Crop, Rotation and Spot white-balance tools.

RawTherappe lets you create profiles as well as load, save and copy profiles between images. It contains a number of tools for feature rich Raw conversion including Exposure control, Shadow/Highlight, Curves, Sharpening, Separate luminance/color noise reduction, Separate luminance/color noise reduction, Distortion, Chromatic Aberration and Vignetting correction.

It’s very easy to start with RawTherapee. The recommended workflow: White Balance, Transform operations (Resize, Rotate, Distortion), Exposure correction, Color, Shadows/Highlights, Noise reduction and Sharpening. The author page contains extensive FAQ as well as PDF manual which describes in details every feature and is highly recommended for reading if you’d like to get the most out of Raw Therapee.