The Linux guide for photographers, 2025

BobKnDP said:

;-);-);-)

I suspect that this was retrieved from a pond.

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WHAT??!! You need liquid cooling to run Linux??!! That's insane!!!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!!!!!!!

I guess all the controversy about Rust in the kernel is warranted.

Thanks for the guide. Lots of good info here.

I would like to add:

1. If you fear the change, consider replacing your Windows workflow with the open source software you would have used in Linux. Libre office, gimp, darktable, etc. It gives you time to learn the software in Windows so the final step to change operating system is less of a culture shock. It can be a bit overwhelming to change it all at once.

2. When you dual boot with linux, consider formatting a data partition as ExFat instead of NTFS so you can access data on that partition regardles if you are running Windows or Linux. Although Linux reads NTFS fine, it is not always so perfect with the writing. Usually, a chkdsk in Windows can restore the issues, but you would not want to take risk with critical data. The same goes for data backups to USB drives: formatting them in exFat will usually be a better call than NTFS.

3. If you have an old laptop lying around unused, it might be a perfect base to reformat it and use it entirely in Linux, mess around and experiment with different Linux distributions and configurations leaving your main Windows machine untouched, till you are more confident in changing over to Linux. There are drawbacks to dual boot, such as that a recent Windows update messed with the boot manager, and you can experience other issues like the Windows clock was in my case adjusted each time I booted in Linux. A google search usually gives means to overcome such hassles, but if you need your Windows to be 100% unaffected while you learn Linux, dual boot might not necessarily be for you.

4. You make backups, hmmm? Changing over to an unfamiliar environment is a perfect opportunity to do something stupid and loose precious data.

I use Garuda linux, an arch based distro. After installing, the setup tool gives a list of software, and you tick off what you want: gimp, libre office, and so on. So a new user needs not even dive into pacman, its package manager. That part is very user friendly. I'm quite happy with it.

BobKnDP said:

;-);-);-)

I suspect that this was retrieved from a pond.

Click to expand...

I've got a machine that I'm debating which distro to put on right now. It's a cheap small tower Dell from around 2012 but I upgraded it with a quad core CPU and a 2nd 4GB stick of RAM.

The RAM was more expensive than the CPU! Total upgrade cost including shipping was 14 bucks.

Diswantsho said:

3. If you have an old laptop lying around unused, it might be a perfect base to reformat it and use it entirely in Linux, mess around and experiment with different Linux distributions and configurations leaving your main Windows machine untouched, till you are more confident in changing over to Linux. There are drawbacks to dual boot, such as that a recent Windows update messed with the boot manager, and you can experience other issues like the Windows clock was in my case adjusted each time I booted in Linux. A google search usually gives means to overcome such hassles, but if you need your Windows to be 100% unaffected while you learn Linux, dual boot might not necessarily be for you.

Click to expand...

+1

I did that with an old laptop that is unacceptable for Win 11.

The laptop runs slower than it did with WIndows 10 or 11 (via Rufus).

It not only runs slower than it did with Windows it runs Linux, so doubly painful to use.

bmoag said:

I did that with an old laptop that is unacceptable for Win 11.

The laptop runs slower than it did with WIndows 10 or 11 (via Rufus).

It not only runs slower than it did with Windows it runs Linux, so doubly painful to use.

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That's not telling us much. There are Linux distributions that are specifically recommended for old laptops. What distribution did you use?

bmoag said:

I did that with an old laptop that is unacceptable for Win 11.

The laptop runs slower than it did with WIndows 10 or 11 (via Rufus).

It not only runs slower than it did with Windows it runs Linux, so doubly painful to use.

Click to expand...

This is surprising. Which distro and desktop?

I like Xfce which is very lightweight and simple but nevertheless very capable. It's the ideal desktop for older hardware.

bmoag said:

I did that with an old laptop that is unacceptable for Win 11.

The laptop runs slower than it did with WIndows 10 or 11 (via Rufus).

It not only runs slower than it did with Windows it runs Linux, so doubly painful to use.

Click to expand...

Heresy!

Robert Zanatta said:

bmoag said:

I did that with an old laptop that is unacceptable for Win 11.

The laptop runs slower than it did with WIndows 10 or 11 (via Rufus).

It not only runs slower than it did with Windows it runs Linux, so doubly painful to use.

Click to expand...

Heresy!

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Doubtful at least, I would say, but let's maybe give them a chance to answer the question that's now been put to them twice over.

--
39 raw converters tested:
https://breakfastographer.wordpress...erters-compared-including-on1-photo-raw-2019/

I hope I've answered your questions in part 2 of the guide.

Breakfastographer said:

I hope I've answered your questions in part 2 of the guide.

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Thank you. I saw it. But I already encountered a bit of problem with Linux. :-(

Ubuntu Studio 24.04.3
-
-Rawtherapee 5.10
-Gimp 2.10
-G'Mic QT
-
Connect Gimp to Rawtherapee in preferences, so that you can open Gimp while processing in Rawtherapee. Connect G'Mic QT to Gimp in preferences so that you can open G'Mic QT from Gimp while processing in Rawtherapee. All three programs work seamlessly together.
-
-Try a few other programs if you need other image manipulation, most are professional level and free, and offer incredibly powerful options to enhance your photographic work.
-
(Blender, Inkscape, Digikam, Krita, ART, Darktable, Neat image, Entangle, Chimpstacker, Hugin, Rapid Photo Downloader, Upscayl, DaVinci Resolve, and OBS Studio.)
-
Open Source and Power ON and CREATE! <3

--
Photography is poetry made visible; it is the art of painting with light!

Asherax said:

Ubuntu Studio 24.04.3
-
-Rawtherapee 5.10
-Gimp 2.10
-G'Mic QT
-
Connect Gimp to Rawtherapee in preferences, so that you can open Gimp while processing in Rawtherapee. Connect G'Mic QT to Gimp in preferences so that you can open G'Mic QT from Gimp while processing in Rawtherapee. All three programs work seamlessly together.
-
-Try a few other programs if you need other image manipulation, most are professional level and free, and offer incredibly powerful options to enhance your photographic work.
-
(Blender, Inkscape, Digikam, Krita, ART, Darktable, Neat image, Entangle, Chimpstacker, Hugin, Rapid Photo Downloader, Upscayl, DaVinci Resolve, and OBS Studio.)
-
Open Source and Power ON and CREATE! <3

Click to expand...

Yes, I am at the point where I was looking at a new mac, but then said, buy a couple of year old PC, load my flavor or linux, go open source and save thousands of dollars from going to the machine and it's shareholders.

Another awesome video editor is Kdenlive.

For distros, I like Zorin, Mint and pearOS.

I am on my Linux system right now. I fired it up and wanted to use it for a full day and play around with it. I am missing NOTHING right now. I actually gain since I have android apps running on the OS level. Meaning, I do not have to start bluestacks etc, I just click on the app icon, and it fires up.

I just installed RapidRAW to try. On windows 11 rapidraw was useless, slow, laggy etc. On Zorin 17 core, on my realy really low spec machine it's perfectly fine. I edited a photo as a test, imported it (less than a second) did the edits, all worked in real time with no lag, and then exported it instantly. No waiting for the export to finish etc.

Starting apps takes a second or two because of the hardware, not the software.

This is the hardware from the OS about page.



Needless to say, I am loading Zorin 18 pro on all our computers for our OS. The software is great, It needs way less in terms of hardware than bloated, spying windows 11, and everything just works.

--
Fronterra Photography Tours
The Point and Shoot Pro
One Lens, No Problem