Digital Light & Color

There is a new, open-source RAW developer out there https://filmulator.org/. I don't have an opinion yet, but perhaps others could be interested in testing it.

I tried it, quickly, and wasn't impressed with the results. I see how most of the comments about the software deals with the intereface and which sliders are available, but I can't get past the noise that is produced (or isn't suppressed) when converting images.

Here is the original image (Nikon NEF from 1 V3):


and here is a comparison between (L-R) PWP-8 and Libraw; Filmulator; and Nikon Capture NX-D:


Perhaps someone with more in-depth knowledge can explain the chroma noise and why it appears, but it's obviously handled very well in the Nikon software, and Libraw does a pretty reasonable job, but Filmulator is just bad. Results will likely vary by camera brand, but since I'm Nikon centered at the moment NEF files are all I have to test with.

Have not tried it, but the increase in noise looks like a side effect of the contrast-enhancing curve they apply to the raw image to make it more film-like. Ideally one would apply noise reduction before local contrast enhancement or have some kind of threshold to avoid amplifying noise.