Delaboratory is a very interesting tool designed for precise color processing of photos. The program can be integrated between the RAW imager and the classic graphics editor, or as a imager, thanks to the recently introduced RAW file opener. RAWs are operated with the use of dcraw.

The program interface has been redesigned according to the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid!) philosophy and there are no unnecessary elements here. The effects of modifications can be viewed in real time and the machining process can be speeded up by using hotkeys. The main strength of Delaboratory is the native handling of multiple color spaces (RGB, BW, CMYK, CMY, CMY, LAB, LCH, XYZ, HSL, HSV), which gives great possibilities in combination with floating point color description.

Image processing is, of course, non-destructive thanks to the implementation of layers. Layers can be superimposed in many modes that are known from other graphics programs: normal, multiplication, difference, dim, brighten, and so on.

There are also curves, gradients, equalizers and leveling tools for multiple colour spaces. Here you will also find a channel mixer, pseudo-dr tools for extracting details from underexposed and overexposed areas, as well as "local contrast", classic exposure correction, colour saturation, white balance and interesting tools for blurring and sharpening the image. The whole is complemented by a color sampler and the ability to preview histograms of the photo.

Delaboratory 0.8 ends a chapter in the history of this program. In the next versions we can expect a new interface - this time in GTK+. Moreover, at least for the time being, Delaboratory does not aspire to the status of a complete "digital darkroom" solution.