How to batch process RAW files for timelapse photography? (preferably with Python)

Question

I have a set of 200+ RAW files that need to process for a timelapse. They were taken in a 30s time interval during sunrise. I had to change the shutter time several times to adjust exposure on the images.

My usual process is to load files in Photoshop Elements. Here I have a set of preferences I can adjust:

I adjust all of them, and wouldn't want to miss any.

However, the set of RAW files I have now requires me to adjust some of these settings individually. Say: first image +1.0EV, last image -1.0EV, interpolation in between. Similar procedure for the temperature.

This is quite cumbersome with the given software. I have to play around a lot to find good settings, manually doing this is not an option.

I am familiar with Python and was looking into rawpy and rawkit. As far as I could tell, they obviously don't have the same functionality. At least the "Clarity" function is not available.

I would like to know what (other) options I do have to do this? What is your experience?

Does this answer your question? Which software to assemble a time-lapse from images? From that question, I think especially the answer mentioning LRTimelapse is exactly what you're looking for. — Saaru Lindestøkke, Feb 26 '20 at 15:38
Darktable is scriptable with Lua: https://www.darktable.org/usermanual/en/lua_chapter.html. Similarly, Rawtherapee can be called from a CLI so should be scriptable: https://rawpedia.rawtherapee.com/Command-Line_Options — Eric S, Feb 26 '20 at 19:45
@saaru-lindestøkke Yes, LRTimelapse is exactly what I was looking for. It is the most convenient. — MarkusTLL, Feb 28 '20 at 16:25
@eric-shain I was also looking into Darktable, but Lua seems to be a bit too advanced for me. I might test Rawtherapee. — MarkusTLL, Feb 28 '20 at 16:27
Lua is pretty easy to pick up. If you can write Python it should be a snap to learn. — Eric S, Feb 28 '20 at 16:57

Jim Easterbrook · Answer 1 · 2020-02-26T12:34:19.737

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This is the sort of thing I've been doing with a set of Python components I've developed which I call "Pyctools". It's all a bit experimental and definitely not user friendly - I wrote it for my own purposes so it reflects my mindset. https://github.com/jim-easterbrook/pyctools-demo/tree/master/src/scripts/photo_processing

If you fancy a challenge, it might be a good starting point for what you want to do.

edited Feb 26 '20 at 12:34

answered Feb 26 '20 at 11:16

Jim Easterbrook

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2

This looks like a nice tool. I will definitely try it out at some point. – MarkusTLL Feb 28 '20 at 16:28
Not so much a tool as a set of building blocks, so doing anything useful will involve some work. I'll be interested to hear how you get on if you do have a go. – Jim Easterbrook Feb 29 '20 at 10:24

How to batch process RAW files for timelapse photography? (preferably with Python)

1 Answers1