fotoxx - kornelix

Fotoxx Introduction

Fotoxx is a free open source Linux program for editing image files from a digital camera. The goal of fotoxx is to meet most image editing needs while remaining easy to use.

The following functions are currently provided:

Image Navigator: show large image collections as a pageable screen of thumbnail images. Click on a thumbnail to view full-size or begin an edit session.
Most edit functions described below can be carried out on the entire image or on an area outlined with the mouse, with smooth blending into the surrounding image.
Adjust brightness / contrast to improve visibility of detail in both bright and dark areas (adjust brightness independently for brighter and darker image areas).
Flatten brightness distribution - fast, easy method to improve balance and detail.
Reduce fog or haze by reducing "whiteness" and intensifying colors.
HDR - high dynamic range imaging: combine an underexposed and overexposed image of the same subject to improve details visible in both bright and dark areas.
Panorama - stitch two or more images together to make wide images.
Crop an image (choose area of interest and cut off surrounding margins).
Rotate an image (level a tilted image, or rotate by 90 degrees).
Scale an image (reduce or enlarge the pixel dimensions).
Remove red-eye effect from electronic flash photos.
Unbend an image with curved or warped perspective.
Stretch or distort a selected image area to produce strange effects.
Sharpen an image (reduce blur or fuzziness).
Blur an image (soften sharp edges, blend out skin spots).
The prior two functions can be done for the whole image or a selected area.
Reduce noise in a photo made under low light conditions.
Reduce color depth (bits per color) (posterize an image).
Vary color intensity from no color (gray scale) to intensified color.

The GUI interface is available in English, French, German, and Spanish.
The user guide is available in English and French.

The current version of fotoxx (5.0.3) is available here.
This is an installation from source code using a simple procedure.

The following packages (made by volunteers) may contain earlier versions of fotoxx:
For DEB package (Debian, Ubuntu), go to this link.
For RPM package (Suse), go to this link and search for fotoxx.
Fotoxx for Fedora is in the repositories and available via Yum.

Fotoxx Examples
The images below show the capabilities of fotoxx. Click on any image to view a larger version. Right-click and select "new window" to get scroll bars for the larger images.

Image Navigation - View a directory of images as pages of thumbnails. Move around by rows or pages. Click on a thumbnail to view the full-size image or edit the image.

Color and Contrast - Modify the entire image or an area outlined with the mouse. The colors of the right bird were intensified without changing the rest of the image.

Brightness Distribution - Lighten dark areas and/or darken bright areas.

Flatten brightness distribution - This is a fast and easy way to improve detail in areas that are too dark, too bright, or lack contrast. Uses a single sliding scale from 0 (no change) to 100% (uniform distribution).

Area Edit - Outline an area with the mouse and make adjustments. The building on the right was lightened up.

The backlighted people were underexposed and have been brightened up.

Fog / Haze Removal - Brightness and color saturation can be adjusted depending on the original brightness. Here, "whiteness" was removed from the darkest areas of the image, effectively removing the haze from the Shanghai night sky.

The entire image has been color enhanced.

HDR (high dynamic range) image

The lower image is a composite of the upper two. Brighter areas were taken mostly from the darker image, and darker areas mostly from the brighter image. Color and contrast were also adjusted afterwards. Image alignment is automatic and a tripod is not necessary.

Another HDR image.

Panorama - combine multiple images to make wide images. Rough alignment is done with the mouse and fine alignment is automatic. Hand-held photos work OK and precise alignment is not necessary. (This image was also color enhanced and unbent - see below).