Images not sharp on hidpi monitor
Shotwell version the issue was seen with
0.30.2
The expected behaviour
Images render with the same detail observed in comparable image viewers e.g. Gnome Image Viewer (v 3.32.1 used in this case)
What was actually happening
Opening the example image full screen in image viewer, and the same image full screen in Shotwell Viewer, then Alt/Win-tabbing between the two Shotwell clearly demonstrates a fuzzy loss of sharpness of detail compared to all other viewers I've tried. Gnome Image Viewer, GThumb, Digikam, Darktable all show sharp details. It looks like Shotwell is rendering to a hardcoded DPI? Or equivalent to. I'm viewing on a MacBook Pro with Ubuntu 19.04, 2560x1600 'retina' screen. I tried to replicate this in a VM at work, 1080p, and can't see a difference in quality between Shotwell and Image Viewer. So I think this is a hidpi issue. It's just not using all the pixels!
Steps to reproduce the issue
- Open the included image _DSF0063.JPG in Shotwell Viewer, F11 for full screen
- Open the same image in Image Viewer, or another contemporary viewer, full screen.
- Switch between the two windows to compare quality. Note in particular the sharpness of the signs on the bridge in the background centre left of the window.
There's enough loss of sharpness for any keen photographer with a hidpi screen and decent camera kit to choose an alternative to Shotwell.
I've included cropped screenshots from my screen to demonstrate what I see.