Creative tools, reviewed and ranked

darktable is a free, open-source RAW photo editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. Here's what the 5.x series changed through version 5.6.2, what it does well, where it falls short and who should use it.

Six MIDI keyboard controllers for people starting to make music on a computer, ranked on key feel, pads and knobs, the software that comes in the box, how easily they work with music apps and price. The Arturia MiniLab 3 leads, followed by the Akai MPK Mini IV, the Novation Launchkey Mini 25 MK4 and the Novation Launchkey 49 MK4.

Eight AI tools for editorial fashion campaign images, from lookbooks to seasonal campaigns, ranked on how faithfully they keep the garment inside a styled scene, how well they hold one model across a campaign, how much art direction they allow, image quality, campaign workflow and commercial rights. FLORA leads, followed by Melius, Midjourney and Google's Nano Banana Pro.

Eight AI tools for turning a product photo into a finished ad image, ranked on how accurately they keep the product, how well the scene and lighting sell it, how they handle headlines, offers and logos, how easily they produce every ad size and how fast you get to a finished file. Melius leads, followed by Photoroom, Canva and Google Pomelli.

Seven AI tools for keeping a product identical across a whole set of images, with the same label, logo, color, shape and proportions in every scene, ranked on how they lock the product, how well they hold text, color and scale, how consistent they stay across many outputs and how easily you can catch and fix drift. Photoroom leads, followed by Melius, Kive and Flair.