russ.carpenter

I would like to underscore BruceWard's question about Apple ProRAW. Although I've been an Affinity Photo fan for a long time, I'm disappointed that Serif hasn't explicitly supported Apple ProRAW. Apple iPhones must be among the most important cameras in the world and ProRaw is a great new feature that deserves Serif's attention. These days, I'm forced to use Apple Photos to get reliable post processing of ProRaw files.

Hi Catshill, Superb tutorial on collimation. Good on you! Russ

Hi John, I was wondering about the best way to post images to the forum--thanks for the advice! Is there a limit on the size of PNG or JPG files that will be shown within the browser? Some astro forums have very strict limits. Russ

Hi Lisbon, I'm glad you enjoyed the image. Maybe we could put together some kind of subgroup of people who are using Affinity Photo for astrophotography. We'd learn a lot from each other. Russ

I’m not sure about the best way to share astrophotography processed with Affinity Photo. I decided to try the “Share your work” forum, but if there is a better way, please let me know. I am an experienced astrophotographer who has used a wide range of specialized programs for pre and post processing of astro photographs. These days I’ve been experimenting with my favorite general purpose image processor, Affinity Photo, along with the remarkable collection of astro macros developed by James Ritson. I have much to learn, but so far the results have been excellent. NGC 1955 is an emission nebula located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. (Technically, NGC 1955 is an open star cluster embedded within the nebula.) To collect this data, I used a remote telescope in Chile: 20 inch Newtonian, F 3.6. The object was imaged in three narrowband channels, Ha, OIII and SII. I processed the image with the Hubble palette, which is SHO, modified with a large shift in the green channel toward reds and golds. The built-in tools of Affinity Photo, and especially the innovative JR Macros, made this project a pleasure. NGC1955 SHO.tiff

I would like to commend James Ritson's extraordinary contributions to astrophotography. I've been doing astrophotography for 10 years and am familiar with most of the standard software tools for pre and post processing, including PixInsight and StarTools. They are both impressive achievements, whose authors are world-class. But the imagination and energy James has shown are unique. We are very lucky that he has taken up astrophotography with such dedication. Russ

OK, I just uploaded a DNG file that crashes with .120. As a reminder, this file does not crash with 1.6.7. Russ

I'm having a problem with DNG files in the Develop module. If I open a DNG file and then go to the Lens Correction tab and then check the box for Remove Lens Vignette, Affinity Photo Beta 1.7.0.120 crashes. This routine works fine with the App Store version. I am using an iMac, running OS 10.14.4. Thanks in advance for you help. Russ

I am also experiencing crashes when I export files. Mac OS Sierra 10.12.6

Hi MikeFromMesa, Yes I have tried rasterizing and it does solve the problem.

I have noticed the same issue with inpainting. I addition, if I use any of my Topaz plugins after rotating, the filter UI displays the image that preceded rotation.

I want to add my thanks for the light UI.

This is probably a basic issue, but perhaps someone could help me with the Help function within Affinity Photo. I am using AF 1.5 and my OS is 10.12.4. When I attempt to search within the Affinity Help function, nothing happens. A list of suggested search terms appears, but if I click one of them, the page stays blank. Searching within the help function of other apps works normally. For example, if I search within Final Cut Pro, all is fine. Thanks in advance for your advice. Russ

What a magnificent contribution to the community. Thank you!

Thanks for all your interesting thoughts. For now, it seems that the most efficient solution is using blend options, although I will need to retrain my brain. I will be glad to have immediate visual feedback on the impact of changes to the blending curve in adjustments and live filters. Russ

I'm an astro photographer and frequently use Affinity Photo to fine tune images I've produced in specialized astro imaging programs, such as PixInsight. I have a question that's probably painfully naive, for which I apologize in advance. Astro imaging constantly uses masks, because elements such as background, stars, galaxies and nebula present completely different processing problems. One of the most common types of masks is known as the "luminance" mask. I've attached a typical luminance mask, which was produced from an RGB image, using the "extract CiE L*" command in PixInsight. In this case, the purpose of the mask is to manipulate the brighter parts of the galaxy, while leaving the faint details and background relatively untouched. To work properly, many of these masks need to include a full range of shades of grey. My question is: can this kind of mask be produced and/or used in Affinity Photo? Thanks for helping a newbie. Russ

I agree with all the foregoing praise. You are the gold standard.

I may be the only person on earth with this issue, but one of my favorite astrophotography programs (StarTools) won't open tiff files produced by Affinity Photo. Here is a screen capture of the error message. Any suggestions?

I am another astrophotographer who would like to know the answer to the question.

I agree with ABC. The Vimeo tutorials are excellent.

I would like to support those who are asking for larger fonts and/or better contrast. In my view, Affinity Photo is better than Photoshop, but Apple Photos is far easier to use than both of them.

I am also an astrophotographer. The dust and scratches tools is essential.

Here is the message I sent to Topaz on the 15th: Hello, Affinity Photo is splendid new software that is attracting widespread admiration. However, the Topaz plugins are not supported. Many Affinity Photo users are devoted to Topaz products and the situation is very frustrating. Indeed, this issue is currently the most active topic on the Affinity Photo forum. I hope you will consider supporting Affinity Photo soon. Russell Carpenter And here is the reply I received this morning: Russell, Thank you for contacting Topaz Labs! At the moment, we do not support Affinity Photo, but each inquiry we receive is a push in the direction of providing that support. Thank you for your feedback! Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns, and I will be happy to assist! Respectfully, Joe Fedric Customer Happiness Specialist Topaz Labs Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:30pm CDT

Thanks again to all of you who are working so hard on this problem. I have also sent an email to Topaz.

I would like to thank the people in this thread for their excellent detective work. It's a shame, however, that this information needed to be pieced together the hard way, without much guidance from the AP staff. The problem with plug-ins has been labelled a "Hot Topic." One would think that the developers would pay attention.