GFS

No, that's not what I meant.
 
The guy's top level ... Senior Engineer for Aperture.  Does it get better?  He's left Apple and decided to carry on with that work.  Aperture is an absolutely superb piece of software in the view of many people, myself included.  I tried Lr three times since it was launched, but always found it lacking by comparison, particularly as a DAM, as have many others, notably lots on here.  Also the UI, Aperture is superb and Lr is ... well uggghh.  Adobe have never ever made the slightest effort in UI.  So what's interesting for us photographers, is that this guy is working away to produce a solution.  First step, a really very nice looking raw convertor, with some excellent features.  v1.5 will doubtless add missing features.  v2? from his comment ... maybe a DAM and that would be excellent, because as Aperture's Senior Engineer, he's likely to produce a pretty damned good DAM. :)

I watched (sic) the video and to be honest, it is like going back in time to some awful Windows software ... which is probably what it is.  The difference between it and Aperture is vast.  Please Serif, whatever you do, don't do it like IMatch.  For those of us, that spend our days working with DAM software this would be like a cruel, brutal torture, or ... like using camera manufacturer's own raw software.  Sort of as awful as Olympus Viewer 3 or Nikon's thing, or Pentax's thing.  Uuuughh.
 
(Sorry rafikiphoto ... not sure how to say this without being contrary).

That's great news MattP.
 
I can confirm that using an old mouse-mat has seriously reduced the problem for me.  However, I'm very happy to have it fixed your way, because for Wacom users like me, a mouse-mat means having it out to the side and as I know to my pain, RSI can wreck your shoulder tendons if you're holding a mouse out to the side for extended periods/hours/days/weeks/months/years.

Computers are good at automation.  It's what they do.  Alongside that, we have human beings, who are terrible at automation.  When we try to persuade human beings to let the computers take care of the automation, they resist.  Not always, but often.
 
The current MacOS is full of automation, but I hardly know anyone that uses it.  They still prefer to organise everything themselves.
 
A DAM needs to take care of all this work.  It is just so much better not to have to even think about it.  Any DAM is simply a front-end to a database (as is the Finder or Windows Explorer).  I use Aperture to move files around between disks or other locations.  It is a much better UI for doing this than the Finder.  It also stores all the metadata I need.  If I move a file, I don't have to worry about moving any sidecars with it, because Aperture takes care of it for me.  The last thing I want is to have to worry about any related files getting lost and having to remember where they are and where I want them to be.
 
The best thing to do with a database, is to embrace it fully and allow it to do its work.  It'll be better and more reliable.
 
(Grumpy is really the right word.  He is a working sheep dog ... of the live outside in a kennel variety.  He didn't like my camera and if he'd had half a chance he'd have had my hand off.  The fact that he resembles Yosemite Sam is just a bonus).

I'm afraid I agree 100%.
 
The honeymoon period with Affinity is probably over.  The contagious enthusiasm and excitement in the early stages, was fantastic and such a breath of fresh air compared with Adobe.  However, the money is hard to refuse and entirely understandable.  Also of course, Serif is a Windows software company.  It was the Mac software thing that was 'out on a limb'.   I'm all for the iPad version, but with the launch of the Windows vs, even though Serif say it's a separate team etc., the astonishing pace of progress has pretty much ground to a halt.
 
I'm hoping that the ex lead-engineer on Aperture, who has released the very excellent 'Raw Power' raw processing software, which is  closely based around Aperture, will find the resources to move onto a DAM as well.  I think it is tentatively in their sights ... and so it should be, because there is definitely a great market for the Mac, especially as you point out the advantages of the Mac having great raw processing and colour management built-in.

I couldn't agree more and in fact, it was one of my disappointments with Serif and Affinity.  They've copied Adobe's UI and to be honest it is and always has been, crap.  Copying it was a missed opportunity. They could have done something fab instead.  Of course, I understand perfectly why they did copy it.  I wish though, that they'd *at the very least* changed the totally dumb system of using colour to paint masks in/out. 
 
As for Apple dumping Aperture.  It is still stunning to me, that Apple could treat a group of professionals in such a way.  Thousands of hours of work, per pro, summarily dumped in the dumpster without so much as an explanation.  Shocking.  I'll never ever ever trust Apple with a pro app again.

GFS, thank you for agreeing. I had contact with the Aperture developer and maybe I'm wrong but I sensed a lot of frustration that Apple abandoned - without a real reason (they are literally bathing in money...).
 
Possibly I'm only stubborn, but so far I've still some spirit of getting happy about awesomeness - if I can recognize it.

Windows doesn't include RAW-processing, therefore Affinity programmers must take care of another task.
A lot of Windows versions don't include color management - I'm not sure, if Affinity needs the newest (CM-supporting) version Win 10?
Some capabilities have to be dedicated to the whole mess of drivers, especially for graphic cards.
I agree that more users mean more incoming sales and therefore more human resources - but these are needed because Windows users need to address more support.
Within Mac OS, there are intelligent folders usable for all apps, Automator scripts and a lot more comfort functions, Developing these for Windows... I see the results in Adobe Bridge, in CaptureOne (I'm working with Windows on a daily basis) - these poor copies of OS X functions and their usage just suck.
 
Affinity will need some manpower to bring Affinity Photo in Windows to the same level as the ease of use in OS X - this kind of manpower is missing for a development of a "Aperture successor". I tried a lot of photo-organizing apps. Aperture, two years after death, still sets a benchmark. I was hoping very much Affinity could create something cool, instead they took the money road.

It would be cool some day to have like two tools at the same time
 
Paint with pencil
Smudge with finger
 
Or paint with pencil
Erase with finger
 
Or dodge with pencil
Burn with finger (although that might be a bit weird)
 
Or set clone source with hand
Move clone target with pencil
 
Or in the pen tool
Draw with the pencil
Make the finger act like a node tool
 
Cheers

And exactly the same as the one I suggested 3 posts prior, so it must be good.   :)

And exactly the same as the one I suggested 3 posts prior, so it must be good.   :)

So.….
 
About a DAM for the Affinitys?
 
This thread's contributors have taken this topic in a direction that eases the pressure on the developers.  Yes, they are great, just like their products and it is true that widening the user base with Windows and iOS will, in time, improve the current products.
 
But, whatever alternative we consider, it would be fair now (in May 2017) for Affinity to reveal a fixed time-line for a separate DAM for their products to interact with.
 
Perhaps they aren't going to develop one?
 
Well, fair enough.  There are many excellent reasons for this set of developers to avoid that direction.
 
But I've been following this thread since I was a beta tester and, frankly, waiting this long to make my choice (to wait or go elsewhere) is stretching users' dedication to the developers....

Simplest way?
 
1/ Add a nested Gaussian Blur filter to your pole's shadow shape.
2/ Select the Gaussian Blur mask, then with the Gradient tool selected, drag a line in the direction you want your gradation to be.
 
Change either end from black to white according to what you want in terms of strength.
NB, you can slide the little symbol in the middle of the gradient's line, to offset the centre.
 
Works for me.  :)

Simplest way?
 
1/ Add a nested Gaussian Blur filter to your pole's shadow shape.
2/ Select the Gaussian Blur mask, then with the Gradient tool selected, drag a line in the direction you want your gradation to be.
 
Change either end from black to white according to what you want in terms of strength.
NB, you can slide the little symbol in the middle of the gradient's line, to offset the centre.
 
Works for me.  :)

I just tried the smudge tool in AFP, in the same scenario as my video ... and it smudges.  It's not the same thing.
 
I have a separate tool for smudging in my old app.  (I'm also reminded how incredibly fast my old app is).
 
I'll make a feature request, because it's such a nice brush to have.

Once again Aperture has this covered.
 
You can choose to have files either 'managed' in the library, or 'referenced' somewhere else, e.g. a networked drive.  The really cool bit is that it is really easy, using Aperture, to *move* files around.  For example, using Aperture, you can move them from one drive to another, or if you want, you can change them to 'managed' so that they reside inside Aperture, which is handy if you need some files when you are away from your studio/workstation.  Upon return, you can just as easily move them back to where they were.  Aperture recognises instantly when a drive with referenced files becomes available and I would expect it to work with Mountain Duck. 
 
Apple really got Aperture right ... what they got wrong, was dumping it, but on a positive note, they provided what is hopefully great inspiration for Serif to make as good a DAM.

I 'need' it, because Lr isn't what I want and Aperture is slowly being left behind.  CaptureOne doesn't have full raw support.
 
(What I really need, is for Serif to re-create Aperture).

You don't necessarily have to get the data in and out.  I work with a > 20 year old software which can apply its edits to any file. Any file.  So for example, you could work on a tiny jpeg on the iPad and syncing via cloud, have those same edits applied to a full sized file somewhere else.  I'm sure that AFP will have something along those lines.  They have also talked of feature parity with the desktop version.
 
As to whether or not Apple can be trusted for pros going forward, sadly I have to agree with you.  As an Aperture user, I very much doubt that I would *ever* trust Apple for pro application use again.  The cavalier way that one of the most wealthy companies in the world 'dumped' us, was unbelievable.
 
The downside of the Surface, is Windows.  Nothing they currently say can make that any better.

You don't necessarily have to get the data in and out.  I work with a > 20 year old software which can apply its edits to any file. Any file.  So for example, you could work on a tiny jpeg on the iPad and syncing via cloud, have those same edits applied to a full sized file somewhere else.  I'm sure that AFP will have something along those lines.  They have also talked of feature parity with the desktop version.
 
As to whether or not Apple can be trusted for pros going forward, sadly I have to agree with you.  As an Aperture user, I very much doubt that I would *ever* trust Apple for pro application use again.  The cavalier way that one of the most wealthy companies in the world 'dumped' us, was unbelievable.
 
The downside of the Surface, is Windows.  Nothing they currently say can make that any better.

Hi guys,
now that the Save as command works as expected on a Mac (in Beta 1.0.21212 the document name is not untitled anymore), maybe you reconsider another OS X shortcut: Alt-clicking the document title should reveal Finder hierarchy. It is much easier, nicer and deeper than the current Reveal in Finder command plus it’s standard on OS X.
 
I use this feature very often to quickly get where I have to and I really miss it in AD.
 
Greetings
Matthias

I'd like to add my voice to this feature request.  Very surprised to find it not available.

Hi, 
 
Is there any plan to incorporate a Pentax K-1 pixel shift compatibility in Affinity Photo soon? or is it already?
 
More infos about Pixel Shift here:
http://pentaxrumors.com/2016/03/04/pentax-k-1-pixel-shift-resolution-system-demo-videos/
 
Currently only the very buggy and ugly Pentax Digital Camera 5 seems to be able to extract the super Hires of Pixel Shift images to 16Bits TIFF.
 
Some other solutions through obscure terminal command line here:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/32-digital-processing-software-printing/326445-dcrawps-commandline-pixelshifting-resouce-thread.html
 
Any implementation into the very nice Affinity Photo would be thrilling!
 
Thanks,
 
N

No, that's not what I meant.
 
The guy's top level ... Senior Engineer for Aperture.  Does it get better?  He's left Apple and decided to carry on with that work.  Aperture is an absolutely superb piece of software in the view of many people, myself included.  I tried Lr three times since it was launched, but always found it lacking by comparison, particularly as a DAM, as have many others, notably lots on here.  Also the UI, Aperture is superb and Lr is ... well uggghh.  Adobe have never ever made the slightest effort in UI.  So what's interesting for us photographers, is that this guy is working away to produce a solution.  First step, a really very nice looking raw convertor, with some excellent features.  v1.5 will doubtless add missing features.  v2? from his comment ... maybe a DAM and that would be excellent, because as Aperture's Senior Engineer, he's likely to produce a pretty damned good DAM. :)

Indeed!
 
And we hope that Serif take their inspiration from Aperture AND NOT from Lightroom.
 
Aperture still a wonderful UI and such a shame that Apple have moved away from pros ... but it's another opportunity for Serif.

Indeed!
 
And we hope that Serif take their inspiration from Aperture AND NOT from Lightroom.
 
Aperture still a wonderful UI and such a shame that Apple have moved away from pros ... but it's another opportunity for Serif.