Frank Jonen

Yeah probably. <_<  Automator is very cumbersome though for that sort of thing and that workflow breaks a lot since you have to do extra scripts to invoke an Automator task. It's not reliable at all when you have hundreds of files to process. Then it jams and throws errors you can't catch when you're not in front of the screen and you end up with a bunch of files in a sequence not being processed. 
 
It'd be great to be able to tie the Affinity Engine into workflows that span multiple apps. That way you could have a FileOut node from one app, attach a script that routes the image/frame through Affinity, upon new file creation the FileIn node picks up the new file/frame and can process it further. That rarely fails and when it does, the process quits for good and you have a decent error log most of the time.

AndyS in an old post told us that Affinity engine relies on a node-based paradigm, and added that they could expose this in the future... 
Well... I don't know what you think, but the very best place where I'd love to find a node-ui is a DAM environment.

Yeah I see what you mean... it sounds like a GREAT feature for the forth-coming Affinity DAM app... Batch processing, scripting, and macro functionality logically resides in a DAM app much more than in individual apps like AD, AP or APub, although obviously all apps ought to support such backend hooks for mass processing of files and assets... This might be something to post in the Feature Requests forum...
 

Yeah probably. <_<  Automator is very cumbersome though for that sort of thing and that workflow breaks a lot since you have to do extra scripts to invoke an Automator task. It's not reliable at all when you have hundreds of files to process. Then it jams and throws errors you can't catch when you're not in front of the screen and you end up with a bunch of files in a sequence not being processed. 
 
It'd be great to be able to tie the Affinity Engine into workflows that span multiple apps. That way you could have a FileOut node from one app, attach a script that routes the image/frame through Affinity, upon new file creation the FileIn node picks up the new file/frame and can process it further. That rarely fails and when it does, the process quits for good and you have a decent error log most of the time.

MBd,
 
32-bit is forced to convert to "Linear sRGB" at the moment - this is why you see the difference when converting.. We are still actively working on this..
 
Cheers,
 
A
 

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Status: Beta Release
Purpose: Fixes, improvements
Requirements: Purchased Affinity Photo
Mac App Store: Not Submitted
Download: 1.5 Beta 6 Here
 
This is a beta of a substantial change to our codebase and as much as we have tried to ensure the quality of the code, it should be considered to be not suitable for production use. This means that you should not attempt to use it for commercial purposes or for any other activity in which you may be adversely affected by the application failing. In addition it is definitely worth noting that files created in Affinity Photo 1.5 cannot be opened in Photo 1.4 so always make a copy of your important documents before opening them in 1.5 to ensure you do not accidentally overwrite them and are unable to open them in your 1.4 version.
 
To use this beta, simply download the file from the link given above and double-click on the file to open the installer. Follow the instructions to install the beta version. The beta sits alongside the Mac App Store version and will not interfere with it.
 
It's also worth noting that this beta is completely file-format compatible with the recently released Affinity Designer 1.5.1 in the Mac App Store - although the above disclaimer still applies!
 
Improvements & Fixes
 
- Develop RAW into unbounded 32bit - retaining full range as shot.
- Added EXR to batch output options. Batch jobs with macros can now be applied to EXR files. - Neatened batch dialog. - Add Text Styles to document snapshots. - Show LUT filenames if there is no name metadata. - Fixed issue where lens metadata was going missing. - Fixed issue where RAW rotation wasn't handled properly. - Better eye icon for macro edit panel. - Improved image alignment algorithm used by stacks, HDR merge, Focus Merge. - Improved tone mapping stability. - Macros now have text boxes (in recorder panel and playback panel). - Macro playback panel now shows arguments in the right order. - Fixed some commands which were not macro recording properly. - Fixed alignment of panoramas where an input image could go on either end. - Fixed bugs where current layer could get deleted in panorama, liquify, develop, etc. - Fixed green tint issues with Sigma X3F RAW. - Fixed issues where white balance would not apply properly for some NEF files. - Fixed strange colours when cutting / pasting a placed image. - Live Filter commands can now be properly macro recorded. - More control of aspect ratio when doing batch jobs. - Solid fills on pixel layers now work when using the Gradient Tool. - New punch tool in Liquify. Same in Liquify extension. - Preferences option to control whether tool settings are sticky. - Brightness and contrast - 32bit improvements. - Place image - now honours the preference for default aspect ratio constrain. - Command-Shift-Click on a layer icon to create a luminosity based selection can now be macro recorded. - Curves threading issue in 32bit mode. - Macro ability to continue recording after a stop. New reset button. The buttons icons still suck - sorry! - Improvements to the 32bit colour editor (responds to view exposure changes, etc.) - Fixed clamping issues with cubes. - More adjustments made to work in unbounded 32bit. - Various Sierra UI polish. - General stability.   Please note that this list is exhaustive - if you have reported a bug and it is not listed here, it has not been fixed yet - but it will be soon!   We still have a lot to do before 1.5 can enter the RC phase - aside from improving all the new features, we aim to improve certain aspects of existing features as well as implementing Polygonal Selection Tool, Magnetic Selection Tool and Layer Linking. More to come..   Thanks again for taking the time to use this beta!   Affinity Photo Team  :ph34r:

Brilliant Alex! Thanks so much!  :D
I didn't know about the ESC key, so many years of Illustrator still to unlearn. I just did it again with your settings in a fraction of the time.

Hmm … I don’t get these snapping issues on my machine. Maybe your settings are different …  :unsure:
 
What I noticed in your video: Make sure to use the ESC key before creating a new shape. This will deselect the already created shape on the canvas and you can start using the tool you selected. In the first seconds of your video I saw you struggling with the creation of the circle. You started to edit the square instead. By pressing ESC before using the Ellipse Tool, you will deselect the square, so you won’t accidentally edit the square. There is no need to create a new layer in the Layers list …
 
In my video, I used the snapping settings shown below.
 
Hope that helps …  :)
Alex

The first reason snapping doesn't work after opening a file is if your are in "Snapping Candidates" mode.  The candidate list is not saved, so you have to re-add you candidates when reopening.  To improve on this, we now add candidates when objects are manually selected/deselected.  Alternatively, we now have other modes for the choice of snapping inputs that snap to objects in their sibling list in the document.
 
There was a bug I just fixed where guides didn't snap when being created.  There should be no reason why you can't snap objects to guides though - as long as you have the option turned on.  If you identify a problem, could you capture a video of it, or send us a test file if it is recreateable.
 
Thanks.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying...?
 
'Snap to cente' is an extension of snapping to bounding box - i.e., snapping to the centre of the bounding box.  You will have to demonstrate the problem where snapping to edge of the bounding box is causing you a problem when trying to snap to the centre. I have not seen another app that only snaps to centre, but I have seen a few that only snap to the outer bounds of an object.  So, we have that option.
 
What do you mean by "threshold"?  Are you referring to the snapping tolerance?  That just defines the distance in screen pixels at which you want things to snap when editing.  It is really a metric for defining how 'responsive' or 'active' snapping behaves.  Lower values for tolerance will require you to move objects more closely or precisely before they snap, higher values will make it snap more readily.  It is also not a value in terms of document units - it is always in screen space and is entirely independent of zoom levels or document units.
 
And, trust me, the snapping tool is getting a lot of attention.

While I really appreciate the new support for EXR, I fear its not really useful in its current implementation.
One of they key features of EXR is a support for multiple layers. We usually have 20 or more channels in our rendered EXRs. Of course its a professional format, best supported in software like Nuke. But, having EXR support in a Photo editing software would be awesome. Yet its far from it. No layer support and worst case it stencil the alpha instead of adding it as a channel.
 
The only way to deal with that is rendering in PSD format. And I guess thats what we don't want anymore?
 
Yet, I understand the developers too. In EXRs all channels are 32bit (or 16bit compressed). Meaning that even an alpha channel is handled that way. Maybe thats to complicated to deal with. But its also sad.

OCIO
 
First off, thanks for adding that. This is huge!  
Colours now match between Nuke and Affinity Photo. Really nice. I can do paintwork in Affinity and transfer back and forth without added stress in that department. One day you might even add a time-line with stroke recording  ;)
 
The suggestion. Put something in the documentation about the OCIO adjustment layer. It's a real timesaver. At first I wanted to set the gamma of my plate to 1.0/2.2 for the linear/sRGB transform. But the adjustment layer reading the rest of my config file made that a thing of the past. So easy now. Really good implementation, especially during long days.
 
Now it might sense to do a per-layer channel management.  ;)
 
So cool that I can now modify my HDR spheres so I only get the lights and reflections I want and know the values don't come out screwy.
 
Now I may need to set up a batch process to bake the sRGB into the linear for my Substance Painter textures to lower the blood pressure of our TD.  :D

changing a photo from 16 to 32bit with adjustments applied changes the effect of the adjustments 
 
 
I think 32bit is a linear color space which is unlike the other ones but nevertheless I´d expect the adjustments themselves to compensate for that 
 
maybe I´m wrong but wanted to report this as I feel it is an issue for non destructive editing
 
if you do a merge visible you have the issue that the algorithm to do that is nearest neighbor and it potentially reduces quality of any transformed image (and it´s not non destructive)

It's certainly a difficult filter performance wise. Using an unsharp masking filter in any app where it's a life effect (NLEs, compositing apps…) can get you into trouble with performance unless you take some precautions. A precision slider or masking would be interesting to see. Quite often you just need it to pick up highlighted edges without having to use a find edges, black&white, making setup. So a basic setup could be enough and could have a low performance hit by sacrificing some quality in the process.

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Had a bit of time last night for a weekend challenge so I pulled out an old Nikon raw file from an assignment in 2009 that was horribly mis-metered and badly exposed. Due to time constraints (the main shots had to be seeded to press right after the show) a bunch of shots never got published because they would have required too much time per shot.
 
My challenge now was: Can I make this acceptable in 30 minutes or less. I think I got in the ballpark to where it'd be usable in an editorial context. Not likely that I'll publish this one as it's just a training piece to develop faster workflows. 
 
Moral of the story. Always shoot raw. Converters get better, new apps come along, chances are you can fix a bad shot a few years down the road.
 
I pretty much expunged the way of working I had in Photoshop and now am closer to how I'd approach a shot in Nuke. 
 
 
 
Meta:
Shot on August 8th 2009 at The Water Rats (Monto) in London, UK.
Event: Noush Skaugen's album pre-release show for the DrSystem album

So I tried some simple grid stitching to see if that works properly now in AP.
And YEP, worked really well. Barely had to make manual corrections to the stitch.
 
The shooting setup was as below.
 
X1   |   Y1
—————
X2   |   Y2
 
https://500px.com/photo/166244289
 
It's a great way to cover a wider POV without sacrificing distance to object and perspective.

Professional or amateur, the lack of sticky settings slows everyone down.  And it is one of the few things that make Affinity Photo and Design feel less than Professional-grade.  It has wonderful features and we greatly appreciate them but we need sticky settings.  Please make this a priority over new features that will themselves require constant re-setting.

Does the new 1.5 version remember tools settings? 

 

It is painful when you have to setup options each time you activate specific tool.

 

Crop tool is an good example, for most cases photographers crop images using original aspect ratio of taken photograph, unfortunately the default mode is “unconstrained”. Additionally crop tool does not support modifier keys (to hold shift, alt, option etc) to constrain ratio when dragging selection frame.

 

The same for export settings, like size etc. 

This is the point I was making: there are customers who are, as of today, using the software professionally because their workflow does not require certain functionality - functionality that Photo currently doesn't have but likely will in the future. Requirements for professional work clearly differ depending on the work you are doing and the processes you are used to.
 
I apologise if you've been given the impression that your opinion doesn't matter. Like every other customer who posts on the forum, it does matter very much. In response to your previous tone where you called a poster's response "bullshit", I just implored you to try and appreciate that it's still very early days in Photo's development cycle. Every customer is going to have different requirements - professional or not - and just because requested features or improvements have not appeared thus far doesn't mean they haven't been noted. The developers and staff spend a considerable amount of time on the forums taking note of user feedback - it is all paid attention to.
 
I don't think there is a need to label people who would find use out of the new features being offered as "nerds goofing around with images". The new additions to 1.5 are going to benefit professional and amateur users alike. As a broad example, 32-bit editing isn't just for tone mapping merged HDR images. That would be the most common use for it, but having unbounded editing and OpenEXR/Radiance support is going to benefit 3D/digital imagery pipelines, as well as more refined editing of high dynamic range documents using layers, masking and all the other tools that Photo offers. These are all very much professional-grade workflows and requirements.

Hi Frank
 
Any chance you could send an OpenEXR file that shows the import bug to support@seriflabs.com?
 
Thank you
Justin

Yeah staying in the same position is ideal. Then move the camera around its nodal point as closely as you can. I move from the shoulders and keep hands and arms fairly locked when doing handheld ones. That gets me a fairly even centre of rotation. 
 
I moved my position because there were tourists wanting to go where I was blocking the space, to go to the other side of the room. Going back to where I was standing almost worked because of the sandy floor. In general, hold your position.
 
 
Stacking works well but I always try to keep the amount I shoot as low as I reasonably can. Usually less than 5 shots to get the one I want. Used to be around 20 :) 
 
I do have some images I want to redo with 1.5 to get some thicker images out of a set of RAWs from Capture One (using the highlight/shadows tool to pull different detail levels to fake separate exposures). That works fairly well when I do it with PTGUI Pro.

Thanks  :D
 
As for the setup. I put a before and after together which also has the parts lined up at the bottom.
 

 
I shot X1, tilted down, shot X2, then the same for the right side. This was out of necessity to avoid people in the shot as I wasn't alone in the place. Having a room to yourself there is rather expensive, so just I waited bit. Not ideal when doing a sequence, especially since I had a shot in between and changed position slightly.  :) But it all worked out fine in the end.
 
If you want to do something like this, keep in mind to leave padding to the bottom as well as the sides. I always go for 30% padding now for this lens/sensor combination, so I don't have to deal much with lens curvature. De-lensing in the RAW converter adds one level of distortion, stitching adds a second level of distortion. When I keep the distortion to one level I don't need to de-noise as I won't have distorted noise features overlapping.
 
   

Awesome finished image, Frank! :)