Wanderer3

Thanks, that worked. The circle is back and it is easily enlarged or reduced using the [ & ] keys. Somehow I had never encountered this change before and appreciate the help.

When I click to activate the Inpainting Tool instead of the small (but expandable) circle I have formely gotten I how get a + which cannot be enlarged and is very difficult to use on anything of any size. I have not been able to find a way to get the circle to come up dispite many attempts. Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. TIA.

The person quoted from the other forum definitely feels there is a major difference between adjusting White Balance and adjusting color cast. Thank you for the reply. As I see it, "you can achieve the same visual result in both personas" as you stated but he believes very differenty. Thanks again, your input is much appreciated.

Thank you.

An individual that posts in another phtography forum that I frequent claims that if a file in transferred from the Develop Persona to the Photo Persona without White Balance being corrected there first (in the Develop Persona), when it's a RAW File, that the WB tool in the adjustment panel is worthless and cannot truly adjust WB. This person is said to be a computer expert of long experience and is very convincing in his postings. However, I find it difficult to believe that Serif would not have fixed such a defect at some point during the several years of Affinity Photo's existence. And it seems to me that on the infrequent occaisons I use that tool in the Photo Persona to adjust WB in a file it does so and doesn't just adjust color cast as this person claims. So what is the truth of this matter? Any input would be much appreciated.

Can Affinity Photo with the recent upgrade now process Pixel Shift Resolution files, which it wasn't able to do before? Thanks for any info.

The Pixel Shift files are huge (about 160 mb - 40 mb X 4)) and beyond my systems ability to transmit them, I think. If I resized them I think they would no longer be valid Pixel Shift files, although I don't have much knowledge about this topic. Thanks for trying to trying to help.

Can Pixel Shift Resolution files (also called MultiShot), as produced in Sony, Pentax, and a few other camera brands, be processed in Affinity Photo? As they come from the camera, the Pixel Shift Resolution files combine 4 shots but Affinity Photos appears to select just one of the 4 for processing, or at least that's what appears to happen when I try to do this. The PixelShift2DNG software combines the four shots into a single DNG file that preserves the Pixel Shift Resolution qualities, and that most processing apps can process. However, thus far I can't make this work in Affinity Photo, the image produced being just streaks of different colors. I would like to do HDR merges of 5 - 6 Photo Shift Resolution files from my Pentax K-1, then put these through the Pixel2DNG app, then process the resulting DNG file in Affinity Photo. Alternately I could process each file I wish to HDR merge first in Pixel2DNG and then do an HDR merge the resulting 5 - 6 files, and then process that in Affinity Photo. I can't make either method work. Any help would be much appreciated.

Jammy, I had the exact same artifacts in stitched panoramas. I followed your advice and disabled hardware acceleration, then did three new panoramas and there were no artifacts whatsoever in any of the three. They did occur somewhat sporadically before but I think they would have occurred in at least one, and probably two, of every panorama I did so I think the problem is solved, thanks to your advice. Much appreiciated.

The artifacts in the first post look exactly like the ones I'm getting. However, I did two panorama stitches yesterday eveing that didn't have them. Hopefiully they won't return but if they do I will apply the solution done by the second poster. Thanks for the helpful info.

Recently I have begun to get strange artifacts when my panorama stitches are completed. These do not show up until after the image is finished and exported. They are small (about 1/4- 3/8 inch long) narrow white bands scattered about the image randomly, somwhere around six in each image, and are simple, straight, very narrow, uniform in size, shape and color, and about the width of pencil lead. I do a lot of mountain range photography and use HDR on most images because the scenes are usually high contrast. In this case I do HDR merges ( 5-6 files each) on two or three images, then do panorama stitiching on the two or three of these HDR merges so that most of the visible mountain range is included in the finished photo. I've done this for quite some time and never had artifacts in the images until the past week. I can remove the artifacts with inpainting but it seems they sometimes reappear, although I am not certain of that as I may have missed those the first time I looked. I updated my Affinity Photo as soon as the update was issued and I am wondering if that might have something to do with is as I never saw such artifacts before updating. I did a search here for this and also searched in the Workbook but found no mention of anything like this. Any help and advice would be appreciated. The files are much too large to attach and I don't have the time right now but if the description above isn't adequate I can resize and send them later. But they are really simple - just very small white bands. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the replys. H does work ok. I think clicking on the arrow just below the hand in the panel does what I want also (found this out by accident). Then the only thing going on appears to be the cursor is the arrow.

It's often said there is no such think as a dumb question but this one may violate that saying. After an item is selected in the Tools Panel how is it turned off after finishing using it? For example, after I use the Inpainting Tool I cannot find a way to terminate it's use short of stopping processing of the file. The same applies to at least some other tools in the panel. I've been using Affinity Photo for quite some time and despite searching through the Workbook several times have not found an answer to this. I would think that simply clicking on the tools icon in the Tools Panel would do this but it doesn't. Thanks for any help.

I have processed a RAW (DRG) file ih the Develop Persona, then saved it as an afphoto file, which AFAIK is now an RGB file. When I reopen the file it now opens as a RGB file. I would like to do some more work on the file in the Develop Persona but when I try to reopen that Persona I get a message "Choose an RGB Pixel Layer." I do not know how, and can't find a way, to do that. The Affintiy Photo Workbook has nothing on that, at least that I can find. I am far from a highly accomplished AP user and any help will be appreiciated. Thanks.

Thanks to both of you for the replies, I appreciate it.

The following statement was made on another photo forum in a thread on Affinity Photo by someone who claims to teach photo processing and to have used Affinity Photo in the past: "In what way is AP a forced destructive process for a raw workflow? Start with a raw file and it opens in the Develop Persona. Perform edits: set the white balance, make tone/color changes, crop, sharpen the image and when you're ready click Develop. All your edits are applied and the raw file is converted to and RGB image and opened in the Photo Persona. But any work you did in the Develop persona got discarded. AP doesn't save your Develop Persona editing, all other raw converters do." And in another post by the same person: "AP doesn't save my editing work for my raw files?!! That's got me cussing and spitting on the ground." It seems to me that at least some of the actions he describes are not done in the develop persona, being listed under the adjustments sections in the interface. I would appreciate any comments on these claims, and suggestions for rebuttal if such is possible. I just don't understand his criticisms and claimed experiences with Affinity Photo but his level of expertise is way above mine. Thanks for any comments.

Thanks to both of you for the replies. I'm happy that I can download and install Affinity Photo to a second computer that I own and isn't used for any commercial activity. However, I cannot find how to do the download and installation. The instructions that I found simply don't work in this case. I do not have the original order invoice after all this time but do have the order number, product key, password, and user name from when i originally purchased and installed Affinity Photo on my first computer. If anyone can point me in the right direction of download and install Affinity Photo on my second computer I would be grateful.

I've been using Affinity Photo on the same computer for a couple of years and would like to install it on a second computer, thus having two to use. I did a search on the subject but it didn't find anything. Both computers are Win 10. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for this info. Is this way of development different than what other programs use or do they all or most of them do it this way? My debate adversaries seem to be saying this is a deficient way of development compared to numerous other companies programs. And is "RGB space" a file that is then developed after a Raw file is converted to this, or a file extension, or??. Sorry for my lack of knowledge in this.

Thanks for the replies and feedback It seems that the 3 - 4 people I debated with in the other forum are correct in all, or almost all, of what they claimed about AP deficiencies. However, I still wonder about the claim that Raw files are changed to RGB files in the Develop Persona or upon exit from it. My files are DNG files going it to the Develop Persona and after it finishes it indicates they are DNG (modified) files, and upon export almost any file type can be chosen to save them, but with no mention anywhere of RGB files that I can find. If anyone can clarify this I would be grateful.

On another, general, photography forum I have been having a spirited debate with 3 or 4 posters who insist Affinity Photo is only adequate for low level amateur Raw users (and I am in that category) and is inadequate for high level amateur and professional users, and very few of these high end users use Affinity. They take this position because of faults and inadequacies they perceive in the Develop Persona that they consider "fatal flaws". I do not have the necessary knowledge and ability about editing programs in general or Affinity Photo, although I do use it, to effectively debate these individuals, who appear to be very advanced in their processing/editing skills and are certainly very, very articulate in expressing their criticisms and opinions. In very general terms they have 3 criticisms of the Develop Persona: They claim: 1. It is forced destructive, 2. It does not have HSL and although that is available in the Photo Persona it is "too late" to be used effectively there, 3. It cannot do highlight reconstruction. Below is a quote from one of these posts, "it" referring to Affinity Photo: "In my comments I was careful to say; "It's a great raster editor and a terrific price but it has multiple raw processing flaws that I consider show stoppers." Please note the text I just made bold. I further clarified my comments; My comments apply to Affinity's raw Develop Persona only." "I said Affinity's raw processing is forced destructive. I was then and I remain correct. The term destructive carries two meaning for us when talking about an image processing workflow. We obviously do not want to lose our camera original by overwriting it. Affinity is fine in that regard. However we also use the term destructive if the software does not save out work such that we are forced to repeat or do the work over should we want to make a revision. Affinity's Raw Develop Persona in that context is forced destructive. Any work you do in the Raw Develop Persona with a raw file is discarded when you convert the raw file to an RGB image and move to the Photo Persona. Discarding your work is destructive of your work." "I said Affinity's Raw Develop Persona lacks an HSL adjustment. I am correct. Having an HSL adjustment available in the Photo Persona is no consolation because by then it's too late. An HSL adjustment tool is needed in the Raw Develop Persona." "I also noted that in the Raw Develop Persona Affinity does not attempt highlight reconstruction. And I am correct about that as well." (end quote) They further make the point, as they perceive it, that either in the Develop Persona or when a file is transferred to the Photo Persona the file is changed from Raw to RGB (as noted in the above quote), I don't know which, and the latter is much inferior to editing a Raw file, data and detail being lost, etc. I can't find it listed anywhere during the conversion or editing process in Affinity that this occurs but perhaps I don't know where to look. They also stress that, as they see it. any changes to the processing done in the Develop Persona cannot be done later and the process must be restarted from the beginning to make changes after the file is transferred from the Develop Persona. A link to one of these thread is: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-605390-9.html, this discussion being mainly in pages 9, 10, and 11, and https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-605064-1.html#10398297. I'm wanderer2, Mike. I hope that some members of this forum can affirm for me what parts of the argument by the posters sited above are conrrect, if any, and what are not, if any, and how the ones that are not can best be rebutted. As I indicated above I am way over my head in the discussion and need help. Thanks for any info and input. Mike

I think you are correct on this. Upon exploring the merged file more in FastStone and attempting a simple edit, the resulting file was changed to JPEG. I don't understand why all of the merged DNG properties would be displayed, as well as what was obviously the appearance of the merged HDR file, and it would not edit that file but rather an embedded JPEG file. It makes no sense to me but , as I explained in the OP, my knowledge of all of this rudimentary. On a different note, after attempting to use RawTherapy for the first time and FastStone for the first time in years, I was struck by how counter intuitive and difficult to use they both were, at least to my weak brain. Thank goodness for Affinity! I'm still not sure now how to go about processing these 120 mb in camera merged HDR files but I'll keep investigating as I very much would like to do that. Thanks to all for their help. Mike

As best I can tell in this case FastStone is working with a DNG 121 MB file. Since each of the three files used in the merge was about 40 MB I believe it is the merged file. But, I am not an expert in using these programs and haven't used FastStone in several years and don't recall much about using it at this point. But when I look at the image in FastStone and look at the listed file properties DNG and 121 MB are what it says. Thanks again for your help.

According to posts on the Pentax Forum RawTherapee is the preferred program for these purposes, being more capable than the Pentax utility. At least that's whats been said about PSR processing. Why it can't import an in camera merged HDR file is a mystery to me.

I know that processing of Pixel Shift Resolution files can't be done by some editing programs and I downloaded RawTherapee (free) because it's recommended on the Pentax Forum for that purpose. However I've found that Affinity can process PSR files and never used RawTherapee. I was not aware that the same situation exists with the K-1 in camera HDR. As an experiment I uploaded one of the in camera HDR files into each of the four editing programs I have in my computer, Affinity, Photoshop Elements 14, RawTherapee, and FastStone. Just as in Affinity, the uploaded file's image was not the HDR image, but apparently one of the three files used in the HDR merge, in both Elements and RawTherapee. In FastStone however the image was the merged HDR one! I find it ironic that the only one of the four programs that did this was the free, more basic and limited one. Perhaps I can upload my HDR files to FastStone first, do some basic processing, and then move the files to Affinity for more processing. I haven't had time to try that yet but will do so soon.