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summary of Affinity RAW batch processing


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When I carry out RAW batch processing on my Panasonic G9 files the resultant jpgs all are processed approximately 1/2 - 1 stop on the dark side.  I have tried looking at previous forum posts and FAQs but there are a huge number of postings/thread dealing with RAW batch processing in Affinity.  Perhaps someone can summarise the status of RAW Batch processing, confirm it's usability and generally provide a single overview of the pros and cons of Affinity Photo in this area..

I addition I would appreciate any advice on how I can process my files to include an EC of 1/2 to 1 stop.

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What release of Affinity Photo are you using, @trevorc? The splash screen at startup, or Help > About, will tell you.

Darker processing during Batch operations would be expected before 1.8 (possibly 1.8.3), as before then only File > Open went through the full Develop process for RAW files. Now, though, the full process should occur for both File > Open and File > New Batch Job.

Also, what OS are you on? And if you're on Mac, are you using the Serif Labs RAW Engine, or the Apple Engine? (You can see that in the Assistant Manager, for the Develop Persona.)

-- Walt
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As for setting the EC, all you'd be able to do via batch is run a macro, and the macro would be limited to applying a Curves adjustment or Levels or Brightness/Contrast, or something like that, once development is complete.

-- Walt
Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases
PC:
    Desktop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 

    Laptop:  Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU.
iPad:  iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard 
Mac:  2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1

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7 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

What release of Affinity Photo are you using, @trevorc? The splash screen at startup, or Help > About, will tell you.

Darker processing during Batch operations would be expected before 1.8 (possibly 1.8.3), as before then only File > Open went through the full Develop process for RAW files. Now, though, the full process should occur for both File > Open and File > New Batch Job.

Also, what OS are you on? And if you're on Mac, are you using the Serif Labs RAW Engine, or the Apple Engine? (You can see that in the Assistant Manager, for the Develop Persona.)

I'm all up to date on Affinity 1.8.3 and on Windows 10.  I trialled Affinity Photo a year ago and never took it up because the RAW batch processing results were impossibly  dark.  Tried it again this year and the problem had significantly disappeared so bought the product but the problem is still present as a minor niggle of just half a stop dark

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7 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

As for setting the EC, all you'd be able to do via batch is run a macro, and the macro would be limited to applying a Curves adjustment or Levels or Brightness/Contrast, or something like that, once development is complete.

Thanks.  As the batch process is very slow anyway, I think I am better for now using my old PS Elements until such time as the version I have hasn't kept up with my camera model.  By then hopefully Affinity may have caught up.

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9 hours ago, trevorc said:

When I carry out RAW batch processing on my Panasonic G9 files the resultant jpgs all are processed approximately 1/2 - 1 stop on the dark side.  I have tried looking at previous forum posts and FAQs but there are a huge number of postings/thread dealing with RAW batch processing in Affinity.  Perhaps someone can summarise the status of RAW Batch processing, confirm it's usability and generally provide a single overview of the pros and cons of Affinity Photo in this area..

I addition I would appreciate any advice on how I can process my files to include an EC of 1/2 to 1 stop.

Hi @trevorc

Could you please provide me with a sample RAW file from the g9? One with some detail and colours in it?

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  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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27 minutes ago, mrqasq said:

I can give you G9 Raw, what you need ?

Just a normal daylight photo that is in focus 🙂

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
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Thanks for getting back Jowday.  As I was looking into your request for a RAW it made me realise that I have over simplified the problem.  I had been assuming and saying here that the problem was one of producing underexposed jpg outputs from RAW as indeed has been apparent but I now realise that sometimes I get the opposite i.e. slightly overexposed.  So the issue isn't what I had suggested but rather a failure by Affinity to get spot on brightness on just about every G9 output RAW shot; mainly too dark but sometimes too light.  My original request is therefore irrelevant because there is no standard constant I could introduce even if there was a method of doing so.  As mrqasq has now joined in I won't send another RAW.  I assume that this is just an issue with Affinity compatibility with the G9.  As I said in my original post there seems to be endless threads about Affinity and RAW batch processing  and I'm still not a lot wiser re what the overall problems are.  Thanks to everybody who has contributed.  

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Just try out some other RAW converters for batch/bulk conversion, but first take a closer look if those do support your individual cam/lens combo then. - Thus you can also try out ...

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

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9 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

Just try out some other RAW converters for batch/bulk conversion, but first take a closer look if those do support your individual cam/lens combo then. - Thus you can also try out ...

I'm happy with PS Elements which works fine for me until such time as I decide to upgrade my camera.  It's just that I am very attached to Affinity now and it would be great if it would manage my total workflow.

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11 hours ago, mrqasq said:

What a nice kid. Congratulations. 🙂

@trevorc and @mrqasq

You should check out Rawtherapee it you want a free RAW converter and DxO Photolab if have have some money to spend. Both have camera colour profile and lens support, and the desired batch processing. Rawtherapee tends to overcook images - especially sharpness - which is not needed with MFT cameras. Plenty of details in their sensors. Enhances MFT sensor noise a bit even with ISO 200 images but you can adjust that. DxO Photolab also overcooks sharpness but also easily adjustable.

Rawtherapee's default settings created an image equal to the embedded preview with a much better rendering than Photo where you have to add 0.7+ exposure for starters. So perhaps batch processing images even with default settings is possible for you in RawTherapee.

DxO Photolab is an awesome product - but the most important feature for a MFT shooter is the PRIME noise reduction that gives you more freedom to shoot at high ISO values without worrying too much about noise.

http://rawtherapee.com

https://www.dxo.com/dxo-photolab/

Photo FIRST. RawTherapee NEXT.

photo.PNG.df2dbe0eec61c958dfc5b09f0e34ca43.PNGrartherapee.PNG.2cfa86fa77094ca09f15bc489448de93.PNG

 

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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5 minutes ago, trevorc said:

I'm happy with PS Elements which works fine for me until such time as I decide to upgrade my camera.  It's just that I am very attached to Affinity now and it would be great if it would manage my total workflow.

It would but I do not recommend it. Depending on the camera used and the desired result I use Capture One Pro, Adobe Photoshop or DxO Photolab. They are all very different. As a RAW converter Photo comes in last of all RAW converts I tried.

You also get Adobe Camera RAW with Elements I think - it is not a bad thing to stick with it.

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  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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14 minutes ago, trevorc said:

I'm happy with PS Elements which works fine for me until such time as I decide to upgrade my camera. 

Then -dependent on your PSE version- you have to take a look if there is possibly some ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) update available for your PSE which might added support for your CAM.

Quote

It's just that I am very attached to Affinity now and it would be great if it would manage my total workflow.

Well as you've already seen it actually doesn't, it's RAW batch processing capabilities are limited, so you might have to look for other solutions.

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

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OK I get the message, Affinity Photo disappoints as a batch RAW convertor.  I have PS Elements and I have RAW Therapee but I just hoped that Affinity would be my single PP package.  I use NIK as well but that is integrated so It's all Affinity to me.  Thanks again for suggestions.

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Just to mess-up more with you guys, looking on your developed version of my RAW file - look here for what is JPEG straight out of camera, as I always schoot RAW+JPEG. I think it's still superior to your developed photo of my son. I would really apreciate your opinion

P1082849.JPG

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22 minutes ago, mrqasq said:

Just to mess-up more with you guys, looking on your developed version of my RAW file - look here for what is JPEG straight out of camera, as I always shoot RAW+JPEG. I think it's still superior to your developed photo of my son. I would really appreciate your opinion

Of course it is - what I showed you was the default output from Rawtherapee - better than the output from Photo - but still just what it is. A guesstimate from the program. I didn't adjust anything.

You should only use the RAW files if you need to do something better and quite often you have to work a bit with it. What I use RAW files for is often to use only selective sharpening, selective light and shadow adjustments and significantly better noise reduction. In your image I would probably work a bit on the shadows, mostly the eyes and the trousers too. More data are available in the RAW file than in the JPG - RAW files are great for reducing issues in the highlights and shadows areas for that very reason.

Consumer grade cameras tend to oversharpen images or even worse the AA filter is removed resulting in harsh, digital images. In that case the RAW files are needed. The worst example is Panasonic GX80/85. I got one for almost free but gave it away. Downright unacceptable results. I had to run the RAW files through expensive Capture One Pro - the only program that could render details naturally. So from time to time RAW files are necessary. 

But the straight out of camera file is great besides that. Panasonic know what they are doing. If it works, don't fix it. Also applies to JPG's. 🙂

This is how Photoshop saw it for comparison:

FranekNaBacznosc_w_lesie.thumb.jpg.97e5e377bb5e0d1b8c1ca5bf1af57e04.jpg

 

  • "The user interface is supposed to work for me - I am not supposed to work for the user interface."
  • Computer-, operating system- and software agnostic; I am a result oriented professional. Look for a fanboy somewhere else.
  • “When a wise man points at the moon the imbecile examines the finger.” ― Confucius
  • Not an Affinity user og forum user anymore. The software continued to disappoint and not deliver.
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