Affinity Develop Persona - Fuji Files

[Walt D]

Hello Everyone,

Like lots of folks, I've been looking for a better piece of software to replace my Lightroom 6.  My needs are RAW development (not so much DAM), HDR,  Pano and Focus Stacking and I'm not interested in rentals.  For my Fuji Raw files, LR6 does OK, but the issues with the x-trans files can be a problem.  After a day of software comparative testing, I was surprised with what I found.

• LR6:  IQ Score 7/10 - Lightroom has been a good tool for me, but version 6 is getting long in the tooth feature wise.  Its using Adobe Camera Raw 7.1 which is not the best for Fuji files.  It also lack the ability to do Luminosity Masks, which I really need for my landscape images.  I'm careful with the sharpening parameters so it produces acceptable images.  200% pixel peeping might say otherwise, but that's not important to me. 
• ON1 2021:  IQ Score 8/10 - I'm working with a free trial of this software and have decided that it just doesn't fit my style.  I'm not a big Preset user and I don't like "Stylized" photos.  I prefer lots of manual sliders, curve manipulation & etc.  I guess I'm more old school (and slow) in my post processing.  Still, I found the image quality very good and the masking tools easy to use.  It obviously lacks the precision control of Affinity Photo / Photoshop for the pixel editing but the ability to work on RAW files with these tools is desirable.
• Affinity Develop:  IQ Score 9/10 - Based on what I've read, this was unexpected.  For my Fuji raw files, Affinity Develop Persona created images with the best detail, color and tones in my test.  HDR results were even better.  BUT, the downside is that the develop settings are baked in and can't be revisited once you click Develop.  Bummer!
• Capture One:  not tested since it lacks HDR or Pano support

So, for now I'll just stick with the combo of LR6 / Affinity for my day to day images.  For the occasion "wall hanger" image, I'll do the raw development in Affinity Develop Persona. 

Walt

Disclaimer:  This was an unscientific test based on my images reviewed with my eyes.  YMMV.