Does Affinity's .afphoto file have RAW file embedded

[PRSS2K]

Hello All !

I am a new user of Affinity Photo. I have gone through the tutorials and have successfully post processed some RAW file images too.

Wonderful Application. I'm switching over from Lightroom & Photoshop Elements to Affinity photo.

I have a fundamental question:

After editing a RAW file, it is saved in Photo Persona. The RAW file has not changed.

Edited Photo has to be saved as Affinity Photo's native format .afphoto

This .afphoto file contains all the edit info, layers, etc., etc., It is said that this file cold be reopened for further editing.

To do "non destructive" further editing, of the image from where I left off saving it in Affinity's native format, am I to understand that there is a copy of RAW file embedded in the .afphoto file?

If not so, then how does "non destructive" lossless image editing is possible?

It does not have a side car file. So, how am I to re-edit the .afphoto file without loss of image quality obtained from RAW file ?

If I re-edited the .afphoto file, say for pulling up the shadows and bring down highlights, would the quality of the image be the same as RAW file edit?

I'm a bit confused. Please help me in this. Thanking you in advance,

PRSS2K

[Old Bruce]

12 minutes ago, PRSS2K said:

am I to understand that there is a copy of RAW file embedded in the .afphoto file?

Hi and welcome to the forums @PRSS2K

No, the raw file is on your hard drive or card or wherever it is. The Affinity Photo document is a developed version.

14 minutes ago, PRSS2K said:

It does not have a side car file. So, how am I to re-edit the .afphoto file without loss of image quality obtained from RAW file ?

 

Either save a copy and work on that or duplicate the layer Background (the default name) and work on that.

If you change anything it is changed, at times quality is purely subjective.

[P_Monty]

That surprises me.

As a quick experiment, I opened a raw file (24Mpixe, 30Mbyte Nikon NEF file). In the develop persona, I turned off all automatic adjustments in the develop assistant, and clicked 'develop' without making changes. I then immediately saved the aphoto file with no adjustment - no layers, no filters etc.

That file is 200MBytes - so there's a lot of something in there - even though I've done no editing.

[Old Bruce]

22 minutes ago, P_Monty said:

That file is 200MBytes - so there's a lot of something in there - even though I've done no editing.

Two things, is it 8 16 or 32 bits and do you have the default Snapshot saved along with it will make a difference to the file size. The snapshot is a copy of the 8, 16 or 32 bit image.

here is my CR2 file done with no editing just saved with no snapshots 

[Pšenda]

2 hours ago, PRSS2K said:

If not so, then how does "non destructive" lossless image editing is possible?

I think you're mixing a few things together.

The affinity file is lossless, which is why it is so large.

However, RAW development is destructive. If you want to make a change in the develop process, you must develop the original RAW file again.

Edits in the Photo Person (in the affinity file) can be made non-destructively (eg Live Filter), but also destructively (eg Filter).

[John Rostron]

2 hours ago, PRSS2K said:

So, how am I to re-edit the .afphoto file without loss of image quality obtained from RAW file ?

Why do you assume there is a loss of quality compared with the raw file? The raw file will typically be 12 or 14 bit. An aphoto file will typically be 16 bit (though it could be 8 or 32 bit). There will only be loss of quality if you make some  changes during devlopment that explicitly reduce quality.

John

[PRSS2K]

Hello All !

Very kind of you to reply and giver me info so quickly. Thank you all so much. Yes, now I get it.

9 hours ago, Pšenda said:

The affinity file is lossless, which is why it is so large.

However, RAW development is destructive. If you want to make a change in the develop process, you must develop the original RAW file again.

Edits in the Photo Person (in the affinity file) can be made non-destructively (eg Live Filter), but also destructively (eg Filter).

Yes, this was exactly what I wanted to know. I am now understanding this as, as long as I don't open that .afphoto file again in develop persona and make major changes again, there is no loss in image quality. And there is no loss of quality if edited in Photo Persona with tools like Transform, Scaling, or do Photo compositing  ... just to name a few. Or do brush work, paint over some surfaces... like that. It behaves like Photoshop's PSD file. "Live Filter" - looks new to me. Shall look into the tutorials and get familiarized with it. But if I wished to make major changes again in "Develop Persona", I have to use the original RAW file and start from scratch ! (what I understood from John Rostron's reply) That is fine with me. And .afphoto file being a much larger file is also fine with me.

I thank all of you once more. Considering how often I do photography as a serious hobby (I'm an architect by profession) and considering the low number of photos I take in each session, I now feel I have made the right choice for myself switching from Lightroom & Photoshop Elements to this highly affordable Affinity Photo which would serve my purposes.

With best regards, PRSS2K