Olympus PEN-F RAWs (.ORF)

[Mike Ray]

Hi,

it seems that Affinity has a problem processing Olympus RAW files. In my case, those from an Olympus PEN-F.

I included two screenshots. Left area shwws an untouched RAW file in Olympus Workspace (newest version), the right area the same RAW in Affinity for Windows (newest version).

Affinity shows the untouched RAW much darker and somewhat fuzzy with much lower quality.

I tested the RAW in IrfanView and Luminar AI, both show similar results as in Olympus Workspace. Therefore, there must be an Affinity error or setting i dont know.

 I provided the tested RAW file, too.

Any idea?

Regards, Mike

061 PEN P5140052.ORF

[firstdefence]

I use Mac but whether this image is open in Affinity Photo or Rawtherapee, the image is initially dull and has a soft focus, although Rawtherapee shows the image slightly warmer. Affinity Photo is left and Rawtherapee is right.

In Affinity Photo under the Develop Persona, the Assistant (little tuxedo icon) I have these settings...

If I open the image in Luminar Ai It looks closer to your preferred image, but even then it's still not sharp, it looks brighter and less soft but there is still a softness to it. This is from Luminar Ai with it's Ai applied.

[Mike Ray]

Hi, thanks for your comment. As I wrote above, Olympus Workspace, Irfan View and Luminar AI are doing well... Maybe Serif could take a look at the RAW converter.

[Mike Ray]

I just checked this list:

Olympus PEN-F is mentioned as supported.

[Dan C]

Hi @Mike Ray,

I can confirm that the Affinity Photo app is displaying the RAW camera data with very little post-processing applied.

When opening the RAW file in Olympus Workspace, this app will be selectively applying adjustments to the RAW file in line with the manufactures specifications. As this is the app that the manufactures of the camera provide, it has been written specifically to handle .ORF files and will likely produce the most similar results to the embedded JPEG that the camera processes when the RAW file is taken.

When opening the RAW file in IrfanView, this same embedded JPEG will be used to preview the file, not the RAW data itself so it cannot be used as a comparison to Affinity Photo.

As mentioned by firstdefence above, Luminar AI is applying AI adjustments to the RAW file which Affinity Photo does not currently support.

When opening the ORF file in Affinity Photo, we open a 'flat' representation of the RAW data with very little post processing applied. This allows you to further adjust and edit the image to your own tastes. Unfortunately we aren't provided the same insight into ORF files that Olympus themselves have (as it's their file format) so we cannot apply the same post processing to the RAW file that Olympus Workspace applies, my apologies.

Many users prefer the 'flatter' import of Affinity Photo, as this provides you with a more open starting point for your RAW file and allows you to be more creative whilst developing the image, however we do understand this is not to everyone's taste and I'll be sure to add a 'vote' to our internal improvement log for similar AI features found in Luminar.

I hope this helps

[Guenterm]

Hello,

in my mind all raw files opened in a software got some corrections by the software's engine. Opening a Nikon Nef in Capture the file looks closer to the photo you remember when you shot it. An olympus .orf file opened in Oly workspce will be the same. A software like DXO or Affinity photo supporting different raw files from lot of cameras will have a start setting to show the raw file on the screen. 

In DXO for example it starts with Color rendering - generic rendering, choosing Camera-body - Olympus OM-D-M1.... shows other saturation and slightly different color.

Don't know if there is a similar setting in Affinity photo.

best regards

[firstdefence]

You could try matching the the Olympus softwares result by tweaking the Affinity Photo develops persona settings and then saving it as a Preset.

[Mike Ray]

9 hours ago, Dan C said:

[...]

Many users prefer the 'flatter' import of Affinity Photo, as this provides you with a more open starting point for your RAW file and allows you to be more creative whilst developing the image, however we do understand this is not to everyone's taste and I'll be sure to add a 'vote' to our internal improvement log for similar AI features found in Luminar.

I hope this helps

Hi Dan, thank you for this very interesting background informations. However, i additionally own an Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark III, and these RAWs look different in Affinity, much more like in Olympus Workspace. For me, even better than in Olympus Workspace. For Comparison reasons, there is a RAW file from the EM-1 III attached. Maybe Serif found another way to decode the E-M1 RAWs...

131 M3 P5140035.ORF

[Mike Ray]

2 hours ago, firstdefence said:

You could try matching the the Olympus softwares result by tweaking the Affinity Photo develops persona settings and then saving it as a Preset.

 

That's a pretty good idea. I will try it out. Thanks!

[Dan C]

No problem at all, happy to help!

13 hours ago, Mike Ray said:

i additionally own an Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark III, and these RAWs look different in Affinity, much more like in Olympus Workspace. For me, even better than in Olympus Workspace. For Comparison reasons, there is a RAW file from the EM-1 III attached. Maybe Serif found another way to decode the E-M1 RAWs...

Many thanks for letting me know and I can certainly see the difference here - I will be sure to raise this with our Photo development team to see if there's anything we can do to improve this in a future update

[Mike Ray]

That would be great! 🙂 Regards, Mike

[Alessandraf]

@Dan C 

Affinity for iPad doesn't have the same behavior as Affinity for mac, the display is clearer and I guess the serif engine is still the same, how do you explain this?

[Dan C]

Hi @Alessandraf,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums

Affinity Photo for iPad supports both the Apple Core RAW engine, as well as the Serif Labs RAW engine so it will depend on which engine is in use, and on which platform as this may cause differences in the way your RAW files are displayed between iPad and macOS.

RAW engine choice on macOS:

With the Affinity app open, navigate to Affinity Photo 2 > Preferences > Assistant and select Develop Assistant... in this dialog.

RAW engine choice on iPadOS:

When in the Home Screen of the Affinity app, tap Preferences at the bottom left, from the General tab, tap Assistant Options.

 

Please ensure that both platforms are using the same RAW engine. Can you also please confirm, what specific camera model are you using for RAW files in Affinity?