Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Straightening a 360 panorama in Live Projection view softens the image


Recommended Posts

I have been trying to level/straighten a 360 panorama using the "Straighten" tool in "Live Projection" view. However, I have noticed that after I go into Live Projection view and use the Straighten tool, then exit the Live Projection view and save the image, it looks soft. The sharpness is reduced. 

This appears to be a major issue to me as I am not able to level my panoramas using Affinity Photo. The quality of photos should not be affected in this way. Files showing Before and After leveling results are attached for reference. Observe the "Bosch" logo on the oven to easily identify the issue.

1. Before Leveling/Straightening (Original Image)

1680076588_BeforeStraightning-Leveling.thumb.JPG.37204795f829997a57b08145a543cde6.JPG

1. After Leveling/Straightening (Softened Image)

1447050822_AfterStraightning-Leveling.thumb.JPG.4c2bcaec4b9423a34fcd2e3fb7d08417.JPG

 

 

 

Edited by pritam721
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It seems the damage happens just by activation and removing the projection, without any further edits.

My example file contains some test data with 1 pixel wide checkered board.

Once you add the projection, it gets blurred, and when you remove, it stays blurred & additional artifacts show up.

before (layers 2-n)

image.thumb.png.3be79da2caa9a71b92f929e95d3f5da3.png

after (top layer: merged visible, added projection, removed projection):

image.thumb.png.b5fb942ad22a619023feaed9d968d3c8.png

live 360 projection wrong 360x180.afphoto

 

PS: Seems this issue has some history.

 

Maybe some loss of quality is unavoidable.

 

PPS:

To be more precise, a defined area in roughly the middle 1/3rd x-y range gets blurred: (used blend mode difference to emphasize):

Used a checkered board of 2-pixel width.

image.thumb.png.09f48ede0f237012086fc1306d18a2f0.png

Edited by NotMyFault
Added PS & PPS

Mac mini M1 A2348 | Windows 10 - AMD Ryzen 9 5900x - 32 GB RAM - Nvidia GTX 1080

LG34WK950U-W, calibrated to DCI-P3 with LG Calibration Studio / Spider 5

iPad Air Gen 5 (2022) A2589

Special interest into procedural texture filter, edit alpha channel, RGB/16 and RGB/32 color formats, stacking, finding root causes for misbehaving files, finding creative solutions for unsolvable tasks, finding bugs in Apps.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@NotMyFault

Thank you for doing the checkerboard test. Certainly proves that the issue still exists. Although, this should have been completely resolved. There is an application named PTGui which doesn't loose quality if the projection is changed, which is why I will now have to use that till the issue is fixed in Affinity Photo. 
Its really a deal breaker for me. 

The only main reason I preferred Affinity Photo over other softwares is that it supported 16-bit RAW files in equirectangular projection which Photoshop could not.

Now when I know that using Equirectangular Projection, even just once also degrades the image quality, I would have to remove Affinity Photo from my workflow. 😓

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Staff

Hi both. 

@pritam721 Please don't tag members of staff in posts just to bring attention to a post. 

This issue seems to be a hardware acceleration only issue. For the meantime, you can try and disable it from Preferences > Performance and you should be fine. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Gabe

Thank you. Its seems to be working fine after disabling hardware acceleration. 

Sorry for tagging staff members directly. Actually they responded on another post related to same issue and that's I requested for an update on the issue. 

This issue was a hurdle to me for my current work so wanted a quick resolution. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here are a few examples. Please ignore the light and color differences. Specifically compare the letters visible in the image and you will notice the difference.

Image #1.1: Before projection.

R0020274_HDR-Before.thumb.JPG.3dddbfe11187f822a0038bffdefaa8e5.JPG

Image #1.2: After projection.

R0020274_HDR-After.thumb.JPG.727774d53477f70124ad6f51cc97c35d.JPG

Image #2.1: Before projection.

R0020277_HDR-Before.thumb.JPG.585d706e6d2f69b7cd27d7dad5a0adc4.JPG

Image #2.2: After projection.

R0020277_HDR-After.thumb.JPG.08997a5bfa465f2b950dc9ea2d08d4cd.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Staff

This is most likely caused by some other factor and not simply by entering the equirectangular projection. Can you try it on a new file without doing anything else? Just enter and exit equirectangular projection and see if it gets blurry. If it doesn't, there's a different trigger. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This mostly happens when I enter the equirectangular view and try to level the image using "Straighten" option in the Equirectangular Projection. 

However, I have noticed that even without doing anything, if I enter and the equirectangular view multiple times, the image gets soft.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Staff
1 hour ago, pritam721 said:

This mostly happens when I enter the equirectangular view and try to level the image using "Straighten" option in the Equirectangular Projection. 

This is expected when you straighten. You are essentially rotating the image, so all your pixels will fall in between other pixels. This is essentially what's happening: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.