RAW Images too Dark

[AdamP91]

I have seen a couple of threads on this issue dating back a couple of years, but no conclusive answer as to how to fix it. When I open up a RAW file into Affinity, it is significantly darker than it should be - see attached image showing the same unprocessed RAW straight out of camera being displayed in Windows Explorer and in Affinity. I never used to have this issue, so something in Affinity has changed and caused it. I am using a Canon 7D mkii and 70D and the issue happens with RAW files from both cameras. I am on the latest version of Affinity. 

What is going on here, and is there an answer as to how to stop it happening?

[walt.farrell]

The general answer is that what you see in Windows Explorer is usually a JPG version that has been prepared by the camera, and which incorporates a number of adjustments already. The actual RAW file does not have those adjustments, and the actual RAW file is what you see in Affinity Photo.

There are some built-in automatic adjustments you can apply via the Develop Assistant (View > Assistant Manager, and possibly click the Develop button) such as exposure control and a tone curve, but other than that you will need to adjust the image to make it look like you want it to. You can do some of that in the Develop Persona, and you can do some of it in the Photo Persona after you've Developed the image. But you are responsible for making most of the adjustments. 

Some other RAW development applications apply a lot of other adjustments automatically, but Affinity doesn't.

[AdamP91]

I'm sure Affinity is showing the exposure as less than it should be - it is also brighter on the camera display. To be clear, I am shooting RAW only no JPEG.

Apply tone curve is set on in the develop assistance - if that wasn't on the difference is dramatic. 

I know that I need to adjust RAW files to make them look like how I want them, that's why I shoot in RAW. But I'm sure Affinity is not showing the exposure as it was shot - otherwise why did this never used to happen on Affinity but is now?

[walt.farrell]

8 minutes ago, AdamP91 said:

But I'm sure Affinity is not showing the exposure as it was shot - otherwise why did this never used to happen on Affinity but is now?

If you haven't changed cameras then perhaps you're right that Photo is doing something different now. You could try disabling OpenCL in the Performance Preferences and see if that resolves anything.

[Ron P.]

1 hour ago, AdamP91 said:

it is also brighter on the camera display

What is being displayed on the camera screen is not the RAW file. It is a jpg, that uses camera settings, like in your camera, called Profiles. I've shot Canon DSLRs for years. A RAW file can not be displayed on a screen, it must be developed. Sure it's using your settings such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO. But those are applied to the camera profile you have set, to produce, in camera, a jpg image. The screen of the camera can be brightened or darkened, to make it easier to see in bright light, like outdoors in sunlight or darkened for dark rooms, so as not to be overly bright.

 

[v_kyr]

28 minutes ago, Ron P. said:

What is being displayed on the camera screen is not the RAW file. It is a jpg, that uses camera settings, ...

That's right! - And to be more specific here, when most cameras save a RAW file, they also generate a preview JPG and embed that one into the RAW file’s data (no matter if you shoot RAW & JPG or just RAW). It’s usually that JPG you see when you preview photos on a cams back screen. That embedded JPG is also often used as the preview in some imaging/viewer apps in order to speed preview things up, since processing the RAW information and then interpreting it takes time and processor power. - Though there are also some rare previewer apps/tools which instead realy do process the RAW file and show a preview of that processing.

There are some tools to extract the JPGs from RAW files, like for example ...

• ERawP (Extra RAW Previews)
• Instant JPEG from RAW
• Photo Mechanic
• ... etc.

 

2 hours ago, AdamP91 said:

But I'm sure Affinity is not showing the exposure as it was shot - otherwise why did this never used to happen on Affinity but is now?

If former Affinity Photo versions didn't showed up the Canon CR2 RAWs that dark, then something might has been changed here in the meantime. Either some default setup isn't applied anymore, or the libraw based CR2 conversion part has somehow changed.

[RichardMH]

It probably means your camera profile doesn't match what Photo is doing. Your camera applies a profile to produce the jpeg. The default may be set up so your image looks good in the camera view screen and may be over bright. Also, as far as I can tell, Photo uses LibRaw convertor. Canon may use a different raw convertor.

I suspect you can change the camera picture mode so it matches Photo  but all the information is there so why worry?