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Raw Processing Engine choice


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I see from the release description that it is possible for the user to choose between raw processing engines. I am sure that is right, but I can not find where to do that. I have checked the Preference settings and the visible icons on APB but can not find where I can choose or what my choices are. Could someone please clear this up for me?

 

Thank you.

 

UPDATE:

 

Never mind. Found it.

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  • 2 years later...

I found this post by a link from a photo blog - http://loewald.com/blog/2016/09/affinity-photo-redeemed/

The blogger had previously written a rather critical review of AP's RAW processing capabilities, comparing them with those inside Apple's Photo.

Have the AP's limitations in this area now been overcome or reduced? I personally do not have much of a problem with this, but I don't do so much work using RAW. Partly this is because of other factors, such as camera speed (RAW slows my cameras down) and file size (with impacts on memory and uploads etc.), but where I have both RAW and JPEG images I might still prefer to work on the JPEG first. However, if I found that there was a definite benefit to the RAW version I might then switch to RAW processing to get the best out of an image, and in this situation having tools which work well would definitely be an advantage. Working with RAW is definitely a good thing if the shots are good, and arguably if the content is good and the shots are not optimal, then using RAW might help to bring out the best in them. On the other hand, some shots are below a level at which it is worth worrying ahout the extra effort so other formats and "merely adequate" image processing is good enough.

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Hi EdD

I did indeed note the dates, which was why I posted the query. I was wondering if the problems noted about RAW in Affinity had/have largely been fixed. If that is the case then there is no need for further checking, though some users might want to test out Affinity RAW against other systems, such as the one in Apple Photos or specific software from camera manufacturers.

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You have reminded me. I did go back to the original blogger's site to ask if he'd noticed that the issues he'd raised have been fixed. Other people don't seem so bothered, but it's hard to know without doing the kind of tests that were noted in the original article. If you hear any more please do post again.

For me I don't always use RAW, and it's not always so critical, but for some images poor processing can really spoil images. I saw some a few days ago with very significant noise in what should have been blue sky. Although there are tools which can get rid of some of that noise, or move noise to where it is less noticeable, it is generally better to have a minimum of noise in the "developed" image before doing any further processing.

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Dave & Rafi. I'm going to assume you're not imaging professionals & point you to Darktable (free) RawThearapee (free) OnOne ($100) DxO ($130) and If this IS your job Capture One ($300). Each has it's plusses and minuses. I use Darktable for family photos etc & C1pro for work. Affinity's raw processing is basic & should stay that way. If you want a developer to open your raw files; Affinity is great for that. If you're suggesting the team that develops a filter that gives us live displacement maps should drop their efforts on that hot shit & be bothered with the raw developer because you don't want to google... I don't have a lot of nice things to say & I don't think the devs should either. Learn your tools & use them Gentelmen. Good day.

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Thanks Kenn- I was intrigued by Darktable, it looks like a great piece of software, especially as it has image management (which Affinity hasnt dealt with yet). I was wondering whether there would be any issue transferring the  processed image after using Darktable, to Affinity, with its sidecar info. Do you know if Affinity can recognise this info as such and continue to edit the image as regular JPG? 

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rafi266 and Kenn

I have tried Darktable and RawTherapee already, plus a few others. Indeed I do recommend those for anyone who wants to experiment, but I couldn't say which is better right now. Depends what you want to do I think, and if you do a lot of work in RAW.  Possibly even working in Photo (Apple) would be good - at one point I loaded some RAW photos on my iMac and they popped up looking great but I wasn't sure what settings had been used. There's a fix to get a RAW plugin working with GIMP which may be worth checking out.

Since then I have tended to opt for convenience and simplicity - though I think there may be problems with Affinity RAW which I've not figured yet.

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14 hours ago, rafi266 said:

I was wondering whether there would be any issue transferring the  processed image after using Darktable, to Affinity, with its sidecar info. Do you know if Affinity can recognise this info as such and continue to edit the image as regular JPG? 

That shouldn't be a problem. Jpg files at essentially "flattened" so, what you export is a flat rasterized file (adjustments baked in). If you were working with raw files, you'd have to export a .tif (smart) or a .jpg (meh) to affinity & retouch from there.

 

You can buy a 6tb hard drive for ~130usd why, exactly aren't you shooting raw?

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KennR >>>> You can buy a 6tb hard drive for ~130usd why, exactly aren't you shooting raw?

Simple answer - an extra drive costs $130 - according to you!

I can think of several reasons why some people won't shoot RAW. It really depends on what they want to do, and whether they are really "serious" photographers.

1. File size - RAW files are often much larger than jpegs.

2. Transfer times - It takes longer to transfer RAW than jpegs.

3. Running out of space on a camera card - towards the end of a shoot if space is low with shots still to take, turn RAW off. Even jpeg is better than no shot at all sometimes.

4. Speed in the camera - though here I'm not so sure. I often take shots in jpeg+RAW, but with some of my cameras this definitely slows down the time between shots. Perhaps this wouldn't be the case if I shoot in RAW by itself - though then I'd always have to postprocess the RAW if all I wanted was a jpeg.

5. Some shots are simply as a record - e.g photo a scrawled note on a piece of paper - or even a shot on an iPad or iPhone. No real need for RAW for that - though I think iPhones can do RAW now.  Since iOS 10. See https://www.imore.com/how-shoot-raw-photos-your-iphone-or-ipad

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