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*resolved* Affinity Photo: iMac display dims when image file open


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I'm not sure if this is a bug or a macOS problem...

Since upgrading my 2020 iMac 27" to Monterey, when I open an image (either TIFF or AFPHOTO), the display dims noticeably within a second or so. Popping out of AP to a Finder window (which has a white background), the finder background is noticeably gray. Closing the image (while leaving AP running) restores the entire display to normal brightness.

My display is calibrated; the options to automatically adjust brightness are turned off, and there is no screensaver or dimming active.

No other image app in my arsenal — including Preview, DxO PhotoLab, GIMP, or FastRawViewer — show this problem, which leads me to suspect an Affinity issue rather than macOS Monterey. However, that doesn't mean I don't have something set incorrectly somewhere — or that there's a Monterey issue that AP is exposing.

So, before I make an Affinity bug report, what should I try?

Edited to add: Running macOS 12.4 and AP 1.10.5

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18 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

As noted, I have the automatic brightness adjust turned off, as well as anything else that can affect the brightness on an iMac. Also, I pointed out that this only happens with Affinity Photo — no other image-editing or viewing apps have the problem, which they would if any system-level brightness adjustment was turned on.

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7 hours ago, GrantCee said:

Also, I pointed out that this only happens with Affinity Photo — no other image-editing or viewing apps have the problem, which they would if any system-level brightness adjustment was turned on.

Did you tested if any changes under the APh hardware performance preferences settings (switching between Metal vs OpenGL) may have any impact here?

☛ Affinity Designer 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Photo 1.10.8 ◆ Affinity Publisher 1.10.8 ◆ OSX El Capitan
☛ Affinity V2.3 apps ◆ MacOS Sonoma 14.2 ◆ iPad OS 17.2

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4 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Did you tested if any changes under the APh hardware performance preferences settings (switching between Metal vs OpenGL) may have any impact here?

That's a good thought; I didn't try that.

In the meantime, I managed to solve the issue: It seems that there is some bug in how macOS 12.xx (Monterey) and/or Affinity Photo applies monitor calibrations. As I noted in my initial report, I only recently upgraded to Monterey from Big Sur (macOS 11.xx). I had profiled my monitor (which I do every 3 months or so) just before the upgrade. 

Doing some research, I found out that Apple significantly changed how monitor calibrations are done in Monterey — which led me to suspect that the old calibration might be the cause of the issue. I simply recalibrated the display, and the problem went away. 

As to why the problem only showed up in Affinity Photo, and no other image-related app on my machine, I don’t know; perhaps it has something to do with the hardware performance settings, as you suggested, and their interaction with the OS.
 

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