Photo beta 2.1.0.1736 crashes when loading NEF files

[John Sh]

I am attempting to load 24 NEF files from a Nikon D500. Photo beta crashes after a couple of minutes and the computer freezes. Restart was via the power button.

Tried it a gain, same result.

I tried the same exercise in Photo version 2.0.4 and the photos loaded after about 15 - 20 minutes and the computer remained operative, albeit a bit slow, while the images loaded.

My computer details are on the screenshot attached.

[Ron P.]

I think Serif is going want to know if you used the MSIX or MSI/EXE version of Affinity.

How are you loading the NEF files?

• File>Open
• File>Place
• Drag and Drop from a File Explorer window
• Selecting the NEF files in a File Explorer window and choosing Open With
• Also where are these files located? On your Local Hard drive (recommended by Serif), an External HDD, Network Drive or Cloud?

[John Sh]

1 hour ago, Ron P. said:

I think Serif is going want to know if you used the MSIX or MSI/EXE version of Affinity.

How are you loading the NEF files?

• File>Open
• File>Place
• Drag and Drop from a File Explorer window
• Selecting the NEF files in a File Explorer window and choosing Open With
• Also where are these files located? On your Local Hard drive (recommended by Serif), an External HDD, Network Drive or Cloud?

First post, didn't read the rules.

It seems I used the MSIX file to load Affinity beta in the first instance.

The files are stored on a local hard drive, G:\photos\weeds\Cassia\ and I used File>Open to load them.

The files range in size from 13.5 to 16.9 MB

I used exactly the same procedure to open them in v2.0.4.

I'm more than happy to provide any other information they might require.

[walt.farrell]

Do you have problems if you load fewer files? In particular, try loading just 1. 

Perhaps a few, say 3-5. Loading 24 RAW files at a time may well be too many for Affinity to handle. I think that's not a workflow it's really designed for.

[carl123]

I think the OP is saying that opening the same 24 NEF files in 2.0.4 works fine (albeit slow)

But in the latest beta it crashes after a couple of minutes of trying to open them

 

@John Sh I would first check that the performance settings in V2 and V2 Beta are the same

If they are, uploading the 24 NEF files (in a zip file) may help us confirm your findings and assist the DEVs in finding a solution

 

[John Sh]

The performance settings in both versions are "as they came" so ostensibly the same.

Not only does beta crash but it locks up the computer such that the power button was the only option for a restart.

I will forward the images once zipped.

[John Sh]

Photos attached.

_DSC2290.zip

[Ron P.]

Windows 10, 32GB RAM, no crashing loading all 12 NEF files.

Using .1736: RAM usage was 14.1GB, Time to load: 38.5 sec

Using 2.0.4: RAM usage was 13.4GB, Time to load: 40.5 sec

Note: Before testing I made sure the RAM was basically at idle. It was showing 2GB RAM being used, only system, no other apps. So could we surmise the actual RAM usage to load the files would be 2GB less?

[John Sh]

1) your computer must be levels of magnitude faster than mine. I know my machine is not fast but the difference between 40.5 seconds and 15 - 20 minutes could only be described as "considerable".

2) is there some way to set up a fault log if I try it again?

3) what monitoring software are you using?

[carl123]

Thanks for the files @John Sh

Opening all 12 files in V2.0.4 = 26 seconds

Opening all 12 files in V2.1.0.1736 (Beta) = 27 seconds

Windows 11, Hardware Acceleration off

With hardware Acceleration enabled times increase to 53 & 43 seconds respectively (go figure)

Tested multiple times no hangs or crashes

[Hangman]

FWIW on a 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 Mac with 16Gb RAM...

Hardware acceleration off...

• Opening all 12 files in V2.0.4 = 38 seconds
• Opening all 12 files in V2.1.0.1736 (Beta) = 46 seconds

Hardware acceleration on...

• Opening all 12 files in V2.0.4 = 50 seconds
• Opening all 12 files in V2.1.0.1736 (Beta) = 110 seconds

No crashes or hangs but moving between the RAW files in the develop persona using .1736 my Mac exhibits beach ball syndrome when hardware accleration is enabled...

[John Sh]

I'm currently  running the KB5023773 W10 update so I'll try again tomorrow and report back.

I'll also try with hardware acceleration off.

Is there a logging system I can activate that might shed some light. Also can you recommend benchmarcking software to check my computer's performance?

John

[John Sh]

Some more info.

Running 1736 beta with 12 files, it opened them in 1:15sec which is comparable with your results.

I then ran 2.0.4 and 24 files.

CPU between 3 and 17% with the occasional jump to around 30%. 

Memory between 13 and 14 GB

😄 C drive at 100%

The first file loaded after 24 minutes and the last loaded at 36 minutes. The computer was fully operative the whole time but Photo was showing "Not responding" for much of that time.

Running 1736 beta with 24 files.

CPU at 100% dropping to 80%

Memory 14GB

😄 C drive at 100%

The first signs of a lockup occurred at 50sec then after another 40 secs the computer was totally locked. Restarted with the power switch.

I have uploaded another 12 images. Add them to the previous uploaded to duplicate my test load.

_DSC2333.zip

[Ron P.]

17 hours ago, John Sh said:

Is there a logging system I can activate that might shed some light.

Windows has Event Viewer. It can tell you everything about your system, IF you know how to decipher it. It's in readable text or XML if you choose to use your browser to read it. However you need to know what and where to look for what may be causing your problems. In the Search found beside the Start icon, just type in Event Viewer, then choose to open it.

Event Viewer maintains logs, and there should be a log or two of when your system froze/hung up. It should list it as a Critical Event.

[John Sh]

Ok.   I've got the event viewer open but can't see, recognise, anything to do with Photo. Is there a way o save this data and forward it to you?

[John Sh]

I don't think it has any bearing on this problem but all of my folders are now read only. This seems to have occurred at or about the time of the first lockup but that is pure speculation.

[Hangman]

Again, FWIW as I'm on Mac...

Hardware acceleration off...

• Open first file in V2.0.4 = 86 seconds
• Open all 24 files in V2.0.4 = 132 seconds
   
• Open first file in V2.1.0.1736 (Beta) = 103 seconds
• Open all 24 files in V2.1.0.1736 (Beta) = 172 seconds

I think my main question however would be why do you even want to open 24 NEF files... Affinity Photo doesn't have a DAM and isn't attempting to do what either Lightroom or Capture One do (other DAM software is available), so I'm curious to understand the logic of opening so many RAW files at the same time...

[John Sh]

Firstly this is not something I would do as a matter of course. It just so happened that I had a stack of 24 files to be focus stacked and I was checking them first.

Affinity will focus stack 24 NEF files, loading them in seconds and then align and stack in a few minutes.

A 24 shot focus stack is actually quite conservative. 80 to 100 files is common and by no means the upper limit.

I would normally do the initial processing and conversion to JPG in Lightroom and then focus stack the jpgs but with such a small number of files I decided to forgo the Lightroom step.

[Gabe]

I think there's something else going on here(hardware issues, drivers, issues caused by windows update, etc). We run in user mode, so cannot crash/hang your entire system. I just tried opening those RAW files on a VM with very limited resources(1 core CPU, 6gb ram) and it took about 3min to open them all.

[John Sh]

15 hours ago, Gabe said:

I think there's something else going on here(hardware issues, drivers, issues caused by windows update, etc). We run in user mode, so cannot crash/hang your entire system. I just tried opening those RAW files on a VM with very limited resources(1 core CPU, 6gb ram) and it took about 3min to open them all.

Thanks Gabe, and thank you all.

I'll keep working on it and  advise of any info that comes to hand.