RAWs always to dark

[Photodummy]

Hi community,

if do I open a RAW with the Windows Photo App than I have do have the file with right exposer on my screen. When do I open the same RAW in Affinity Photo than I have always to dark (about 1.5 step down).

1st question: Why.

2nd: How to fix

I'm working with Windows 10. Questions? Welcome.

[v_kyr]

1. The Affinity RAW engine (Libraw based) uses as default more neutral plain settings, in contrast to over RAW converter software which most often applies some pre-settings on exposer, brightness & contrast, sharpening ... etc.
2. Apply some of the under point (1.) named pre-settings & adjustments and then save them as reusable Preset(s) for your cams default RAW adjustment settings, see therfor the online help for ...
   
   - Developing a RAW image
   - Basic Panel (see on that help page below "Settings (or Preferences)" section! <-- ***

Generally take a look through ...

• Develop Persona (Raw)
  • Developing raw images
  • Using overlays
  • Basic panel
  • Tones panel
  • Details panel
  • Lens panel
  • Overlays panel
  • Focus panel
  • Snapshots panel
  • Location panel

 

[Photodummy]

Hi v_kyr,

on my PC is installed the Serif RAW Lab only. Indeed I don't know why Foto App display my RAWs correct but not A.P. Yes I do know how to develop a RAW but not why A. P. does it at the beginning to dark.

[walt.farrell]

22 minutes ago, Photodummy said:

Indeed I don't know why Foto App display my RAWs correct but not A.P.

The Windows Photo app may be showing you the JPEG preview, rather than the RAW image itself.

[Photodummy]

In these case no. I open RAW files (CR2). I've got no JPEGs.

[walt.farrell]

2 minutes ago, Photodummy said:

In these case no. I open RAW files (CR2). I've got no JPEGs.

I'm suggesting that the CR2 file contains a JPEG preview that the Windows Photo application is displaying. But I don't know for sure.

[Photodummy]

Even I have turned off the JPG option in my EOS70D?

[walt.farrell]

6 minutes ago, Photodummy said:

Even I have turned off the JPG option in my EOS70D?

Yes. That may just control whether it produces a separate image file in JPEG format.

However, I do not know your camera, and do not know for sure what it produces in its RAW files. I also do not know what codecs you may have installed on your system and what effect that might have.

It is also generally true, as @v_kyr indicated, that the Affinity applications will use more neutral settings by default, and this may also mean darker, than other applications.

[Ron P.]

2 hours ago, Photodummy said:

Even I have turned off the JPG option in my EOS70D?

I'm very familiar with EOS 70D, use one, and have since Canon released it. On your camera, go to the First Menu setting, far-left, Image Quality. It allows you to set various RAW, MRAW, SRAW, and JPEG settings of L, M, S1,S2 and S3. The camera will produce a JPEG for all images, even if you are shooting in RAW. Programs like Lightroom, are able to import RAW + JPEG, or either one. The image you see on the camera's screen is the JPEG processed with whatever Camera settings, like Picture Styles (Neutral, Portrait, Lanscape and so on). AP does not recognize those Picture Styles. Further AP provides us with the RAW image, no enhancements, unless in the Develop Assistant, you tell to apply an Exposure Bias, or Tone Curve.

Windows 10 should have the Codec required to view CR2 files. You can go to Microsoft's Website and download their Raw Image Extension. Another way to get the CODEC, is to download and install Canon's DPP (Digital Photo Professional). How to Download & Install. DPP will place the codec into your system and you should be able to view the files in Windows Explorer.

[Photodummy]

Hi Ron P.,

indeed I've installed the Raw Image Extension. Without it I couldn't open RAWs. So, I've got checked the settings of my camera and RAW is on. A picture is more than 1,000 words:

These Screenshot is a RAW in the Photo-App.

And the same RAW opened direct in AP.

Ok, when it's normal than do I must know it.

[walt.farrell]

22 minutes ago, Photodummy said:

Ok, when it's normal than do I must know it.

What are your Develop Assistant Settings in Affinity Photo?

Edit > Settings, or Ctrl+, (by default) or the Assistant Settings button on the Toolbar. Then (if you're not in the Develop Persona), click on Develop Assistant at the bottom of the dialog. You have settings for Tone Map and Exposure Bias. Have you enabled either of those?

If not, you might try them.

[v_kyr]

On 5/21/2023 at 4:15 PM, Photodummy said:

Even I have turned off the JPG option in my EOS70D?

Yes, as an example see this 70D sample RAW file ...

• canon_eos_70d_12.cr2

... and what I extracted as an preview JPG out of it via ERawP ...

 

Further do for APh as I already told above ...

On 5/19/2023 at 9:07 PM, v_kyr said:

Apply some of the under point (1.) named pre-settings & adjustments and then save them as reusable Preset(s) for your cams default RAW adjustment settings, see therfor the online help for ...

- Developing a RAW image
- Basic Panel (see on that help page below "Settings (or Preferences)" section! <-- ***

 

[RichardMH]

When I open a file in Windows Photo its initially dark then lightens. So Windows Photo is applying some processing. Affinity Photo leaves it up to us. DxO Photolab with no corrections looks similar to Affinity Photo (with no tone curve). In Affinity Photo if you go to the Photo Persona without processing in Develop Persona and click on Auto Levels you might get something similar to Windows Photo. 

[Photodummy]

Hi all,

tnx to all for your help.

21 hours ago, walt.farrell said:

What are your Develop Assistant Settings in Affinity Photo?

Edit > Settings, or Ctrl+, (by default) or the Assistant Settings button on the Toolbar. Then (if you're not in the Develop Persona), click on Develop Assistant at the bottom of the dialog. You have settings for Tone Map and Exposure Bias. Have you enabled either of those?

If not, you might try them.

Here is the solution. Tone Map an Exposure Bias was turned off. After enabling them AP opens my RAWs pretty good. The bus will be opened at the same expose as in Photo-App.

My last problem I hope so I do show at these pictures. Here in Photo-App (this time I've equalized the RAW here to AP).

Here in AP...

These time it's about the colour tone especially in the shadows (upper right corner...)

Thanks to v_kyr for your RAW file. Now it will be opended with the same expose as here. Do you can recommend a youtube vid for right/better RAW developing?

[Photodummy]

Now I do start learning developing. The Photo-App "optimized" the preview of a RAW to much. I've opened up my bus in AP again and become aware these time that some (important) details going lost in the Photo-App. So I do must mull my way of evaluating of displaying photos on my computer.

Here my new comparison:

In Photo-App:

And now of AP and I've got played with gradation curve only a little bit:

I hope you can see the more of details and colours. I think to get more contrast I must turn to HDR. What do you think?

Thanks to all, again.

[Camerajockey]

These two are an ORF file and a TIFF of the same image. The raw files always open this dark in Affinity Photo. I've tried Tone-curve on and off, exposure bias on and off. Neither has made any difference.

[carl123]

11 hours ago, Camerajockey said:

These two are an ORF file and a TIFF of the same image. The raw files always open this dark in Affinity Photo. I've tried Tone-curve on and off, exposure bias on and off. Neither has made any difference.

Can you upload that ORF file to the forum and also state your camera make/model?

The information on screen is too small for my eyes

[lepr]

1 hour ago, carl123 said:

Can you upload that ORF file to the forum and also state your camera make/model?

The information on screen is too small for my eyes

[Camerajockey]

8 hours ago, lepr said:

Hi carl123. That's the camera model and lens info. My preferred workflow is to make initial adjustments such as cropping , denoising and raw processing in PhotoLab (sorry), then export as a DNG into AP2 for layer based non destructive processing._MHO1159.ORF

[carl123]

Affinity process RAW files differently to a lot of other software and the issue of ORF Raw files being too dark or flat has been raised before

@Dan C explains it better in the thread below

But for now, you might be better sticking to your existing workflow (PhotoLab) until Affinity has a chance to look at this again

 

 

[Camerajockey]

24 minutes ago, carl123 said:

Affinity process RAW files differently to a lot of other software and the issue of ORF Raw files being too dark or flat has been raised before

@Dan C explains it better in the thread below

But for now, you might be better sticking to your existing workflow (PhotoLab) until Affinity has a chance to look at this again

Cheers carl123. I'll check out @Dan C's thread.