Can't open High Efficiency RAW files

[Eva29]

Hi,

I just got a Nikon Zf and immediately tried it out. But unfortunately I found out that Affinity Photo won't open RAW files that are High Efficiency. It will only open Lossless compression files. Those files are two times as big as the HE files which means I can store way less pictures on 1 SD card.

Is there a way I can open HE files on Affinity? It would be a shame if I can't do anything with those photos now. Or will it maybe be possible in the future? 

[Hangman]

Hi @Eva29 and welcome to the forums,

Until support is added to LibRaw, the Library used by the Affinity apps you could download Nikon's NX Studio which is free and available for both Mac and Windows...

https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/564/NX_Studio.html

This will allow you to make adjustments to your High Efficiency RAW files then once edited you could export them as 8 or 16-bit TIFF files if you want to make further edits in AffinityPhoto...

[Eva29]

10 minutes ago, Hangman said:

Hi @Eva29 and welcome to the forums,

Until support is added to LibRaw, the Library used by the Affinity apps you could download Nikon's NX Studio which is free and available for both Mac and Windows...

https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/products/564/NX_Studio.html

This will allow you to make adjustments to your High Efficiency RAW files then once edited you could export them as 8 or 16-bit TIFF files if you want to make further edits in AffinityPhoto...

Will the quality of the picture decrease if I convert it to a TIFF file and only edit it in Affinity? 

[Hangman]

6 minutes ago, Eva29 said:

Will the quality of the picture decrease if I convert it to a TIFF file and only edit it in Affinity?

I'm quoting here...

Quote

 

Both are lossless image formats but the trade-off is that RAW data typically has the advantages of a larger native colour space and potentially greater bit depth as well as completely adjustable white balance, sharpening, etc.

RAW Files
The original data remains intact no matter how many times it is rendered into a usable image file. Numerically lossless compression is used to reduce RAW file size, but image quality remains completely intact with no compression-related artifacts.

TIFF Files
TIFF is a very widely accepted photo format and exports all the data from an edited image but it doesn't contain a whole lot of image manipulation data. RAW image data requires an extra step of conversion compared to TIFF files.

 

If you're happy with your RAW Adjustments in Nikon NX Studio before exporting to TIFF then you should be fine, I don't think you'll see any noticeable decrease in image quality... TIFF is the defacto file format for high-end print...

You will still have your original RAW file should you want to return to it later or make further edits but for now, conversion to TIFF is a one-way process which you should only make once you're happy with your RAW adjustments...

[Eva29]

1 minute ago, Hangman said:

I'm quoting here...

If you're happy with your RAW Adjustments in Nikon NX Studio before exporting to TIFF then you should be fine, I don't think you'll see any noticeable decrease in image quality... TIFF is the defacto file format for high-end print...

You will still have your original RAW file should you want to return to it later or make further edits but for now, conversion to TIFF is a one-way process which you should only make once you're happy with your RAW adjustments...

Thank you! 

[walt.farrell]

1 hour ago, Hangman said:

Until support is added to LibRaw, the Library used by the Affinity apps

Serif have said this will be supported in 2.6 using a library from Nikon, and won't require LibRaw support.