Jump to content
You must now use your email address to sign in [click for more info] ×

Raw Photo is very dark


Recommended Posts

Hello,

I noticed a problem with Affinity Photo, version 1.7. When I develop a photo in RAW, it is very dark. This problem was not present with version 1.65.
Can you help me  ? Thank you

With Affinity Photo 1.7.0.367 version

image.png.1bc72768b745e8ab3f95ef0fe0dd9e6f.png

Under Lightroom

image.png.78b5d12e53de79ea3c97c58b39588fe1.png

Thanks  for your help.

Stéphane.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try turning on the tone curve in the develop assistant a it is a Linear RAW conversion.

 

image.png.0cf6de346e2eaaa2cf5c60531b98c336.png

Both PC’s Win 11 x64 System with Intuos Pen & Touch 
PC1 ASUS ROG Strix - AMD Ryzen 9 6900X CPU @ 3.3GHz. 32GB RAM

- GPU 1: AMD Radeon integrated. GPU 2: NVIDIA RTX 3060, 6GB
PC2 HP Pavilion - 
Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz (8 CPUs), 16GB RAM
 - GPU 1: Intel HD Graphics 630, GPU 2: NVIDIA GTX1050, 4GB

iPad (8th Gen) 2020

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello,

For my monitor, the color profile comes from the calibration of my screen, namely color temperature at 6000K, brightness 100cd / m2, gamut at 2.2.
For the photo, it's a raw photo, NEF format (Nikon) and Nikon_RVB standard color profile.

Thanks,

Stéphane.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to add i am getting the exact same issue, no issue with importing files in 1.6, opened a file in 1.7 and its way underexposed. in Fastone viewer it looks fine, i would say in affinity its almost 2 stops down on what it should be. Add exposure just doesnt look right either. Tone curve makes it darker, changing from 32 bit to 16 bit also makes it darker. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Staff

Hey @sbernard and @phil750,

Would you mind dumping some images into this private Dropbox folder - https://www.dropbox.com/request/z6ARWntXqq3GyeStJiPW

We suspect it may not be image related but it's worth testing it our end with the same images you are using.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello  @Chris B and @phil750,    I tried several times to file a file with the dropbox link, but impossible, processing error.
Otherwise, I opened a photo that was a problem, but that's ok. The picture don't appear dark.
During the anomaly, my affinity photo version was in 1.7.0.367. And now, I am in 1.7.1.404. The bug has been fixed?
Thank you
Stephane.

image.png.55ed4a8ba65f66cbf2c90c468731f6fc.png 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi

i uploaded a file i had previously edited in 1.6 and it worked fine to the dropbox, this file in 1.7 also goes underexposed. So pretty sure its not a file problem but no harm in uploading for you to try. 

I am also on 1.7.1.404 and it still does it to me but strangely only on 1 monitor. If i print screen the image, it goes back to looking fine on the same monitor! 

It also displays fine in the preview in the bottom right but underexposed in the main picture. 

I am shooting with a nikon d500 if that makes any difference. 

i did find a workaround which is in 32 bit preview, enable HDR mode - and add 1.6-1.8 stops of exposure to get back to where it should be. 

 

image.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes only 8bit though, i did try to turn it off but made no affect. Its strange how in affinity on the same monitor the main picture is dull but the preview is bright. 

also updated my gpu drivers just in case and made no difference 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, phil750 said:

Yes only 8bit though, i did try to turn it off but made no affect. Its strange how in affinity on the same monitor the main picture is dull but the preview is bright. 

also updated my gpu drivers just in case and made no difference 

Right, this is why your image is dark then. Unfortunately, due to the way Microsoft implemented HDR in Windows, they have 2 different concepts of brightness - 1 for SDR, and 1 for HDR. The SDR brightness can be changed in the HDR Settings dialog, but the HDR brightness cannot be changed (although some monitors do allow you to change the reference white level). This means that HDR and SDR content on the same screen can appear at different brightness levels, which is incredibly confusing. When we implemented the feature, recognised this could be an issue for users, but we decided to "wait and see" what the reaction of the customers was first. There is a potential fix we could apply here, which would involve scaling the brightness of any image on a HDR capable monitor by the SDR brightness level in Windows, when the "Enable HDR" checkbox is disabled, but this leads to a change in brightness when toggling between the "Enable HDR" state (which would also be confusing). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, phil750 said:

Ok found it, if i turn off HDR in windows displays settings solves it. Turn it off in the monitor no difference. 

You probably want to keep HDR on (read my post above for an explanation). Out of interest, what is the make and model of your monitor?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks for the explanation. I will have a play around with my monitor and see if i can get the settings working, if not its not a massive hassle to turn HDR on/off when im editing as i tend to do it all in big batches. 

im currently using a AOC Agon AG322QC4 , so a gaming monitor more than a photo editing one, though does surprisingly well once calibrated properly.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, phil750 said:

thanks for the explanation. I will have a play around with my monitor and see if i can get the settings working, if not its not a massive hassle to turn HDR on/off when im editing as i tend to do it all in big batches. 

im currently using a AOC Agon AG322QC4 , so a gaming monitor more than a photo editing one, though does surprisingly well once calibrated properly.   

Ah, OK, this is a HDR400 certified monitor (which means it's certified for 400 nits peak luminance). You should definitely enable the HDR ability within (Windows and) Affinity Photo - you will see a lot bigger range of brightness than before!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, since a RAW file does not contain any ICC profile, the luminosity and the colors of a RAW file just opened does not matter very much. It's only at the output of the raw software that a ICC profile is added to the file and that RVB components are given a true color meaning. However, the camera JPEG file or the display by the system commodities or Adobe software (and many others, of course) are in reasonable agreement and thus offer a convenient reference with which Affinity Photo should comply — and unfortunately  it does not always.

Under MacOS and with Serif RAW engine, I observed nothing special with NEF, CR2 or ORF files, but I actually got this odd darkening with RAF files.  However, it disappeared when I switched to the Apple RAW engine. 

Below are compared screen copies for RAF and CR2 between AP 1.6, AP 1.7 and Photoshop (in this case, with no correction)

compar.thumb.jpg.518fa84435e095ddd2da52c2cfe2f4d9.jpg

and a screen copy with the Apple RAW engine :

moteurApple.jpg.cc97c131d3efdf957e70233b6e1509cc.jpg

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 6/20/2019 at 6:15 PM, Mark Ingram said:

Right, this is why your image is dark then. Unfortunately, due to the way Microsoft implemented HDR in Windows, they have 2 different concepts of brightness - 1 for SDR, and 1 for HDR. The SDR brightness can be changed in the HDR Settings dialog, but the HDR brightness cannot be changed (although some monitors do allow you to change the reference white level). This means that HDR and SDR content on the same screen can appear at different brightness levels, which is incredibly confusing. When we implemented the feature, recognised this could be an issue for users, but we decided to "wait and see" what the reaction of the customers was first. There is a potential fix we could apply here, which would involve scaling the brightness of any image on a HDR capable monitor by the SDR brightness level in Windows, when the "Enable HDR" checkbox is disabled, but this leads to a change in brightness when toggling between the "Enable HDR" state (which would also be confusing). 

I too have very dark raw files (.orf in my case but also with other format) ever since the 1.7 update. 

Very disappointing too read it was known their was a potential issue, i did not want to complain and seeing plenty of others users talk about colors issues and files being to dark i assumed their was a fix in the works, instead i read this was by design.....  i don't even know what bloody "feature" caused all this crap, why the heck is AF even loading my non hdr shots in 32 bits,iam lost for words really..... 

Edited by BorderlessCaptures
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, BorderlessCaptures said:

I too have very dark raw files (.orf in my case but also with other format) ever since the 1.7 update. 

Very disappointing too read it was known their was a potential issue, i did not want to complain and seeing plenty of others users talk about colors issues and files being to dark i assumed their was a fix in the works, instead i read this was by design.....  i don't even know what bloody "feature" caused all this crap, why the heck is AF even loading my non hdr shots in 32 bits,iam lost for words really..... 

I assume you have a HDR monitor then? I'm going to make a change in the next version that will only enable the HDR capabilities if explicitly enabled by the user (currently the HDR capabilities of the monitor, and the "issue" with Windows I described will be activated for any 32-bit images).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My monitor is not HDR, i am not really sure how to troubleshoot this problem all i know is that it looks dark in raw mode (but not in the nav/preview) and i have to up the gamma in 32bit preview window to get them to match, but even then everything color/exposure related seems a bit off, maybe its physiological but i have not been able to get a result i am happy with ever since 1.7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Guidelines | We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.