Windows version of Affinity (beta) now available
- Thread starter Ysarex
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2005
- Messages
- 45,747
- Reaction score
- 14,806
- Location
- Victoria, BC
- Website
- www.johnsphotography.ca
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Downloaded and gave it a whirl (What the heck, it's free, right?). Very much like PS; a few hiccups, but that's to be expected in a beta version... What I am VERY impressed with, and may well warrant keeping (and paying for a full release when it comes out) is the selection tool.
I am plagued by the inability to carefully select and mask hair with any degree of accuracy. I tried the tools in Affinity and damn...
PS 2017, using "Select and Mask" and "Refine Edge" brush; total time about 90 seconds:
Affinity Photo Windows Beta, using the"Selection Brush Tool" and the "Refine Edge" brush. Total time <30 seconds:
The Affinity Photo selection produced a much better, more natural looking selection of the hair with virtually no effort at all. It's not perfect by any means, and would still need considerable refinement if it were to be used in a composite, but it's, IMO, a much better starting point than PS!
I am plagued by the inability to carefully select and mask hair with any degree of accuracy. I tried the tools in Affinity and damn...
PS 2017, using "Select and Mask" and "Refine Edge" brush; total time about 90 seconds:
Affinity Photo Windows Beta, using the"Selection Brush Tool" and the "Refine Edge" brush. Total time <30 seconds:
The Affinity Photo selection produced a much better, more natural looking selection of the hair with virtually no effort at all. It's not perfect by any means, and would still need considerable refinement if it were to be used in a composite, but it's, IMO, a much better starting point than PS!
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
- Messages
- 18,743
- Reaction score
- 8,047
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic US
- Website
- www.lewlortonphoto.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
What format is the output when layers are retained?
dxqcanada
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2008
- Messages
- 7,821
- Reaction score
- 1,673
- Location
- Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2005
- Messages
- 45,747
- Reaction score
- 14,806
- Location
- Victoria, BC
- Website
- www.johnsphotography.ca
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
Native proprietary, but can export to PSD or TIF.
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
- Messages
- 18,743
- Reaction score
- 8,047
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic US
- Website
- www.lewlortonphoto.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
thnx
fmw
No longer a newbie, moving up!
If I can buy it rather than rent it, I'm in.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2005
- Messages
- 45,747
- Reaction score
- 14,806
- Location
- Victoria, BC
- Website
- www.johnsphotography.ca
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
If this is fully compatible with PS plug-ins, it would be a winner for the vast majority of photographers!
OP
OP
Ysarex
Been spending a lot of time on here!
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2011
- Messages
- 7,139
- Reaction score
- 3,701
- Location
- St. Louis
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos OK to edit
I've been poking around with this for the last couple of days. My first reaction is: It's really very good and it's really very bad.
Closest thing to a Photoshop replacement I've seen. As an RGB image editor it really does give PS a run and as for money it simply swats PS down like a bug. Affinity has been selling for the MAC this past year at $49.00. We can assume the WIN version at the same price point. It has the necessary functionality at a professional level (fully 16 bit editing and appropriately color managed). The biggest reason it really is looming as a PS replacement is that the interface and tools are familiar enough for a PS user to adapt pretty quickly and easily. Most important to me: layer masks are adjustable in a manner similar to PS. Since I can't imagine PS has any other value than layer masks that about clinches it.
Plug-ins: I'm not a big plug-ins guy but I have two PS plug-ins. Affinity easily found and installed them. Unfortunately it crashes at any attempt to use them. However this is a beta and we can assume they'll fix that.
You can't help assuming that Affinity has bent over backwards to be a PS clone and then some. So one big feature of PS is ACR. ACR will convert a raw file and hand it off to PS for further processing. Affinity will do the same but with some huge differences. I'm right in the middle of testing my new camera, Fuji X-T2, and I was pleased to find Affinity supported the camera (still waiting for some stragglers out there to support the X-T2). So I decided to load up some X-T2 raw files. Well I don't have the newest fastest computer so it wouldn't be too meaningful to time that file load for you. So instead I started Affinity loading an RAF file (48 mb) and then jumped to PhotoNinja, loaded a different RAF file, made a WB adjustment and saved the result getting back to Affinity before it had finished loading the photo. Again it's a beta and we can assume some future improvement. They're going to have to make it 80% faster to compete with PS.
Raw file processing in Affinity is wonderful, really bad, and totally unservicable. The tools are great and following along with current trends they've included local processing capabilities via layers (Overlays) that make it possible to get the photo fully processed without need to do further processing in something like PS or Affinity Photo. There's a gradient, adjustment brush and spot removal tool very similar to ACR. But there are also glaring omissions. ACR/LR has an HSL panel and Affinity has nothing comparable. There is also no option in Affinity to alter or install a different input profile -- ouch! Nonetheless you can for the most part use the tools in the raw develop module to fully process an image for the most part. Here's a test image I processed:
All of the processing is completed in the raw develop module. In addition to white balance and tone balancing I used two gradients to modify the photo. I cropped the photo. I removed CA and defringed residual CA. I sharpened the photo. And then I went looking for the option to save what I'd done:
THERE IS NO SAVE OPTION!!!!!! WTF!! ARE THEY SERIOUS?!!!
So I went looking to ask about that. I signed up on their support forum and asked the question and got a dodgy answer:
Me: "I can't for the life of me figure out how to save those raw adjustments."
Them: "After developing the RAW file it can then be saved to an afphoto file. We don't currently support side-by-side files for RAW files yet."
Me: " The MAC version that's been for sale for the past year saves raw adjustments, right?"
Them: "You can develop to a 16bit or even a 32bit float Affinity file. 16bit is usually more than enough as long as you have spent a few seconds developing the file. Once you have set White point and exposure to within the few stops then redeveloping is mostly pointless."
Yikes! So I went looking for confirmation elsewhere and found it on another forum where a MAC user confirmed for me: "the short answer to your question is, 'no.'" Affinity does not save any work you do in the raw develop module.
Affinity immediately dumps all your raw processing work as soon as you convert the raw file and transfer it to Affinity's editor. That afphoto file you can then use to save the result (in my case) is a 400mb RGB image. That's insane. For at least a decade now we have been progressing away from that work flow model toward one that makes sense. How often do we hear now LR users say that LR is all the editor they need. You only need PS if you have to clone out utility wires or switch heads between different photos of a wedding party. Affinity has done a 180 and charged to the rear.
And what's the point of including all those nice raw processing tools in the first place if you're not going to save the result they generate? Unbelievable!!
As for the raw conversion quality: fair but not a high end contender yet. Here's a side by side:
Look at that full-res and you'll see some color fringing around the white lettering in the Affinity version. Can't make it not do that. C1 is better but not the best for fine detail -- good old PN for the goal.
Conclusion: Process your raw files with a good raw converter. Get a raw converter like LR or C1 that can do the entire job and then you won't need PS or Affinity. Get something to clone out utility wires when you need it.
Joe
Closest thing to a Photoshop replacement I've seen. As an RGB image editor it really does give PS a run and as for money it simply swats PS down like a bug. Affinity has been selling for the MAC this past year at $49.00. We can assume the WIN version at the same price point. It has the necessary functionality at a professional level (fully 16 bit editing and appropriately color managed). The biggest reason it really is looming as a PS replacement is that the interface and tools are familiar enough for a PS user to adapt pretty quickly and easily. Most important to me: layer masks are adjustable in a manner similar to PS. Since I can't imagine PS has any other value than layer masks that about clinches it.
Plug-ins: I'm not a big plug-ins guy but I have two PS plug-ins. Affinity easily found and installed them. Unfortunately it crashes at any attempt to use them. However this is a beta and we can assume they'll fix that.
You can't help assuming that Affinity has bent over backwards to be a PS clone and then some. So one big feature of PS is ACR. ACR will convert a raw file and hand it off to PS for further processing. Affinity will do the same but with some huge differences. I'm right in the middle of testing my new camera, Fuji X-T2, and I was pleased to find Affinity supported the camera (still waiting for some stragglers out there to support the X-T2). So I decided to load up some X-T2 raw files. Well I don't have the newest fastest computer so it wouldn't be too meaningful to time that file load for you. So instead I started Affinity loading an RAF file (48 mb) and then jumped to PhotoNinja, loaded a different RAF file, made a WB adjustment and saved the result getting back to Affinity before it had finished loading the photo. Again it's a beta and we can assume some future improvement. They're going to have to make it 80% faster to compete with PS.
Raw file processing in Affinity is wonderful, really bad, and totally unservicable. The tools are great and following along with current trends they've included local processing capabilities via layers (Overlays) that make it possible to get the photo fully processed without need to do further processing in something like PS or Affinity Photo. There's a gradient, adjustment brush and spot removal tool very similar to ACR. But there are also glaring omissions. ACR/LR has an HSL panel and Affinity has nothing comparable. There is also no option in Affinity to alter or install a different input profile -- ouch! Nonetheless you can for the most part use the tools in the raw develop module to fully process an image for the most part. Here's a test image I processed:
All of the processing is completed in the raw develop module. In addition to white balance and tone balancing I used two gradients to modify the photo. I cropped the photo. I removed CA and defringed residual CA. I sharpened the photo. And then I went looking for the option to save what I'd done:
THERE IS NO SAVE OPTION!!!!!! WTF!! ARE THEY SERIOUS?!!!
So I went looking to ask about that. I signed up on their support forum and asked the question and got a dodgy answer:
Me: "I can't for the life of me figure out how to save those raw adjustments."
Them: "After developing the RAW file it can then be saved to an afphoto file. We don't currently support side-by-side files for RAW files yet."
Me: " The MAC version that's been for sale for the past year saves raw adjustments, right?"
Them: "You can develop to a 16bit or even a 32bit float Affinity file. 16bit is usually more than enough as long as you have spent a few seconds developing the file. Once you have set White point and exposure to within the few stops then redeveloping is mostly pointless."
Yikes! So I went looking for confirmation elsewhere and found it on another forum where a MAC user confirmed for me: "the short answer to your question is, 'no.'" Affinity does not save any work you do in the raw develop module.
Affinity immediately dumps all your raw processing work as soon as you convert the raw file and transfer it to Affinity's editor. That afphoto file you can then use to save the result (in my case) is a 400mb RGB image. That's insane. For at least a decade now we have been progressing away from that work flow model toward one that makes sense. How often do we hear now LR users say that LR is all the editor they need. You only need PS if you have to clone out utility wires or switch heads between different photos of a wedding party. Affinity has done a 180 and charged to the rear.
And what's the point of including all those nice raw processing tools in the first place if you're not going to save the result they generate? Unbelievable!!
As for the raw conversion quality: fair but not a high end contender yet. Here's a side by side:
Look at that full-res and you'll see some color fringing around the white lettering in the Affinity version. Can't make it not do that. C1 is better but not the best for fine detail -- good old PN for the goal.
Conclusion: Process your raw files with a good raw converter. Get a raw converter like LR or C1 that can do the entire job and then you won't need PS or Affinity. Get something to clone out utility wires when you need it.
Joe
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2006
- Messages
- 18,743
- Reaction score
- 8,047
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic US
- Website
- www.lewlortonphoto.com
- Can others edit my Photos
- Photos NOT OK to edit
I just played a bit with Affinity to try some selecting, etc. and it seemed to work quite well, although not as smoothly for me as PS yet.
It semi-amazes me that they can copy the look and feel of PS so closely and not stamp in their copyrights.
There was one oddity. I converted to BW in an Affinity layer - and it looked sort of ugly.
I exported the layered file to a PSD, opened in PS and redid the BW layer and it looked OK.
There did seem to be some sharpening haloes that I didn't notice in the original exported jpeg so I'll go back and investigate a bit.
If they smooth this up, it will hurt Adobe, at least that part of their customer base that doesn't use LR.
(This is a composite)
It semi-amazes me that they can copy the look and feel of PS so closely and not stamp in their copyrights.
There was one oddity. I converted to BW in an Affinity layer - and it looked sort of ugly.
I exported the layered file to a PSD, opened in PS and redid the BW layer and it looked OK.
There did seem to be some sharpening haloes that I didn't notice in the original exported jpeg so I'll go back and investigate a bit.
If they smooth this up, it will hurt Adobe, at least that part of their customer base that doesn't use LR.
(This is a composite)
Most reactions
-
417 -
312 -
283 -
271 -
263 -
229 -
196 -
182 -
165 -
158 -
142 -
138 -
135 -
123 -
104
