Jomisamson

With Affinity Photo on sale I've been trying to do a little pre-sale research about the program since it gets a number of good comments on UHH. In my research, I noticed at least 6 sites relative to a free download of the program. I'm sure that a couple of them are for trial versions or possibly older versions; however, Knowing that if it's too good to be true, it usually is - I was just curious if anyone else had any interaction or reaction with those sites

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

Why not just download from the Affinity Photo (Serif) website? They offer a 90-day free trial of the current version (currently version 1.9.1). And after that, it's half price. What more could you want?

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/90-day-affinity-trial/

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Great price! I might need to try it.

I use the Adobe subscription: Lightroom and Photoshop. Recently acquired free Corel Aftershot Pro with lens purchase from Adorama. It appears to compare favorably to Lightroom with the advantage of not needing to import images. I only use Photoshop rarely and am not proficient with it so I might dump the subscription.

jamesl Loc: Pennsylvania

------------
There are a number of sights you can download from but there is no free version. You are downloading the trial version and then signing into your account to stop the trial and activate it. It is available at this time for 1/2 price, $24.99.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Affinity is a decent secondary editor. But if you shoot in raw, and why wouldn’t you, you need a better raw converter. The develop module will work ok for raw conversion but a program like DXO3 will give you better results. I use both programs. DXO for converting to 16 bit tiff and then sent to Affinity to finish and save to jpeg. Those two programs work well together for most of my needs.
Edited

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

You are quite correct in that Affinity "is ok for raw conversion". In fact it is "A ok" After development the app then moves on for comprehensive, intuitive and powerful editing, with a host of the latest tools and filters, e.g., a haze removal filter. As you know, but others might not, everything that you adjust in raw can be further tweaked after development (conversion) in the main editing program.
Tip of the day - After development and before editing, click 'save'. Then, after editing, export as TIFF/JPG etc.

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

I have used Affinity Photo for a couple of years now, since version 1.5, if memory serves. I have yet to find anything I want to do that cannot be done relatively easily. The newest version, 1.9.1, includes astro-stacking (if that's a word) and and other nice features.

My only beef is that the thing is a memory hog, and so my smallish computer struggles sometimes.

Others don't seem to think the raw converter is all that good, but I find I can often do all I want in just that module. I guess its a matter of opinion.

Cheers,
Dick

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

Yes - simply what it MAY not do in the raw converter can be done in the editing stage.

David Martin Loc: Cary, NC

I've been using Affinity Photo since version 1.3.5. The Develop Persona (RAW development engine) has improved significantly over time. It is worth checking out the current version (1.9.3) before making judgment.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

That is not correct. Much of what AP can't do in the raw Develop Persona just leaves you screwed.

AP is an excellent raster editor and the best alternative to PS as a raster editor. At it's current sale price just buy it it's a great deal -- highly recommended.

That said AP's raw conversion (Develop Persona) has glaring problems and you can not fix them later. If you're going to use AP as a raster editor you should consider using an alternative to do raw conversion work. Free raw converters like RawTherapee, DrakTable, ART all do a better job than AP converting raw files. Given how cheap AP is you can invest in a better raw converter like DXO mentioned above -- lots of options.

Most raw converters do what we call highlight reconstruction. Some like C1 and Lightroom do it very well. Even RT which is free does a good job. AP doesn't even make a feeble attempt. If you need that and it doesn't get done during raw conversion you can't fix it later you're just screwed.

I don't know of any other raw converter that lacks an HSL adjustment. If you don't have that during raw conversion you can get stuck compromising the raw conversion and end up with an inferior result moved to the Photo Persona. You may be able to apply a fix in the Photo Persona but not necessarily a completely equivalent fix as in you didn't break it first and it shows. Think about what you're doing there. AP's failure makes you do a poorer job with the raw conversion so you have to fix it later and end up with not quite as good a result as if you didn't break it first! Seriously?

Trying hard here to think of a raw converter that doesn't supply or at least allow you to use camera input profiles during raw conversion. So far all I can come up with is AP. If you can't do that when you start a raw conversion then you aren't going to be able to do it later. There's no facility in the Photo Persona to apply a camera input profile that should have been applied when the raw conversion was started.

And then there's the huge problem of AP not saving the work you do in the raw Develop Persona. If you return to the raw file later you have to start over from scratch. There's no fix for that.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

On the Mac, Raw Power is a great raw image processor that takes full advantage of the Apple ColorSync engine. $40 in the App Store.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

I just downloaded the program for 24.99. While there is a 60 or 90 day free trial, you may want to try it for about 20 days and then buy if you like it. It is my understanding the 1/2 price sale goes off in about 20 days. The best thing I've liked about the program so far is the HDR feature. It is by far the easiest and most complete HDR program I've tried so far. I want to do some experimenting with the stacking feature also. With the D850 I'm shooting the camera will auto stack up to 100 shots, but they have to be merged in post. For only 24.99 this product is a no brainer. Even if you only use some of the features it is well worth the price.

Schoee Loc: Europe

Is it better to use the software provided by the camera maker for raw conversion? Eg. Nikon Capture NX

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

Often the OEM software like Capture NX and DPP are pretty bare bones but at least they will save your work; As such I'd answer yes to your question. AP is a contradiction: Trying to think of some of the worst raw conversion software and AP pops up as a contender yet trying to think of some of the best raster editing software and AP pops up as a contender.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I don't use lightroom but it's my understanding LightRoom does NOT do layers. If thats true, it doesn't compare favorably to Affinity. I wouldn't use any editor much that doesn't do layers.

I've been using Affinity for 2 years. It does everything Photoshop does. After using PS for over 20 years, and internalizing most of it, the only downside for me has been the interface, which is ALMOST exactly like PS, but different enough to drive one totally used to PS crazy. I think if you're not totally used to another editor, it would be easier. I want to say it's a bit quirky, but honestly, I think its just PS getting in my way, even after 2 years. If I were to go back to PS for some reason, I'd probably run into the same sort of issues. Changing software is not always easy. Anyway, "MOST" of the shortcuts and terminology is the same, but not all.

The RAW developer is fine by me. It's got a load of features and is easy to use. I rarely shoot raw anyway, I've learned years ago that if you made a list of 100 things that make a good photograph, raw would be around 100th. I use the develop persona quite often on jpgs with zero complaints, and recently converted 1000+ slides in raw and developed all of them in AF. No complaints other than wow, was I a lousy photographer 46 years ago.

For $50, it's normal price, it's a GREAT deal. At $25 it's an unbelievable deal. I started with version 1.6 and it's now up to version 1.9, all free. Hard to beat free upgrades. It can be a resource hog, but so can PS. AF recently published some some tweaks to speed it up if you have a slow PC. Slow as I am, I haven't really noticed enough drag to bother me.

In short AF is no joke, it's a full blown editor with all the features. The price is super, and you own it with free upgrades I guess forever, at least the 2 years I've owned it, the upgrades have been free.