akamerica

Hi Art,

Affinity Photo does not save changes to a RAW format such as .nef but rather to its own file format of .afphoto to allow for future editing of the original file or exported to a standard image format such as .tiff, .jpg, .png

Affinity Photo does not require exclusive access to your photo directories

We offer a free 10 day trail of Affinity Photo so you can see if the program meets your needs.

Many thanks,
Darren @ Affinity Support

Mickey Finn

I use Lightroom. I learned from books. I also subscribed to Phil Steele's video....his stuff is bank. I highly recommend this tutorials.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

Yes you can. I've used both Elements (PSE) and LR in the past and it seemed to me that PSE actually had more RAW editing power than LR, although I could be wrong.

cahale Loc: San Angelo, TX

Photoshop Elements. Not cheap, but not overpriced either. One time cost. "Quick," and "Guided" modes for beginners. I'm with you. I'm not buying something over and over.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Makes no sense. 1st. you are not saving to anything but a file. With Nikon software, to the NEF or what ever TIFF or DNG, JPEG, PNG, allowed that you choose. Ps and Lr can open NEFs right out of the camera with an up to date ACR component. So why not Nikon Software modified files. I can reopen any files I work with Nik or Topaz with Photoshop again. Though for some editing I find I must first Flatten the layers and Save before applying other Filters.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

That actually makes sense, though I use Full Photoshop with Raw.

"Feel the power of the Full side of Photoshop!" - Darkroom Vader

bw79st Loc: New York City

Why do you have to make a copy? All edits made to a RAW file are undoable, well, at least in ACR. Anything you do to it after that becomes something other than the original RAW file.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Just bite the bullit for the long haul and spend the 9.95 a month for Photoshop. Don't worry about learning all the info at once; its a lifetime learning experience but with a reference like Scott Kelby's book you can go into ACR in photoshop and be guided step by step in an order he recommends to do your basic tweaking such as WB, setting white and black points, adjusting shadows and highlights etc... Its really not that hard to do the basic tweaking or you can accept one of the camera profiles offered and save as a Tiff, DNG, jpeg etc. as you choose. Don't be overwhelmed as we are all learning more each and every day. If you do nothing else but learn some things in ACR your images will improve in a big way... You will then be in control of how your images appear. When you are spending big bucks on cameras and lenses, what is 10.00 a month ? Get into a system and stay with it; software acquisition syndrome is just as bad as gear acquisition syndrome.

Wanderer2 Loc: Colorado Rocky Mountains

<<what is 10.00 a month ? >>

It's $120 per year and $600 over five years. That's $600 I would not have if I were a subscriber, which I'm not for this very reason. I have better things to spend $600 on over the next five years, as I see it.
It's all a matter of perspective, some see it as negligible, others as a significant amount of money over a longer period of time. And it just isn't a necessary, mandated expenditure to get a good photo editing program as there are multiple, less costly, good alternatives available. As we used to say during the hippie era, "Different strokes for different folks." IMHO, there are no rights or wrongs here.

jfoidl

Nikon also provides documentation (User Manual) AT THE SAME SITE.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

Yes, it includes Adobe Camera Raw for RAW files.

dkguill Loc: Elkhart, IN

You are correct about Camera Raw. It functions as a plugin and is included with PS Elements. I always remind people that CR will also open JPGs and allow most of the same adjustments as it does with RAW files. I believe that PS Elements is a wise choice for many hobbyists and serious photo users who don't wish to invest the time in learning the more complicated PS program. It also travels well on a laptop when you are away from home/desktop.

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Yes, you are entirely correct... if we could extrapolate any expense over time I am sure we would change many things in our life. Personally I will give up 1 burger and fries a month and not worry about new software features that I now don't have a year later because I own the program. Lightroom/Photoshop might not do everything best but it does most things well and will update you on a regular basis and you will not be learning new software all the time; in addition, a lot of software is offered as a plugin filter in Photoshop. OK, thats my pitch, now I will wait for my advertising fee from Adobe...

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

It's important to point out that the version of ACR included with PSE is not the same version included with PS. The PSE version of ACR is deliberately crippled (features removed that are in the PS version).

Joe

dkguill Loc: Elkhart, IN

Thank you, Joe, for your clarification. I have been told that ACR is a feature of PSE. I'm not surprised that some features would have been removed however. I don't know what features they are. Still, I have been led to believe that the ACR that comes with PSE has many of the same basic functions. I assume that most of those things that are NOT available in the PSE version can generally be accomplished to some degree after a RAW image is converted from ACR into PSE. I still recommend PSE because it is affordable and capable of basic image editing. I should mention that promotional materials suggest that PSE still employs layers if you are in the Editor in Edit Full mode but not with folders. I believe that layers are one of the most important features in Photoshop. I long ago devoted a lot of time to learning the full blown Photoshop because of the work that I do. Of course, I still don't know all that Photoshop can do. Feedback from those who have opted to use PSE suggest they are generally satisfied with their results. I do think that even an attenuated version of ACR would be a plus.

Again, thanks for your clarifying comments.