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by Martin 095 on Tue Jun 29, 2021 3:39 pm
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I am considering a move from PS (CS5!) to Affinity Photo and would like to hear from those that use this app.

1) How intuitive is the app to use, especially coming from PS?  Are there tools in PS that are missing from AP?
2) Can it read psd files?  Does it save in a proprietary format?
3) Are there any real shortcomings I should be aware of compared to the performance of PS (ie, have you found yourself recognizing that PS did something that AP cannot)?
4) Any particular issues with the tools AP provides, especially if they are not as functional as those found in PS?
5) I assume I can save selections, feather, convert to masks, etc just as I can in PS – is this correct?

Is there anything else you can provide that will help me with this decision?  Tech support for instance?

Thanks to those that take the time to respond, I appreciate it.
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

by Dan Kearl on Tue Jun 29, 2021 4:43 pm
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I use Affinity in addition to Capture one and there are several nice features I think and the price
is ridiculous for what it is, They were selling it at 50% so it cost like $12!!!
It is not photoshop more like "light" Lightroom.
It has some nice Astrophotography features and a very nice Denoise, about as good as Topaz.
I think it is a bargain, but it does not replace Photoshop for cloning features etc.
Very easy to use, very intuitive..
I uses a layer system that is easy, you can save selections, feather, etc.
i have found that between Capture One for Raw processing and Affinity for finishing, I really don't miss Adobe.
PS Raw conversion is not nearly as good as Capture which is a huge part of the process.
Affinity has a decent stacking function if you stack, as good as PS.
I use other third party stacking anyway, neither is that great.
The future of software I think will be niche products that work better than "One size fits all" software like Photoshop.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:08 am
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Affinity Photo is a very competent Photoshop replacement - I would disagree that it's more like Lightroom. It is very complete and offers essentially everything a photographer uses and much more than your old CS5 version does. Most photoshop plug-ins work in Affinity Photo.
To your questions:
1. There's nothing missing that photographers use
2. Yes it does PSD, TIF, whatever file format you want
3. No, I have not run into anything that AP does not do that I do in PS
4. Not that I have found
5. Yes
 

by Martin 095 on Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:21 am
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Thanks for the responses – I have downloaded the app and will start working with it. Can't argue with the price!
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

by DChan on Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:42 am
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E.J. Peiker wrote:Affinity Photo is a very competent Photoshop replacement - I would disagree that it's more like Lightroom.  [snip]
+1.
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:59 am
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Affinity Photo is an excellent PS alternative, and I agree, it's nothing like Lightroom. The inpainting tool in Affinity is my favourite.
 

by Dan Kearl on Wed Jun 30, 2021 12:54 pm
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I probably misstated the Lightroom comparison but I still think that it is a $12 software package and it does not have some features that
PS has and some people who come from PS might be disappointed with some features.
Cloning and erasing is not comparable with PS. As far as I know adding canvas and features like that is not available in Affinity but maybe
I just need to spend more time using it??
It is outstanding for its price but as a stand alone processing software I do not think it is in the same league.
Without Capture One for RAW conversion I would not be happy if it was my sole processing software.
I miss TK actions which I do not think is available for Affinity and although I like the Denoise a lot some people may miss Topaz which again I do not think is available and supported for Affinity.
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Wed Jun 30, 2021 1:57 pm
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Dan Kearl wrote:I probably misstated the Lightroom comparison but I still think that it is a $12 software package and it does not have some features that
PS has and some people who come from PS might be disappointed with some features.
Cloning and erasing is not comparable with PS. As far as I know adding canvas and features like that is not available in Affinity but maybe
I just need to spend more time using it??
It is outstanding for its price but as a stand alone processing software I do not think it is in the same league.
Without Capture One for RAW conversion I would not be happy if it was my sole processing software.
I miss TK actions which I do not think is available for Affinity and although I like the Denoise a lot some people may miss Topaz which again I do not think is available and supported for Affinity.


Try the inpainting tool in Affinity, I found it works as well as or better than Adobe, but it's challenging making a statement like that without comparing results with two identical images, which I did not try.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Wed Jun 30, 2021 9:17 pm
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Here's how you luminosity mask in Affinity Photo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0rXKW5b9qM
This channel has a lot of good tutorials on Affinity (and other apps too)
Like I said earlier, virtually everything PS does, Affinity does but sometimes it is a very different way of doing it. it is very easy to find how on YouTube or other places.

For those using Capture One to feed Affinity or PS or anything, definitely learn how to do luminosity masks in C1 as you are doing it prior to RAW conversion.
 

by Martin 095 on Thu Jul 01, 2021 2:17 pm
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I confirmed with Tony Kuyper that his panels will not work with Affinity Photo.

Can I use Nik software with this app? Dan mentioned Topaz not working with this, which is why I am asking. TIA
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu Jul 01, 2021 5:03 pm
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Martin 095 wrote:I confirmed with Tony Kuyper that his panels will not work with Affinity Photo.

Can I use Nik software with this app?  Dan mentioned Topaz not working with this, which is why I am asking.  TIA
Nik Version 3 works fine, earlier versions have problems specifically in Viveza.  I haven't yet upgraded to Nik 4 because it no longer supports CS6.
 

by Martin 095 on Thu Jul 01, 2021 6:09 pm
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Great, thanks EJ!
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Jul 02, 2021 1:24 pm
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Martin 095 wrote:I confirmed with Tony Kuyper that his panels will not work with Affinity Photo.

Can I use Nik software with this app?  Dan mentioned Topaz not working with this, which is why I am asking.  TIA

Note that all of the current Topaz software runs in stand alone mode so you can still use it.
 

by Dan Kearl on Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:21 pm
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I did not know that you could run Topaz by itself, I should have..., will look into it, Affinity is good for that but Topaz is always upgrading their software...
It does take some time and effort to get out of the Adobe world...
 

by Martin 095 on Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:03 am
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I also use LR6, so if I make a clean break from Adobe, what is the best app to replace it. FWIW, I generally use LR almost exclusively as DAM, though I do some very light RAW (adjust highlights, darks; remove sharpening; lens correction, etc – nothing major) editing prior to moving to PS.

These were the apps suggested by one site:

Skylum Luminar 4
ON1 Photo RAW
Capture One
Raw Therapee
Darktable

The only one I know anything about is Capture One – doesn't this app take a good deal to get used to using?
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

by Martin 095 on Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:17 am
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Thanks Archfotos – will look into all of these. Guess I should expect some downtime, assuming I make the jump to a new Mac, given the OS, and all the new software. I appreciate the help.
Best wishes,

Martin
"[i]If there is a sin against life, it consists, perhaps not so much in despairing of life, as hoping for another life and eluding the implacable grandeur of this life[/i]." - Albert Camus
 

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