affinity photo big announcement Email

If I,m understanding correctly the main software is free with AI features available with subscription
My only concern is that 3 different software type’s merged into 1 could be confusing, will have a look though when I get time
Just looked its £13 per month for Canva premium its wether the free version is as good as the existing Affinity photo is the question
 
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I think I'm still on the original Affinity.

I downloaded it a few years ago as I had a big multi row night sky panorama that Photoshop wouldn't stitch properly. I did have a play around with it for a while and watched a few tutorials for masking and making these futuristic style blends etc but that was as far as it went - I still only use it for the occasional panorama.
 
Well it works but will need a bit of playing with and will need to see if I can use NIK as a plugin.
 
Vow, Thats a big screw you to adobe right during the max event. It may as well be, they went full out ai.

I will have a play with affinity for sure. Photoshop is not going anywhere for now, but having vector capability and in the same package already sounds very exciting. Far more exciting than paying for illustrator on top
 
Gav. said:
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Ah cheers @Gav.

I logged into my affinity account and didn't see anything. Will load it up on the Mac tomorrow when I get to Scotland.
 
gramps said:
will need to see if I can use NIK as a plugin.
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It can add NIK 4 as a plugin but it's not entirely compatible, don't know if the latest NIK is.
 
Can't quite understand their financial model in the short term.

The new version seems to offer every thing needed by most users, except AI tools
As we are entering the AI AGE, it would seem that they believe all affinity users will soon feel the overwhelming need for the Canva AI tool set.
They could well be right.
Free Affinity could well be the sprat to catch the mackrel. In time it could be seen as the differentiator from other similar AI Tool sets.
With both Affinity and Canva being feedstock, one for the other.

While both would remain effective individually, they would be most effective when combined.
They will probably work better together than partnered with any other alternative.software. that synergy could be coded into their basic structure.

Eventually I expect they will be unified into a single product, but probably not any time soon.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Can't quite understand their financial model in the short term.

The new version seems to offer every thing needed by most users, except AI tools
As we are entering the AI AGE, it would seem that they believe all affinity users will soon feel the overwhelming need for the Canva AI tool set.
They could well be right.
Free Affinity could well be the sprat to catch the mackrel. In time it could be seen as the differentiator from other similar AI Tool sets.
With both Affinity and Canva being feedstock, one for the other.

While both would remain effective individually, they would be most effective when combined.
They will probably work better together than partnered with any other alternative.software. that synergy could be coded into their basic structure.

Eventually I expect they will be unified into a single product, but probably not any time soon.
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It is hard to understand because we can do things the conventional way, which sometimes may be both faster AND better.

It is a rare skill though, and many people outside of the industry, like small business owners, media personalities, younger ones in particular can just instead learn to type a clever set of natural language commands. Soon this will be a lot of users. It doesn't mean canva will have it easy, even if they are cheaper than the full creative cloud. Adobe will have to respond in kind with adjusting prices if the core user base starts to shrink. New players can also enter a market. Don't forget that AI can write pretty decent code and do it very fast.

Just a wild guess: the affinity app probably had quite small user base and was losing them money anyway. So they decided to make it into a marketing tool and bite Adobe. Also they look like they can afford this.
 
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I had the email with this linked video

View: https://youtu.be/UP_TBaKODlw?si=eXQ2h3bs1eo5zgc9


I have only watched a bit so far but in regard to it being free, it struck me that this is in part an extension of when they offered v2 on 6 month trial period .

I can surmise that with Canva "they" are targeting the income to come in from selling to the corporate sector where it sold by the "seat". But for the amateur and semi pro sector it is free unless the user requires AI functionality.
PS having said that about AI in v2.6 they included AI subject recognition (for masking?) but this is not Cloud based but the models are downloaded onto the individual computer.
 
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Sangoma said:
Just downloaded the new one
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Are you on Win or Mac and if Win is it a conventional .exe and not the sandbox MSIX ?
NB of late with v2 Affinity offered both versions.......so I am hoping that they will continue that.

Edit ~ I have found this page and they have indeed honoured their legacy of all installers available

www.affinity.studio

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Sangoma said:
It works :)
And it processes RAW

Does vector as well, but it seems like a mixture of programmes, but I don't think it will replace photo for me.

But that was after 3 minutes use, will be interesting to see the in depth reviews
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Have you installed it along side your current older v2 installs of the individual programs?
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
Just a wild guess: the affinity app probably had quite small user base and was losing them money anyway. So they decided to make it into a marketing tool and bite Adobe. Also they look like they can afford this.
Click to expand...

I think by itself Affinity was self-sustaining as the app suite. Small but robust community. But limited traction. So self-sustaining but also self-limiting.

Canva's target space is a bit wider than Adobe. They also compete with Microsoft, Google, and Apple in addition to Adobe for the content creation/management/publishing space.

They want (need?) Affinity to get them on to more desktops - and into places like colleges and universities to become better recognised.
 
Tried it a bit more, and one problem (for me anyway) there is no alternative to the black theme. You can alter the grey in some areas, but it needs a light theme.

Otherwise it so far seems to be Affinity in a different wrapper.

Not much difference in use between having three in one or three separate programmes open, probably saves on disk and memory usage.
You still have to switch personas, no different to clicking on another tab. I think having Photo and Designer or Publisher open and copying and pasting layers between the two in no more difficult and less confusing than all on one.

I certainly think this is going to have the Farage effect on PS, which will probably get the revamp it needs now.
 
How does it compare to Capture One Pro? I have an old standalone version so it might be nice having something newer with modern features.
Seems too good to be true it being free compared to Capture One and Lightroom.
 
robj20 said:
How does it compare to Capture One Pro? I have an old standalone version so it might be nice having something newer with modern features.
Seems too good to be true it being free compared to Capture One and Lightroom.
Click to expand...

It will cost you nothing to try it, then you can make comparisons with the things you do.
 
There are some really good additions, both in features and methods.

The menus seem to follow a different style, partly because of it being three in one, and obviously some things are only used in certain places, but also it seems to follow a slightly different pattern, which will need getting used to.
Most of the docked menus seem to be the same though, ie the adjustment menu, or the RAW menu look exactly the same.

Impressed so far, and would definitely recommend to any one looking for a programme.
 
Sangoma said:
There are some really good additions, both in features and methods.

The menus seem to follow a different style, partly because of it being three in one, and obviously some things are only used in certain places, but also it seems to follow a slightly different pattern, which will need getting used to.
Most of the docked menus seem to be the same though, ie the adjustment menu, or the RAW menu look exactly the same.

Impressed so far, and would definitely recommend to any one looking for a programme.
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Have you tried the NIK plugin?
 
robj20 said:
How does it compare to Capture One Pro? I have an old standalone version so it might be nice having something newer with modern features.
Seems too good to be true it being free compared to Capture One and Lightroom.
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Capture One does different things though - it's a reasonable DAM.

C1 has just put out an update, which allows joining masks in layers. It's quite something, I think.
 
robj20 said:
How does it compare to Capture One Pro? I have an old standalone version so it might be nice having something newer with modern features.
Seems too good to be true it being free compared to Capture One and Lightroom.
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Affinity Studio, isn't really comparable to Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are designed around converting and managing raw files.

Affinity Studio is a graphics editing suite with the photo part of it designed for editing raster files i.e. files that have been processed in a raw converter like Lightroom or Capture One, and then passed, across to Affinity studio for more advanced editing or incorporation into a publication or graphic. But you can ignore the vector and layout tools.

Affinity Studio has no cataloguing tools, and although it has raw processing capability, it hasn't, so far, been as good as the raw processing found in Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are more suited to processing large numbers of "related" files while Affinity Studio is more suited to working on "special" files one at a time.

As Affinity Studio is free, I would try using it alongside Capture One. Keep C1 for raw processing and cataloguing, but with Affinity Studio available for more advanced masking and retouching (along with the additional vector and layout graphics tools) should you need them. Even though I have the latest release of C1, I still find things that are just easier and better done in Photoshop, and the Photo part of Affinity Studio is comparable to Photoshop.

The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI.

The more recent versions of C1 have been adding AI tools. The earliest was an AI horizon correction tool, followed by AI dust removal, but it now has a slew of AI driven selection tools (and people retouching tools) including the ability to add, subtract and intersect masks.

How old is your version of C1. C1 has seen a lot of additions over the last few releases, but it is still a very expensive option.
 
Is it possible to download Affinity Studio and run it alongside Affinity Photo v2?
 
myotis said:
Affinity Studio, isn't really comparable to Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are designed around converting and managing raw files.

Affinity Studio is a graphics editing suite with the photo part of it designed for editing raster files i.e. files that have been processed in a raw converter like Lightroom or Capture One, and then passed, across to Affinity studio for more advanced editing or incorporation into a publication or graphic. But you can ignore the vector and layout tools.

Affinity Studio has no cataloguing tools, and although it has raw processing capability, it hasn't, so far, been as good as the raw processing found in Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are more suited to processing large numbers of "related" files while Affinity Studio is more suited to working on "special" files one at a time.

As Affinity Studio is free, I would try using it alongside Capture One. Keep C1 for raw processing and cataloguing, but with Affinity Studio available for more advanced masking and retouching (along with the additional vector and layout graphics tools) should you need them. Even though I have the latest release of C1, I still find things that are just easier and better done in Photoshop, and the Photo part of Affinity Studio is comparable to Photoshop.

The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI.

The more recent versions of C1 have been adding AI tools. The earliest was an AI horizon correction tool, followed by AI dust removal, but it now has a slew of AI driven selection tools (and people retouching tools) including the ability to add, subtract and intersect masks.

How old is your version of C1. C1 has seen a lot of additions over the last few releases, but it is still a very expensive option.
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Sounds like I have no use for it then. Thanks for the summary. I'll check when I get home what version of Capture One I have.
 
"The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI."

It does have it :)
 
myotis said:
Affinity Studio, isn't really comparable to Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are designed around converting and managing raw files.

Affinity Studio is a graphics editing suite with the photo part of it designed for editing raster files i.e. files that have been processed in a raw converter like Lightroom or Capture One, and then passed, across to Affinity studio for more advanced editing or incorporation into a publication or graphic. But you can ignore the vector and layout tools.

Affinity Studio has no cataloguing tools, and although it has raw processing capability, it hasn't, so far, been as good as the raw processing found in Capture One or Lightroom. Both the latter are more suited to processing large numbers of "related" files while Affinity Studio is more suited to working on "special" files one at a time.

As Affinity Studio is free, I would try using it alongside Capture One. Keep C1 for raw processing and cataloguing, but with Affinity Studio available for more advanced masking and retouching (along with the additional vector and layout graphics tools) should you need them. Even though I have the latest release of C1, I still find things that are just easier and better done in Photoshop, and the Photo part of Affinity Studio is comparable to Photoshop.

The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI.

The more recent versions of C1 have been adding AI tools. The earliest was an AI horizon correction tool, followed by AI dust removal, but it now has a slew of AI driven selection tools (and people retouching tools) including the ability to add, subtract and intersect masks.

How old is your version of C1. C1 has seen a lot of additions over the last few releases, but it is still a very expensive option.
Click to expand...

Sangoma said:
"The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI."

It does have it :)
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Indeed it does, as per v2.6

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It does mean you have download the Machine Learning models (ML) to your computer i.e. not Cloud based subscription AI
 
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Sangoma said:
"The free version of Affinity Studio doesn't include the AI tools for things like object selection that you get with the paid version, but it still has basic object selection tools. And both AI selection and object selection are likely to still need tweaking: you just save a bit of time with the AI."

It does have it :)
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OK, it seems that you and @Box Brownie have found it has the AI tools of the current version. I was hoping this was the case, but...

I was going on the comparison made by Affinity Revolution, where they say the free Affinity Studio doesn’t include AI object selection and they compare the non-AI selection results with the "paid for" AI selection results.

It seems I misunderstood the video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxvzlb02Z7U
 
robj20 said:
Sounds like I have no use for it then. Thanks for the summary. I'll check when I get home what version of Capture One I have.
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You might still have a use for it, as it comes with a lot of tools not available in C1. Of course, it depends on what you do with your photographs.
 
myotis said:
You might still have a use for it, as it comes with a lot of tools not available in C1. Of course, it depends on what you do with your photographs.
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Just the normal adjustments, exposure, contrast, colours. Might clone out something now and again. Not much more than that.
 
Sangoma said:
It would be ideal for that
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But Capture One already does that, so is it better in some way?
I might give it a try see if I prefer it.
 
robj20 said:
Just the normal adjustments, exposure, contrast, colours. Might clone out something now and again. Not much more than that.
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For cloning stuff out, a pixel editor like Affinity Studio, is usually more effective than a raw processor like C1.

C1 is very good at lots of things, but the ease and finesse of doing many things, is just that much easier in a pixel editor like Affinity or Photoshop.

When I move files into Photoshop from C1, I nearly always regret not having done it sooner.

I assume it's easier to manipulate actual pixels that it is to write the code needed to convert raw data into pixel data.

As Adobe adds traditional Photoshop features into Lightroom e.g masking and selections, and people make comparisons between the "same" feature in Lightroom and Photoshop, the Photoshop results are always better.

The problem is the time needed to learn Affinity, and then forgetting how to use it, because you don't go into it all that often. But I make the same point as before, now that it's free, and an excellent program, its' well worth having it in your toolbox (in terms of everyday photography, almost certainly as good as Photoshop, and if you aren't used to the way Photoshop works, much easier to learn than Photoshop)
 
Sangoma said:
It would be ideal for that
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As is Capture One, except for trickier cloning, and in most cases opening files from a C1 catalogue and processing them inside C1 is more efficient than opening them in Affinity or Photoshop.

But, with Affinity now free, having the option to move into Affinity from C1 when needed is good news.
 
I can't find the Highlights/Shadows adjustment!
 
I'm still on version 1.10. I'd always be suspicious of anything free that is vaguely associated with any AI anything.
 
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