How Good is Affinity Photo’s RAW Converter?

Affinity Photo is among the best software available for general photo editing. Still, when it comes to specific functions like Affinity’s RAW converter, it’s understandable if you’re skeptical of how good it could actually be. So, how good is Affinity Photo’s RAW converter and does it work like the one in PhotoShop? 

Affinity Photo has an excellent RAW converter, however, it works a little bit differently than that of Photoshop. In Affinity Photo the RAW editing capabilities come from using its Develop Persona. Within Develop Persona, you will find all the RAW editing tools you need. 

If you’re trying to edit RAW photos in Affinity Photo but you’re not sure where to start, you’ve come to the right place. In our guide below, we start by establishing whether Affinity Photo has a competent RAW editing system before explaining its basics. We will even provide you with step-by-step instructions to get started. So, without further ado, let’s dive right into it!

Can Affinity Photo Handle RAW Files? 

Before we get into how you can use the RAW editing tools in Affinity Photo, we should first address how well Affinity can handle those files in the first place. So, can Affinity Photo actually handle RAW Files?

Affinity Photo can definitely handle RAW photos. To edit them in their RAW form and then convert them you must use Develop Persona and make sure to undo any of the changes Affinity automatically makes like applying a tone curve.

We will get into this in more detail in the following section on how you actually go about editing the photos. 

How to Edit RAW Photos in Affinity Photo 

Now that we have a grasp on what Affinity Photo can do with RAW photos, let’s shift our attention to how it is actually done. For the most part, all you’ve really got to do is open the RAW photo in Affinity and start using the editing tools from Develop Persona. Still, if you really want to edit the image without any changes to it you will have to adjust some settings. 

Below, we’ve outlined the steps involved in importing and editing RAW files with Affinity Photo’s Develop Persona: 

  1. Open the RAW Photo in Affinity: Unlike PhotoShop, where you have to use a special camera editor for RAW photos, Affinity can edit them in the same windows you edit everything else in. Develop Persona should automatically open with all the RAW editing tools you need. 
  2. Change the settings on Tone Curve in the Assistant menu: Now you want to make sure the images have no changes automatically made to them. You can do this by clicking the “Develop Assistant” icon near the top of the screen. Then you’ll want to set the Tone Curve to “take no action.” 
  3. Edit your RAW photo however you like: Finally, you can begin the editing process on your RAW photo. If you’re not sure how to do that there are plenty of great tutorials online. Suffice to say, you should have all the options you want for really getting in there and getting a RAW photo edited exactly how you want it. 

And with that, you now know how to pull up RAW photos in Affinity and edit them. When you go to export them you will simply do it the same way you would with any other image. 

What RAW Photos are Compatible With Affinity

The RAW from one camera to the next can vary. Therefore it’s not unreasonable to ask if which ones are compatible with Affinity?

Affinity is compatible with nearly all the major RAW formats.

Whichever camera you have, you simply need to move the photos you want to your computer then open them in Affinity and follow the steps we outlined in the previous section. 

So Really, How Good is Affinity Photo’s Raw Converter?

The bottom line is, Affinity has an excellent RAW converter, you just have to know how to use it. The RAW editing tools you will need can be found within the program’s Develop Persona. Fortunately, these automatically open up when you load the file. From there, you can adjust the settings so nothing has been altered on the RAW photo and begin editing. 

When it comes to actually editing the RAW photos, you will have that same degree of extra control you would get from using PhotoShops Raw Photo editor. So the only question left is what project are you going to complete with this information?