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That's very respectful of you Galenpass
I haven't used Affinity Photo (AP from now on) for very long but I really enjoy what I have used of it so far.
I downloaded it for the first time when it was in Mac Beta and after that I have tried it on several occasions, both on Mac and Windows but I didn't buy it till a few weeks ago. The reason I didn't buy it was not that I didn't like it but simply that I already have PS in the Adobe Photography package. I still do but PS has never been anything I really enjoyed and for some reason, I enjoy experimenting in AP far more. It's just a more modern program, made from the ground up with modern ideas and hardware in mind not to mention the fact that they have added a huge amount of features in a short time that are not just simple gimmicks but really very good and useful features.
I can't answer all questions straight up now, just like the sharpening thread I need to experiment more with all the programs. I will continue to add to that thread but also this one if you like with my findings. It's important to understand though that I have used Lightroom as my main RAW processor since July 2006. Capture One on and off for about 3 years (mostly off, for some reason) and AP just for a couple of weeks. I know Lightroom very well, I know C1 good and I don't yet know much about AP.
I also have Olympus (slow)viewer installed but considering the UI I rarely use it. I could excuse the UI if the program was at least somewhat responsive but it's not. It's the worst RAW converter I have tried from any company.
ON1 RAW was a let down as well, @mdmarcus pretty much said what I have to say about it. This also includes other "new" RAW converters on the market (I've tried them all I believe, simply because I enjoy it and enjoy seeing alternatives).
Back to AP and to answer some of your questions.
1 RAW File conversion: It contains a good set of tools very similar to Lightroom/Adobe Camera Raw. It looks much the same as Adobe Camera raw when you open a raw-file in Photoshop, which means not as nicely laid out as Lightroom but somehow still better then Photoshop. But let's face it, this may be my opinion only but I don't think there is a program with better UI then Lightroom. It's simple and well laid out with easy "steps" going from organisation in a Library to the Develop module where you simply make adjustments going from the top and down.
The actual conversion, I have found, so far, is good. I haven't tried enough different files yet but so far I like it but I am required to quite a bit of more testing before I say if it's up to par with Lightroom. But like I said, so far so good, nothing to complain about. I will get back to this late next week though (this week is terrible, too many things to do and not enough time to do what I want).
2: Ability to stack photos such as focus stacking etc: Well, so far much better then Photoshop and AP actually has more dedicated options for just that, named for what they are suposed to do. Focus stacking works superbly, I've tried it with a few macro shots so far. I would say it actually starts to close in on the dedicated focus stacking programs such as Helicon Focus. With Photoshop I felt Helicon Focus was a must. With AP I feel I don't have to buy Helicon Focus as AP's ability to go in and adjust the focus stack and edit the different layers after the stack is very close to Helicon Focus. You see all the pictures after the stack is done, you can chose each and combined with the right editing tool you will see what you will hide or display from a different layer thus making a well stacked image far easier to achieve. It looks and feels very much like using Helicon Focus.
Two short videos on it:
Watch them, best way to explain it. Actually, when you're done with this (should be less then 10 minutes) check this link.
Also, stacking for noise reduction:
Stacking for exposure merging/hdr:
Stacking for star trails:
3: Panorama sticking is also available but I haven't tried it yet so can't comment.
4: Noise handeling: Also a work in progress but so far it's good. I feel the cleanest files I get is from C1 with their default noise reduction. This is where I find Lightroom to be the weakest showing a bit too much noise even in ISO 200 files with my E-M1, but I also feel the sensor is getting a bit outdated and as of lately I have a feeling I get much more noise when shooting high speed for a while, if that is the case it's of course got to do with the sensor getting warmer. I will get back to this as well but keep checking my sharpening thread there as I will include noise reduction there. Worth to note though, in AP you have normal noise reduction in the raw converter but you can also check a box which enables "extreme" results. This enables you do do go from noise reduction of a value of 100% to (from the top of my head memory) I think 4000%. This is for extreme cases of course but the ability is there.
5: Sharpening: Same as above as far as the pure RAW conversion goes.
Sharpening outside the raw converter. This is where things become more interesting since my initial thoughts are these. Affinity Photo is so far not quite as powerful a raw converter as Lightroom. And it shouldn't be, same as Photoshop is not as powerful pure raw converter as Lightroom.
AP, like PS, has several ways of sharpening an image. You can do it while editing the raw file but you can also do it after using layers and filters. What I find great about AP is the use of live layers which means I can add a live layer to an image, say a live unsharp mask and I can go back and change it any time I want unlike a "normal" unsharp mask where I need to make sure the other layers and created for non destructive edits.
Highpass filter is another live layer and you don't need to create any type of layer with 50% grey in order to to this. Add the highness filter as a live layer and the entire image goes grey as per usual. You can simply change that live layer to overlay and keep changing the value of it as much as you like after, or the day after etc. Or just go back and delete it. This is the beauty of the live layers in AP.
This leads to 6: Local sharpening which in most ways is far more powerful then Lightroom since AP is more of a contender to PS then it is to Lightroom when it comes to local edits. You of course simply add layers and mask these layers for local "what ever you want". Sharpening, noise reduction etc. A nice feature with AP is that if you create, say, a sharpening layer, first of all it is created with a mask so there is no need to add a mask to it. Second, if you invert it and want to paint in order to show it you will see a live view of the effect with the brush before you paint.
7: Overall relative feel to PS. So far, AP feels as if though it is created as a well designed app for 2016/2017. Well thought of UI with a lot of new smart ideas. PS feels very much as if their UI and many of their ideas stopped in 1990's. Things like the live filters and ability to see a filter shine through the brush you are about to paint with are just two of the things. Another great thing is there is no need need to choose a blend mode in order to see what it will do. You can simply open the blend menu like you do in PS and just hover the mouse over each setting and it will show a live view of what it does.
Sorry about the long post. I will add more to it when I know more though but will try and keep it a bit shorter
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