Read the article presenting photo editing software comparison and find out the pros and cons of using these two programs. You should note that this comparison is not completely fair in many ways, as Affinity Photo is more comparable to Photoshop than to Lightroom.

1. Affinity Photo is one of the best photo editing software for PC. It features an impressive choice of simple-to-use tools, for instance, it allows you to crop a photo, use drawing brushes, select any area or remove the red-eye effect.
2. Comparison of GIMP vs Affinity Photo detailed comparison as of 2021 and their Pros/Cons. GIMP is ranked 2nd while Affinity Photo is ranked 3rd.

On my machine, Affinity Photo loads up much faster than Photoshop. With Photoshop CS and beyond, you need to connect to the Adobe servers every 30 days to renew and update, etc. With Affinity Photo, you never need to go online for anything, unless you want to download the latest version and upgrade, etc. It’s uncertain when Affinity Photo’s full version will launch, but when it does it will be available for purchase in the Mac App Store for about $49.99. A Windows/PC version of the app is said to be in works, but again no solid timeline is available. Pro: Speed and reliability.

Things to consider when choosing a file format

Every file format that’s out there has its pros and cons. There may not be a one-size-fits-all approach to choosing a file format, but there’s a format for everything. If you’ve got a file you’re looking to export or print, and you’re wondering which file format to go for, it’s good to consider the following things:

• Size—Do you have a lot of room to store your file? Will it need to fit in an email as an attachment?
• Performance—Will the file be stored online? A large file with a lot of data could slow a website down.
• Scalability—Will the file be edited or resized upon export? Does it need to be versatile? Certain file types lose a significant amount of detail upon being resized or scaled.

With these things in mind, let’s look at some of the more common file formats.

PNG

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is a lossless file format, meaning the quality of data and fine detail stored within files of this type will be retained each time it is opened and saved.

PNG files provide an almost perfect representation of what’s on a screen, making it a good choice for screenshots and web graphics. It is a great choice if you’re working with a detailed, high contrast image containing text or line art, such as a logo, as it will not produce visual artifacts.

Another advantage of this versatile format is its ability to retain transparent areas of your graphic, in contrast to the JPG format which will render transparent areas as a solid white colour.

One of the main drawbacks of PNG is its larger file size when compared to JPG, which can achieve similar results at a smaller size.

This file type is also not ideal for professional-quality printing as it does not support non-RGB colour spaces. In addition to this, PNG does not natively support EXIF data.

JPG

JPG (or Joint Photographic Experts Group—the team that developed the file format—for short) is a good choice for high-resolution web graphics with a smooth variation in colours, such as portraits and photographs of nature.

As JPG files can be saved at a smaller file size while still retaining a similar level of quality to a PNG or BMP file, this format is perfect for standard online graphics.

A unique advantage of JPG is that it allows you to manually adjust the degree of compression of each image, allowing you to balance the image quality up against the file size.

JPG is a lossy file type, losing unnecessary colour data as the image is compressed. Each time a JPG is edited and saved, more quality will be lost as a result.

Images with sharp lines and edges should also ideally be saved in a different format due to the noticeable visual artifacts produced between contrasting colours and objects when saving to JPG.

In addition to this, JPG files also do not support variations in opacity and transparency.

TIFF

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) is the highest quality image format for print graphics that you can go for.

As the image is not compressed when exported to this format, it is lossless, much like a PNG file, making it the most suitable format for printing photos at a large size. Because it is lossless, it is also a good choice for files which are due to be edited further, as it can be altered without losing image quality.

On the other hand, when picking a format for web graphics, TIFF is not the best choice due to its large file size. As it is generally uncompressed, it can take up a lot of storage space.

This large size also makes TIFF files difficult to send as email attachments and could lead to slower loading times if this file type is used for an online graphic.

EPS

The EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) file format is a vector file format that is perfect for collaborative vector-based designs containing a combination of graphics and text such as layouts, decorations, logos and maps. They are also fantastic when it comes to preserving the quality of composite images or raw images captured by a digital camera.

This format is supported by most graphic design programs, and because it is not pixel-based, it is able to be sized and scaled indefinitely without losing any quality. It is also supported by word processing software, making it easy to work with text.

Downsides of the EPS file format include slow saving times, incompatibility with a lot of software, and the fact that it is now considered to be an outdated format, generally replaced by the PDF.

SVG (for web)

SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics) are an extremely versatile vector-based format that can be easily optimised for web use.

The key difference between SVGs and raster formats such as JPG and PNG is that SVG code can be easily read and manipulated via CSS and Javascript, making this format perfect for vector graphics that need to be displayed at various sizes for different web layouts while retaining a small file size.

Like EPS files, SVGs are incredibly versatile and can be resized or scaled without losing any quality or becoming pixelated.

As SVGs are based on points and paths instead of pixels, they are unable to display the same amount of fine detail as a standard image format.

Older web browsers also have a hard time displaying SVG files. Legacy browsers do not support SVG.

12 Apr Photoshop vs Affinity Photo – Which should I buy?

Affinity Photo Pros And Cons Vs

Photoshop vs Affinity Photo – What is the difference?

When you are looking out for editing software the usual choice is Adobe Photoshop. The industry standard is everywhere and image manipulation is now even known as “Photoshopping”. But what are the cheaper options and are they any good?

I have put together this blog to give you some more insights on the main competition that photoshop has, namely Affinity Photo. In this Photoshop vs Affinity photo blog, I would like to show you the pros and cons of each so you can have a clearer idea of which to invest in.

Software Costs

You might have noticed I used the word invest in the previous paragraph rather than buy. The reason is that whatever software you buy, you still have to invest in other things. It could be training courses cost, new hardware to run the power hungry app or your time learning the software. The actual cost of the software is just one thing to consider.

Photoshop is by far the most expensive and has made a lot of people angry by going to a subscription model. This is when you pay monthly to ‘rent’ the software. If you don’t keep paying then your software will stop working.

• Adobe Photoshop is £9.98 per month– This will go up every year or so.
• Affinity Photo is £48.99 – forever including all updates.

Other things to consider in the Photoshop vs Affinity Photo debate

• There are far more training courses (paid as well as unpaid) available for Photoshop.
• Photoshop is the industry standard so if you are using it professionally you can work at most places. Most companies will have Photoshop as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite as they will also use Illustrator and InDesign or other video editing app like Premier pro or After effects. Far fewer companies use Affinity Photo. This however, will probably change over the next few years as Affinity introduce their version of InDesign. They already have a version of Illustrator called Designer.
• Photoshop is bundled with Lightroom and Bridge.

The software itself

Both programs will do the job and they both have similar functions for photographers. Raw file corrections, Layers, Cut outs, masking, selections…. it’s all there. If you are confident in one program you should be able to find your way around the other without too much of a problem. Adobe Photoshop has got some extra abilities like handling and editing video and 3D, but Affinity has a slightly easier-to-navigate interface.

Raw panel in Affinity photo

Raw file converter in Photoshop

Other Versions

• Adobe sell a cut down version of Photoshop called Elements. It’s a one-off payment of £86.56 but upgrades are charged for. Elements is like Photoshop but lacks CMYK support so if you’re doing anything for commercial printing then don’t even think about it.
• Affinity has Affinity Photo for the iPad. This is a very well thought-out app with everything you could wish for on your iPad including Raw support and CMYK. (I will be looking at this in a later post.)

iPad affinity photo screens showing full layers palette.

Final thoughts in the great Photoshop vs Affinity Photo debate

Is Affinity Photo Worth It

I have been a long time user of Adobe Photoshop and started when it was version 2.5 and layers didn’t exist. Also I am and Adobe Certified Expert and Instructor. An Adobe fanboy however I am not. I have seen it go from a small digital darkroom program to the monster it is today. I was horrified when Adobe announced their subscription model and even though I subscribe to it I would still rather buy it outright. The interface also seems very clunky compared to Affinity.

Adobe Photoshop is however, all things to all people, it is “Jack of all trades and master of all”. I still turn to it every time I need to edit or create a bitmap image.It really is a brilliant piece of software!

If I was starting out however and I didn’t have to work commercially with the software (only editing my own photos) I would probably go for Affinity Photo!

Affinity Photo Pros And Cons Llc

There you have it – The winner in the Great Photoshop vs Affinity Photo debate is………

Affinity Photo Pros And Cons List

Well it just depends…..