*EMBARGO 10am GMT THURSDAY 8 DECEMBER*
Bestselling professional picture editing app Affinity Photo is now available to buy for Windows – and boasts a huge update for Mac, too.
Today’s Windows launch coincides with developer Serif releasing Affinity Photo 1.5, which represents the biggest single update to the app since it was launched over a year ago.
Chosen as Apple’s ‘App of the Year’ 2015, and ‘Best Imaging Software’ 2016 by the Technical Image Press Association, Affinity Photo on Mac has received thousands of 5-star reviews from professional photographers, editors, artists and retouchers around the world.
Speed, power and accuracy are at the heart of Affinity Photo’s peerless workflow, with non-destructive editing, RAW processing and end-to-end colour management as standard. Tools work in real time, so there’s no waiting to see results.
Now Affinity Photo 1.5’s enormous update takes its renowned power to another level with an array of new features that users will love, including:
- Macros to record and replay a set of commands
- Advanced HDR merge producing deep unbounded 32-bit images
- A full tone mapping workspace for both HDR and LDR images
- Focus stacking to achieve large depth of field from multiple images
- Full batch processing to process large folders of images in one go
- An all-new way to edit 360 degree images
- Direct PSD write-back
- 32-bit editing including OpenEXR import & export
- Automatic lens corrections based on profiles of thousands of lens & body combinations
The Windows version matches the Mac version feature-for-feature and goes on sale for all platforms at a discount $39.99 / £29.99 / €39.99 until 22 December, with no subscription. Existing owners of the Mac version can download the 1.5 update free of charge.
Watch the video: Affinity Photo version 1.5 https://vimeo.com/194672406
Ashley Hewson, Managing Director of Affinity developer Serif, says: “There are two genuine reasons to celebrate today for professionals who want a powerful, high-end image editor.
“The launch of Affinity Photo for Windows means we’ve fulfilled our ambition to become a truly cross-platform presence, which was one of the core targets for us when we started developing Affinity apps over seven years ago.
“Almost all our back-end code was designed to work regardless of the operating system, which delivers 100% perfect file compatibility between the two platforms.
“And with the release of version 1.5, we’ve given Affinity Photo its biggest update yet, guaranteed to have enormous appeal to professional users on Mac or Windows.”
Affinity Photo is the second in a new trio of applications from Serif. Affinity Designer, a high-end vector graphics tool, is already available for both Mac and Windows. A layout tool, Affinity Publisher, is due to complete the suite in 2017.
Affinity apps share the same file format on all platforms, allowing users to switch seamlessly between them both as individuals and in a professional environment, where colleagues work on different systems.
The update also introduces support for the Touch Bar on the new Apple MacBook Pro.
The usual price will be $49.99 / £39.99 / €49.99 for the software with updates included – there’s no ongoing subscription.
Notes to Editors
Please note link and video will not be publicly visible until embargo expires.
To view a journalist-only rough copy of the video please go to https://vimeo.com/194672406 and use the password ‘review’
Serif (Europe) Ltd, Nottingham, UK, NG11 7EP
John Atkin, Head of PR, email john@serif.com, phone +44 (0) 115 914 9006
Website https://affinity.serif.com
Newsroom http://press.affinity.serif.com
Video https://vimeo.com/macaffinity
Twitter @MacAffinity
Facebook http://facebook.com/MacAffinity
What’s new for Affinity Photo 1.5
Here’s the full list of all the main new features and improvements included in this huge update:
Cross platform (Windows and macOS)
Affinity Photo is now available on Windows as well as macOS with perfect file format compatibility.
Lens profiles
Our RAW engine now includes profiles for thousands of lens & camera body combinations for automatic lens correction.
New colour picker tool
After thousands of requests for a dedicated tool outside of the colour tab, you’ve got it!
32-bit editing
32-bit unbounded images can be composited and edited along with full Radiance HDR and OpenEXR file support.
OpenColorIO support
End-to-end OCIO colour workflows are now supported, with the ability to move dynamically between colour spaces.
Tone mapping persona
Full tone mapping workspace for both HDR and LDR images with local contrast control for dramatic results.
File compatibility improvements
Big improvements to both PDF and PSD import and export.
Macros
Record any number of operations, save them and play them back later.
Improved metadata handling
Our detection of RAW, JPEG, etc. metadata has been substantially upgraded.
360 image editing
Pan and zoom around 360 images, using the full suite of tools in Affinity Photo to edit them live.
New equations filter
An incredibly powerful addition, this allows you to create custom spatial filters with unlimited flexibility.
Pixel art document resizing
Two new resampling algorithms have been added to ensure more accurate resizing of pixel art documents.
Pixel tool improvements
Various requested improvements to this tool including shift constrain and configurable cmd-drag behaviour.
All-new export options
Huge upgrades to export persona offers unlimited flexibility for exporting multiple formats and resolutions for each slice.
Clone sources panel
You can now store an unlimited number of global sources for the clone brush, even working across multiple documents.
OpenEXR import / export
Comprehensive multichannel OpenEXR import / export with options like alpha pre-multiplication to cater for all workflows.
Accumulation brush dynamics
New dynamic to allow brushes to be configured to build opacity.
Text styles
Full text style support now added to link the styles of text objects together.
New marquee selection modes
There are now 3 modes for the freehand selection tool – freehand, polygonal and magnetic.
Improved RAW processing
Overhauled RAW engine for improved results out the box, along with over 70 new RAW camera formats supported.
Batch processing
Process whole folders of images in the background while you continue your work.
New halftone filter
A new super-slick halftone pattern filter has been added, including monochrome, colour, circular and line halftones.
Live perspective projection
Work on perspective distorted areas of your image as if you were looking at it straight on.
HDR merge
Merge multiple exposure brackets together into a single unbounded 32-bit image.
Direct PSD write-back
If you are editing a PSD you can now configure Affinity Photo to directly write back to it when you save.
Improved vectorscope
The vectorscope has been replaced by a vastly more appropriate YUV colour plane scope.
Touch Bar support
Support for the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar, including shortcut keys and tool attribute sliders.
Improved plugin support
Greatly improved support for plugins meaning most third party plugins now work correctly.
‘Edit in Affinity Photo’ Photos extension
Now do a full round-trip from Photos to Affinity Photo and back again with this new extension (Mac OS 10.9+).
Focus merge
Stack and merge multiple images together with different focal lengths for a large depth of field.
Dust & scratches filter
A new filter to quickly remove small defects from areas of images.
Huge snapping improvements
Massive improvements to snapping and auto-alignment, including candidate-free snapping and live gaps and spans.
PLUS! Free bonus pack of macros included
Including various styles and effects utilising the powerful new macro feature. Available with orders within two weeks of launch.
Affinity is a next-generation suite of award-winning software for creative professionals, comprising Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, with Affinity Publisher coming soon.
Built from the ground up with a meticulous focus on workflow and blazing performance, Affinity apps are the culmination of Serif’s expertise and over 25 years’ experience in developing creative software. Like nothing that’s come before, Affinity apps are engineered to be the smoothest, fastest, most precise, and most integrated creative apps available. And Affinity don’t do subscriptions.
Founded in 1987, Serif (Europe) Ltd has been repeatedly praised for its powerful software which has put professional effects and demanding publishing tasks within the reach of ordinary PC users around the world.
Now the winner of over 200 awards internationally, with more than 6.5 million customers worldwide, Serif has more than 150 employees at its head office, development and European sales centre in Nottingham, UK.
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