Life after Photoshop - Photo Affinity $60 lifetime licence

[g__day (Matthew)]

I am just trialling a Photo Affinity https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/#buy a $60 lifetime licence bit of software that seems to be able to do many of the final touch up image operations that Photoshop can.

I am just not a fan of pay by the month software - and this new contender really seems capable once you start understanding where all the edditing (hidden under adjustments) are located.

Have folk used this and have strong feelings about this? I do 95% of my processing in PixInsight - its just a few tweaks the old Photoshop did a bit easier - so I was looking for a replacement for it!

A decent tutorial is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwRG...OarfY-qxZy0Ts5

[Leo.G (Leo)]

I've seen it written if buying isn't owning, piracy isn't theft.
All of the major players have figured out the can rip the consumers blind with subscription based software instead of one time licenses.
Hopefully the thieving mongrels all go broke as people start to wake up and search for alternatives as a lot of potential customers are now doing.


Does the software have a trial version?

[AstroViking (Steve)]

Hi Leo,

According to an email I got from Affinity's creators, they are now offering a 6-month free trial on all their products.

I picked up AP when it was in version 1.0 (they're now up to v2.5) and have never looked back.

Cheers,
V.

[Addos (Adam)]

I grabbed this nice little deal too this week!
Used to use photoshop but the subscription fees were too high and after going through the unsub process vowed never to give adobe another cent! Doing 100% of your post in Pix is super challenging; though made slightly easier recently with community scripts from Bill Blanshan and Seti Astro. Still cant really replace the screen compositing and targeted colour adjustment options with live views in photoshop.
I havent tried it yet, but from the few videos I've seen Affinity looks and works very much like photoshop, so for a one off fee of a slab of beer I figure its worth giving it a go!

[g__day (Matthew)]

There is a free trial - for 180 days - which is pretty awesome!

[Crater101 (Warren)]

Many years ago, I used to use Paint Shop Pro before I switched to Photoshop.
https://www.paintshoppro.com/en/special-offers/
Not as cheap as Affinity, but gets a little better with each version. I believe that it's a one-off payment, and no monthly subscription is required.

[g__day (Matthew)]

I bit the bullet after 1 day - $59 is peanuts in the world of astro imaging...