Camera Craniums: The Photography Community for Enthusiasts

I've always thought editing a RAW file would not change the file. I normally use Lightroom (v5) and this appears to be the case. However, to try out the new Serif Affinity Photo I made a copy of a RAW file, and afterwards noticed that the file size and "modified" date had changed. So does Serif actually modify the file somehow? Maybe metadata?

(https://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10222/normal_Serif_alters_RAW_files.JPG) (https://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=23063&fullsize=1)

Simon

I've just done a test, as I use Affinity quite a lot. It made no changes at all to the RAW file. Bear in mind that when you create a copy the file creation date is the date you made the copy, not the date of the original. As for the file sizes, I have no idea, other than DNGs are weird (and in my experience much bigger than proprietary RAW files), although I did the same with a DNG I made specially for the occasion and the result was no change to file size.

Have you tried it with any other files?

Hi H. Yes, I've noticed that DNG files from my Pentax are considerably larger than the Pentax RAW files. My illustration shows that file was created on 1st March, copied on 2nd, and changed by Serif on 9th. It was a spur of the moment posting; I'll investigate further when I find the time.

(My village is often crowded with motor bikes, but wouldnt you know, I havent seen a single one since you posted the challenge. I do prefer to take a new shot for the challenge, but today have heavy falling snow so I might be out of luck).

Simon

(Mainly for H)

I can now confirm that my Serif Affinity does not in fact alter my RAW files in any way.

The first time I tested Serif I made a copy of the RAW file on my PC and renamed it by adding the word copy to the file name. It was this that changed the size of the file.

(https://cameracraniums.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10222/normal_Serif_does_NOT_alter_raw_files.JPG) (https://cameracraniums.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=23077&fullsize=1)

For this test I created three folders and copied the file directly from the camera to each of them. And after developing one in Lightroom and one in Serif they all still have the same properties.

Apologies for time wasting or causing worry, Simon

Well now we know - well done for finding the cause.