Today's thoughts on Fuji RAW handling?

Hey all,

Was browsing around, trying to do some research on Fuji RAW handling. I really don't enjoy the free RAW converter from Silky, it converts fine, but RAW manipulation is not intuitive and I'd rather see what other options there are.

Capture One comes up a lot as a top recommendation, but it's $299 for a single person license. I don't need a pixel editor. Just a RAW manipulator and converter. I still process at the pixel level using Photoshop CS5.1 because I own the license and have no need for more than it does right now in terms of pixel level editing. But I could benefit from newer RAW manipulation.

I know Lightroom is popular, but comments about it being slow and differing levels of support based on the version for Fuji's RAWs is also there. But Lightroom6 is $150 with no subscription. That's tempting.

What else is there that is great for RAW manipulation and management, but isn't a pixel level editor suite? I don't need a huge suite of software. Just something modern that handles today's Fuji RAWs well. My main goal is to have something to quickly and intuitively manipulate shadows, highlights, exposure and white balance with flexibility.

Most things I've read are now a year old or more. Looking for today's thoughts from the Fuji users.

Very best,

I've been playing around with On1 Photo RAW 2018 the last couple days with the trial. More than enough flexibility in editing for my purposes. They have a 30 day trial and right now they have the full version for $100.

I also briefly looked into Luminar but it seems like the Windows version is not quite ready. Missing menu options, basic application design/features were not included. They do have a timeline to add more fixes, but it just put a bad impression of the company to release the app when it should not have been released until it was ready. That and also the fact the DAM is not available until 2018 and then if you dont care for that design, you're out of luck getting a refund. I do hear the Mac version is pretty good though.

Here are a couple youtube videos specific to Fuji raw.

Thanks, very interesting stuff.

On1 is looking promising in many ways. I suppose competition is out there finally really pushing to get people who are not happy with subscription based software. Might have to try it for $99. Don't mind paying for it if it's really great and I don't have to pay a subscription forever. I'm the type that will use it until it really doesn't work anymore (still kicking PS CS5.1 until I literally cannot). Interesting pricing structure.... $100, $150 and $300 hah.

Very best,

Just got an email for On1, with promo code BFRAW it drops the price to $90.

MV - Some of what you are hearing about LR and Fiji RAWs may be residual from the early days. LR is a lot faster with Fuji now and it does a competent job replicating the in-camera processing.

Cool thanks,

Yea, hard to find relevant recent info, which is why I'm asking about today's thoughts.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #18504810
Cool thanks,

Yea, hard to find relevant recent info, which is why I'm asking about today's thoughts.

Very best,

Granted I just got a Fuji a week or so ago so don't have a tremendous amount of time with the files, but I haven't had an issue at all in Lr. (Classic cc) I. Fact I would say it's faster than moth my 5d4 files which makes sense considering the size.

I use the Fuji XT-2 and have been looking at LR alternatives now for the past month. I've downloaded and tried most. If you need the Digital Asset Manager then Capture One, On1 Raw, and ACDSee are all great alternatives. I prefer ACDSee over all including LR, for some reason it just works for me and on Mac right click and Open any photo in whatever editor/developer you wish. So ACDSee with Affinity, Pictorial, Topaz or any thing you wish really makes a good combo allowing the freedom to have a DAM and any desired editor/developer work as one.

I really like Luminar as an editor/developer but it does not have the DAM yet so the ACDSee/Luminar combo works great. I am looking forward to the Luminar DAM in 2018. Overall they all pretty much provide a 30 day trail so download and play with each until you find what works for you.

I love Lr for all but the speed, that sucks.

Have look at Alien Exposure 3 as another alternative

nqjudo wrote in post #18504790
MV - Some of what you are hearing about LR and Fiji RAWs may be residual from the early days. LR is a lot faster with Fuji now and it does a competent job replicating the in-camera processing.

yes lightroom handles them but sharpening a fuji file in lightroom causes some weird worm artifact in the image all over. Compared to Capture one or Luminar that do not cause these issues when sharpening.

05Xrunner wrote in post #18505077
yes lightroom handles them but sharpening a fuji file in lightroom causes some weird worm artifact in the image all over. Compared to Capture one or Luminar that do not cause these issues when sharpening.

I remove all sharpening in LR .
Add a high pass in PS
Helps some with the "worms"

Although hasnt really been an issue for me with portraits / people.
And seems like thats most of what Mal. Is doing with his fuji.
I think LR runs well with fuji.. not really noticing it horribly slow compared to my canon/sony files.. there is a bit of extra seconds maybe.. but again in not finding it a big deal.

I tried the trial version of capture1 and really liked it .. but i would still need PS for portrait retouching . And so I passes on it

The best looking raw converter I have used is Irident Developer. They have full suite application for the Mac and the X-transformer converter that can be used with both mac and windows, which seem to give me the best raw conversion for Fuji raw files. The X-Transfomer is only $30.

I use FawRawViewer to analyze and cull my Raws. Then I process only the ones I like with X-transformer. Those then get loaded into Lighroom CC/Photoshop for final processing.

05Xrunner wrote in post #18505077
yes lightroom handles them but sharpening a fuji file in lightroom causes some weird worm artifact in the image all over. Compared to Capture one or Luminar that do not cause these issues when sharpening.

With so many variables at play I don’t doubt your experience but I don’t share it.

I've never had a RAW manipulator other than Canon's DPP, so all of this is new to me.

Trying out On1 RAW just to see. My main interest has been a good way easily lift shadows before bothering fooling with it as a TIF in photoshop and lifting shadows there only to find out its mush. I also like the slider approach that all these softwares seem to have, LR and all of them share this, so that's a nice change of pace for me.

Just testing out ISO 200 dynamic range on the Fuji X100S in On1 RAW to see. I did a -2/3rd EC exposure at F2 and ISO 200 to preserve highlights and see if I could lift shadows successfully without it being totally gross looking and see if the color would also still be vibrant. So far, it seems to work well (and my sensors are generally 8~12 years old on my Canons, so a newer sensor like these Fujis are a nice change of pace in terms of how I can shoot now; must be a real treat on those Sony sensors....).

Before:

nqjudo wrote in post #18505359
With so many variables at play I don’t doubt your experience but I don’t share it.

here you can see.Only a decent amount of sharpening applied to both images. No other adjustments made. 100% crop
Lightroom top and Capture one bottom.
Its not a HUGE deal, but for some maybe portrait photogs the wormy look maybe cause issues with the skin.