bazmataz

...and, although, I don't use Lightroom, I bet there is a setting/mode in LR that will look at the RAW processing metadata in the RAW file and will show you LR's interpretation of the STRONG GRAIN setting, and other in-camera settings. Certainly CaptureOne the equivalent RAW processing engine, which I use, optionally does do this. You have to remember that the RAW file is not an image, its the data required for a RAW processing engine, like LR, CO, or even Windows Image Viewer, to create one, and they will all do it slightly differently. Software that doesn't have the capability of processing and rendering the RAW file at all may dig out the embedded JPEG thumbnail from the RAW file, and display that instead. BTW - I use CO, rather than LR, because it is widely believed to make a better job of rendering Fujifilm's weird X-Trans RAW files better than LR, and most other engine's.

In manual, exposure compensation is meaningless and the dial doesn't do anything. The exposure compensation display on the rear screen and in the EVF however changes its purpose slightly, and effectively becomes an old fashioned light meter / exposure meter. As you move the camera, it changes dynamically showing you how over/under exposed you are. It is not doing anything active - not changing a setting - simply passively showing you the result of your manual settings of F/SS/ISO you have set on the resultant exposure. You do not want to disable this. Manually change F/SS/ISO until the exposure comp scale reads 0, and you will have a perfectly manually exposed picture. You can, of course, use it to accurately over/under expose by thirds of a stop, depending on your artistic intent.

Not as such. But depending on the precise problem you are suffering from, there may be workaround. In normal shooting operation, pressing the front command dial button cycles between three functions - which you can change. If you are inadvertently switching between say aperture / exposure comp / and ISO - which I think are the default settings - you can simply set the second and third functions to 'none'... Use 'Spanner'->'Command Dial Setting'->'2'->'none', and 'Spanner'->'Command Dial Setting'->'3'->'none' Now the front command dial does nothing in normal shooting operation.

Dynamic range settings of more than 100% cause the 'gain', i.e. ISO, to be lowered locally in bright areas to reduce/prevent clipping and thereby 'protecting your highlights'. SO it does affect RAW. Most other settings only affect RAW processing i.e. the JPEG. Grain affect does not affect the RAW image data, but it stored in the RAW metadata. Beware - it is difficult (arguably impossible) to 'look at a RAW file'. When you try to look at a RAW file, you are either looking at an embedded JPEG thumbnail preview, or the software that you are looking at the RAW file with is processing the RAW file on demand to generate a JPEG that it is displaying on the screen. Depending on the software, and/or its settings, it may be looking at the RAW image data and its embedded metadata and taking the original camera settings, i.e. grain affect, into account.

Does the X-T4 have the feature whereby each custom setting can have a different auto white balance shift - like the X-Pro3 and X-100V, but unlike all other X-Series cameras as far as I know ?