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Question: I shoot both RAW and JPG files on my X100F. For raw conversion, i've just downloaded FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO to assist my RAW camera-driven post-production; but for JPGs from my X100F how can I do a bit of final post work (cropping, slight exposure correction) easily and without incurring too much addition lossy degradation? I have Photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw, but i want to maintain the excellent (in-camera) Fuji JPG color profiles/film simulations.

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Fujifilm also has Raw File Converter which has the film simulations available:

https://fujifilm-x.com/en-us/products/software/raw-file-converter-ex-powered-by-silkypix/

You can export the images as TIFF type files and open them in image editors.

As a note: If you set your camera to save the jpegs as large / fine, then you can directly open them in Photoshop (to other editors) and make edits as you wish without worrying about degradation. The trick is to save the intermediate files as .psd -- or any lossless type of file, and use that new file to make changes and always save back to the new lossless based file. Then, when you have finished modifying things, export the final result in the format you want. The degradation cones in when you open a jpg, make changes, save that as a jpg, open it make changes, save it as jpg, etc. etc.

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I cannot recommend CaptureOne enough for Fuji. The Express version lacks the extensive color editor and layer abilities but is more than enough for cropping, tilting and exposure correction. And best of all, it is free.

Fuji's X RAW STUDIO works well, but should you ever upgrade your camera (e.g. to an X100V) you cannot rerun your X100F-files through X RAW STUDIO connected to e.g. an X100V anymore. It is limited to the same exact type of camera as you shoot the image with.

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Thank you all for the feedback!

I am about to start using "FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO" for RAW post work (with my X100F). Yet is "RAW FILE CONVERTER EX powered by SILKYPIX" any better for RAW processing?

For minor JPEG post work, is "CaptureOne" (Express version) really much better than Photoshop (saving intermediate files as .psd)?

M.

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10 minutes ago, George_P said:

C1 is the best choice, most people would agree I think. This has been discussed a thousand times already. They have good tutorials. Try it, it is worth it. Later on you can switch to C1 Pro and never look back. 

Fully agree...

Also note that CaptureOne cannot be compared to PhotoShop. PS is a ‘destructive’ pixel editor for image editing. C1 is a non-destructive raw developer. Though they share editing features the approach is very different. C1 is actually an alternative for Lightroom (LR). In case you need to ‘pixel-edit’ next to C1 you could also try Affinity Photo. AP is very akin to PS, but lower priced and you actually purchase the license rather than have a subscription like with PS.

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As Herco points out, be careful about the connected camera problem in Raw Studio. Raw File Converter works with all of Fujifilm's cameras in that you export the image as a TIFF or JPG file and can always go back to original files without issue. But it does not work as well as a studio manager like Raw Studio does.

Raw file conversion is still in the 'art' stage. Try several of them and see which ones do well for you. One may give you slightly warmer white balanced images while another may give you better detail in the shadows vs another that has better highlight rendering. In addition to the already mentioned ones, there is also DarkTable and Raw Therapee. These are loaded with powerful features and are great at converting. And they are free. Pluses and minuses. As you can guess from this thread, just about everyone has a favorite. If you do dig though the thread as George implies, you will find some spirited defenders whiling away the time discussing various issues about each one.

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I'll download CaptureOne (for my Fuji X100F files).

Does it deal with JPG files?

Its promo video tutorial describes a RAF to JPG work flow, similar to ACR.
Yet i suppose CaptureOne maintains the Fuji Film Sim colors more faithfully than ACR?

Perhaps CaptureOne is not greatly better than FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO?

I'm also very interested in dealing with exporting my X100F JPGs and finalizing them in post (with cropping, basic exposure, etc.).
Is CaptureOne the best at doing this?

M.

 

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I am not understanding what you mean by "... exporting my X100F JPGs and finalizing them ... ".

Are you wanting it to pull images off of your camera on to your 'work' drive so that you can then sort and process them? If so, then it is usually faster to pull the card out of the camera and use a card reader connected to your computer to copy the files.

Just about all of the raw developers will also let you do more processing to jpg files. Capture One is very good, you can get the Fujifilm Express version for free and try it to see if you like its approach. Then move on up to the Pro version if you think you want the tools included in that version.

Another one that was not included in the previous list is Iridient Developer which just got a big upgrade.

You have plenty of try-before-you-buy options, it is a matter of testing one to see what fits best into your work approach.

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Okay, thanks Jerry.

Re: "JPG finalizing", I just meant doing final post production of 'film sim JPGs' (from my X100F) in an editing software program.
I'm deciding on which program will open a JPG, keep the integrity of the true 'Fuji film sims' colors, and then allow me to do final additional minor edits (such as cropping; slight exposure and white balance edits), and then end up with a JPG that hasn't been compromised too much in the process.

It seems that CaptureOne is a fine choice, as suggested here (or Iridient Developer).

It was also suggested that when editing a JPG in Photoshop, the file should be saved intermediately as a .psd file before the final save as a JPG (to avoid lossy degradation). Does CaptureOne avoid this 'intermediate saving strategy' and end up with a final-saved JPG without much new lossiness and a well maintained film sim? (without having to intermediately save the file in the process)

M.

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CaptureOne (C1) has the Fujifilm film simulations build-in into the software. So when developing the RAW and exporting to JPEG you can use these film simulations incl. all the other editing that C1 allows you to do. This gives you a much better result than using the out-of-camera JPEGs and edit them for exposure in C1, PS or other software. A JPEG is best to use as an end result. The quality of the C1 Fujifilm film simulations is at least as good as the in-camera film simulations as it was developed in close cooperation with Fujifilm. In my experience they're even a bit better as they offer more flexibility in terms of grain structure and shadow detailing.

The workflow for PS (with the .psd file) is a workaround workflow. PS doesn't recognize raw files and it uses Lightroom or Camera Raw for that. However, to maintain the layers and editing done in LR, you shouldn't exchange JPEG or TIFF files between LR and PS, but .psd files. It's a sort of exchange format for images between different software components of your workflow. We only use it for editing stuff that cannot be (easily) done in C1 and requires PS as an editor. In our experience this is less and less as C1 improves clone stamps and eraser capabilities. What remains in PS is the image manipulation like creating fuller lips, wider eyes or accentuating bodylines of models. Something that is also less and less done (fortunately). That requires PS or Affinity Photo as you have to dive into pixel level to cleanly remove all pixels and replace them with the ones you want. In those situations we use the 'edit with' and 'open with' menu option in C1 to open the file with PS. In the background that creates a temporary .psd file. 

Converting a JPEG into a .psd and than again create a JPEG is a very cumbersome path with loss of quality. Esp. if you already have the raw-file. Best to avoid that where possible.

 

Edited by Herco
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(in my opinion) Ideally, when shooting in JPG mode, one can strive to shoot like a film-camera photographer, which means ushering all your creative efforts during the process of capture (notwithstanding darkroom editing) - rather than deferring important elements of the creative process to post, far removed in time and space from the experience of capture. In other words, if one can nail the exposure, colour and contrast of an image with a JPG during the capture experience, one doesn't need to shoot "flat" with a RAW file and then spend so much time and effort on a computer to process the image to completion.

However, with a Fuji X Series camera, I believe it's best to shoot RAW + JPG. This way, if the JPG fails to live up to expectations, the RAW file can rescue a worthy image - by allowing the resurrecting of highlight details, correcting white balance, or switching to a particular Fuji Film Sim, etc.

Thanks Herco, for the assurance that CaptureOne provides excellent Fuji FIlm Sim quality to RAW files!

Yet sometimes I'm out shooting just JPGs with my X100F (e.g. when I want to use the tele-converter zoom, which is absent in RAW mode; or when I don't want to record all those large RAW files for every shot). In these cases, would CaptureOne handle trace editing of JPGs (for minor exposure/WB correction, cropping, etc.)? Or does it not even open JPGs? (in which case I'd use ACR carefully)

M.

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1 hour ago, MurrayPepe said:

 one doesn't need to shoot "flat" with a RAW file and then spend so much time and effort on a computer to process the image to completion.

What a nonsense. If you are familiar with the software it take just a couple of minutes to proceed any flat raw file with basic adjustments like exposure - WB - film sims - sharpening - levels - etc - ... not a second longer then you spend on your jpegs wich are not intended to be post processed at all (it was explained millions of times already). and yes if you still want to edit jpegs in C1 it can handle it like any other imaging format.

For me the most boring and time consuming part of PP is selecting those images that should be kept or deleted when you are back from photoshoot.

Cheers.

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17 hours ago, jerryy said:

it is a bit of a sidetrack, but why would you not use TIFF to bounce back and forth between PS and Lightroom? Especially since Adobe recommends using TIFF over psd for doing that.

https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/help/supported-file-formats.html

TIFF is indeed a more universal format that is supported by almost every package. PSD is a Adobe specific format and it maintains the layer-structure of the file. So you can go back and forth between LR and PS while maintaining all different layers you’ve added to the image.

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2 hours ago, mdm said:

What a nonsense. If you are familiar with the software it take just a couple of minutes to proceed any flat raw file with basic adjustments like exposure - WB - film sims - sharpening - levels - etc - ... not a second longer then you spend on your jpegs wich are not intended to be post processed at all (it was explained millions of times already). and yes if you still want to edit jpegs in C1 it can handle it like any other imaging format.

For me the most boring and time consuming part of PP is selecting those images that should be kept or deleted when you are back from photoshoot.

Cheers.

Also bear in mind that C1 (but LR too) can be automated to a high degree. When importing, you apply the presets or styles you prefer. On top of that I have defined user styles that automatically apply the required sharpening and noise reduction for the type of camera. From there it is just 1-2 minutes work to PP an image.

For personal work I shoot RAW+JPEG. The JPEGs are stored separately for archiving. I never edit these except for some cropping if I really want to use the JPEG for sharing in social media. I will quickly cull through the RAW files to separate the keepers. The rest I throw away. I only spend more than 1-2 minutes on an image for those RAWs that will be printed. Edit just the ones you need to use (for an album, print or sharing). 

As for the romantic idea of just shooting and accepting the jpeg outcome as if it was film: imagine how long we used to spend in darkrooms to develop and print films... There was a whole lot of editing involved in that process as well to get to a really good print.

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