A Newbie Question

[Ed Vatza]

I am new to Fuji. Up until now, I have been shooting Canon except for a 4 year hiatus when I switched to Leica. I switched back to Canon about 2 years ago.

 

Like I said, I am new to Fuji. How new? Well my X-Pro 2 and 35mm 2.0 won't arrive until Wednesday.

 

Prior to and since placing the order, I have been trying to absorb as much X-Pro 2 information as possible. But one issue continues to confuse me a bit. Please forgive me for raising this apparently sore issue yet once again. But I can't seem to verify whether the Fuji Raw/Lightroom issues have now been fully resolved with Adobe. I have the latest versions of Lightroom and Photoshop both CC versions. The processing issues seem to mostly refer to LR5 and LR6 and most seem to be at least a year old if not older. 

 

So are the issues now resolved? Or do I still need to look at something like Capture 1 for example? I should add that I am using an iMac with the latest operating system.

 

This is my first post here so please don't beat me up for raising this sore issue once again. I am just having difficulty getting closure on this one issue.

 

Thank you.

 

Ed

[Mistik-ka]

Lightroom CC and Photoshop CC both handle Fuji raw and compressed raw files with ease. Some people are dissatisfied with Adobe's conversion of raw files to PSD/TIFF/JPG, especially because of smearing highly detailed areas with repeating pattern such as leaves and grass; others don't consider it a real-world problem because it shows up mostly on extreme enlargements or when "pixel-peeping" on screen. Both sides have support among very accomplished photographers, and the on-line debates use up a great deal of time which might have been spent making photographs.

 

After a year of use, my X-Pro2 continues to give me enormous pleasure, and I am rarely dissatisfied with Lightroom. 

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks for the summary. Much appreciated. 

 

While I am new to Fuji, I have been shooting Canon and Leica for a number of years. I don't profess to know the inner workings of Lightroom or Photoshop but I know what works in terms of my workflow. 

 

With Canon, I import a RAW (CR2) file into Lightroom where I make all my adjustments to the CR2 file. When complete I still have a RAW file with the changes attached. At this point I only convert to JPEG in order to post the photos online. If I am going to print, and I can print up to 24" wide, I print from the modified CR2 file. So I'm not really sure this issue affects me beyond what I might want to post online and those are not big files.

 

If I am incorrect let me know. Thanks.

 

Ed

[jotto]

No, you aren't incorrect. It's a similar thing, but the raw files are .RAF rather than .CR2. There are some people who recommend performing a conversion from .RAF (the out-of-camera raw) to .DNG (Adobe Raw file format), using a converter, and then performing the adjustments on the .DNG file before finally exporting as a JPEG. They have reasons for this, and it comes down to the way digital cameras typically work, and in particular how Fuji represent green pixels in their raw files.

 

I'm not a pro photographer, but personally I've not had a problem with smearing and "water-colour" representation of foliage. I typically work with the RAF files in LIghtroom, because I'm not a good enough photographer to be happy with the straight out of camera JPEGs that some people are able to use. I'm guilty of using the camera to collect data, and using Lightroom to make the shot, rather than the camera alone. I'd like to be able to do the opposite, but I like story-telling photography and I sometimes see a different way of conveying the story in review, leading to excessive cropping and sometimes radical lighting adjustments. The power and precision of the X-Pro2 acts as a crutch to my lack of ability in this regard, but I remain happy with the results.

 

There's plenty of detail available in foliage or other random/repeating patterns. As the two examples below, hopefully indicate:-

[Ed Vatza]

Thanks jotto. Probably 99% of my photographs are black & white so one of the first things I do in Lightroom is the conversion of the RAW file to B&W. I am pretty sure I will be fine with my workflow. At this point I don't see a compelling reason to convert the Fuji RAW file (.RAF) to .DNG but I will reevaluate after processing some images from the X-PRO 2. Of course that will have to wait until the camera arrives sometime on Wednesday. Nothing like putting the cart before the horse!

 

Ed

[Florian]

I've read at multiple forums that Iridient Developer is considered by many to be the superior solution for processing fuji raw files. There is a demo available on their website, so you can check for yourself to see if you prefer it or not.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Florian