Group: Administrator
Post: 1,370 (301 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jun 24, 2021 18:20:48 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 26, 2021 5:29:14 GMT by lumiworx
A 30% discount on a new X-E3 body was too good a deal to pass up. Unfortunately, all the commercial non-destructive editing software that I currently use for digital photo processing won't work with Fuji files in their raw format. For the time being I can use the 'express' versions of what comes with it, but there are severe limitations that don't make them attractive as a long term solution. I do have - and occasionally use - DarkTable and RAWTherapee which will open the files, but they aren't my preferred software for granular processing, which is either/both Lightroom v6 or DxO Photo Lab 2. Affinity Photo will read them, but it's not an end-to-end non-destructive process. I'm still on PhotoShop CS2, so that's NOT getting an update to a newer version for any reason whatsoever.
So... If I'm going to add another editor for the sake of Fuji file edits, I'm hoping that other members here might offer some insights and/or suggestions on what experiences you've encountered so far. Even if you don't have a Fuji body, but the software you use will read them as-is, I'd like to know what works or what to watch out for. I'm not a MAC user, so Windows is my target OS.
With what I've found so far, there are a few options. One of them is waaaay too pricey - i.e., Capture One is $300 USD for a single brand's body, when I have 4 brands to cover - so that's not really on my radar. I haven't used the old PaintShop Pro since Windows 95, but it now looks like it has a RAW editor as part of a bundle, and there's also SilkyPix v10, or AlienWare's AlienSkin's Exposure v6 that's fairly new to NLE's, but it is undergoing rapid development with 2 major releases almost every year or so. I'm familiar with SilkyPix, as I've used it with a Panasonic GH2, and although it's a bit different and somewhat limited as an 'SE' version, it's certainly capable from what I've seen with several uses.
Ideas, caveats, pointers... ?
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,039 (562 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Jun 25, 2021 17:53:18 GMT
Posted: Jun 25, 2021 17:53:18 GMT
I've used many programs over the years and some like Capture One, Flexcolor and Phocus are dedicated to specific camera systems but my go-to software is Paint Shop Pro which i started using about 10 years ago as I am not a fan of Adobe. I know 'everyone' uses Photoshop/Lightroom but PSP does everything I need and, with the possible exception of the 2019 version which ate memory, I am very happy with it and plan to stick with it. Indeed, with the Hasselblad Phocus and Flexcolor software, I just use it to capture (or shoot tethered) but if I have a need to tweak the resulting image, it's straight across to PSP. Corel also offer an excellent load of online tutorials for their software and there are some plug-ins available though not as many as for Adobe's programs.
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,010 (77 liked)
Join date: January 2014
Status:
|
|
on Jun 26, 2021 1:56:13 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 26, 2021 1:57:07 GMT by ridgeblue99
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,370 (301 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jun 29, 2021 13:02:59 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 29, 2021 13:15:42 GMT by lumiworx
Well... It's here. There's a couple of additions to assist in making it work for me... a Fotodiox Pro lens adapter for C/Y mount, and a 3rd party grip that provides an ARCA base for tripod/monopod attachment. Oddly, it also accepted a shutter 'soft button' from the 70's that fits into the retro styled trigger switch. I'll have to dig one out, and see if an old plunger trigger might actually work too.  Thanks for the recommendations on software, and I'll need to run some deeper evaluations now that I have the camera in-hand. There's one real disappointment so far on the software side of things with Fuji's own utility software. Most of them don't work or work the way they were intended. Some of that is based on the X-E3's limitations in firmware, that even the most recent upgrade doesn't address, but mostly because of absolute software failure for connectivity and the issues it causes. Tethered shooting seems to be unavailable because of the former, while simple auto-transfers of files aren't possible from the latter. Connecting via USB cable to a PC still offers access to files, but auto-saves via WiFi don't work, and Bluetooth only connects to my phone, and that's not where I need transfers for RAW files to go. I haven't even got that to work, so I'm unsure if it will transfer anything other than JPG's. I haven't been able to get to their other tools, since it took a full battery charge for trial runs at connectivity testing - and that just ticked me off, and not wanting to try any more for the day. I did try a quick test with RawTherapee, and it can be a bit slow to import raw data, but it will process the files. The downside is that it has no spotting tools, but that's a minor issue. I uninstalled Affinity some time ago, but the version I had at the time forced a workflow so that at some point it had to convert the file for further processing, and it was no longer a non-destructive file. Layers weren't possible until after it was converted, and there were no tools for CA, haze, shadow recovery, etc. - so I've downloaded the latest version to re-install and see what's changed. I'll be trying Darktable too, although it's not likely to have spotting and a few other tools either. It seems that Fuji hasn't stepped up and provided serious tools of their own for their unique sensor and processing chip, and are expecting 3rd party providers to fumble along on their own. That's troubling for users like me that are used to pro-level tools for every one of it's competitor brands, for even the consumer/prosumer level cameras. |
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,370 (301 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jul 2, 2021 16:33:30 GMT
Posted: Jul 2, 2021 16:33:30 GMT
With no thanks to Fuji, I've gotten some of the utilities to partially do what they're supposed to, but I'm not expecting much in improvements by them anytime soon. They don't seem to want to support their software, but I certainly I hope they fare better with their camera gear service if I ever need it. After a quick run through Affinity after a reload, it looks like they still require a hard conversion in the workflow and edits become destructive to the original file. For some that might very well be a workable route, but it doesn't fit my style of post processing... so Affinity, for me, will remain a capable graphics tool, but not a raw photo editor. I reopened SilkyPix v8 (that processes the files for my GH2) to reacquaint myself with the toolset and how it works. They are the author and provider of the raw conversion utility that Fuji gives away to it's X-Series customers, so there's no doubt they know the sensor and how to augment it with editing tools. Most of what I'd do for Sony or Nikon raw files in Lightroom or DxO can be done in much the same toolsets offered in SilkyPix, but they don't operate the same way, and are a bit 'clunky', and not as intuitive to use. The version I have only opens Panasonic's camera files, so I'd need a new (and upgraded) paid version for the Fuji. The cost is roughly the same as for the complete bundle of Exposure v6 and it's extended plugins. With less than an hour in trial mode of Exposure, it has convinced me that it's the better choice for me and how I prefer to work. A screen grab of Exposure, editing a Fuji X-E3 raw test file, shot with the ML 24mm f/2.8...  There's a couple of JPG exports of the file after editing at 1600px and full size, for pixel-peeping - posted to the testbed. |
|
