Trevor G

I don't believe the X20 really smears in RAW.  I shoot (was shooting) weekly at ISO1250 in concert lighting without smearing issues. These images show what you can expect: These are M size...

I have an X20 and an x10. I have done comparisons with the X10. Where the X10 smears in RAW the X20 does not.  Do you understand that, or do you feel that you need to keep emphasizing something...

Thanks for your acknowledgement - I appreciate that because part of my skill set is training, and if I can achieve a new understanding in here then I feel a measure of success! Do you still want to...

I just lost an informative post. In summary, check the position of the arm in Frame 1 - the back of the sleeve intersects with the seam of the trousers at the beginning of its movement.  That's the...

What you are saying about highlight recovery might apply to JPEG highlight recovery using Adobe tools, but not to RAW, using the exposure control.  To me, that is uninformed. Actually, I don't...

Then you should check it against the X10. Even in RAW the X10 smears noticeably where the X20 does not.  I did not realise this until I compared it against the X20 in some test shots.

Maybe you haven't read enough. It has been stated many times that the smearing issue is due to excessive NR and affects JPEGs, not RAW. The solution is to turn NR to -2.

Thanks to everyone for all the useful advice!  Much appreciated.

Highlights are either recovered in RAW or they are not.  You cannot get "badly recovered" highlights unless they are clipped. You are looking at an image which somehow has "bright" detail added. ...

Saving highlights refers to image data which is above 0EV. None of that image is above 0EV anywhere near the sleeve detail which appears in the RFC output.  The sleeve data which appears in RFC is...

A lot of my shooting is in less than perfect lighting conditions.  I have lots of blurred X10 shots, and very few from the X20.  Very few.

The output frames are from Raw Digger. There is no "horrible way that these engines try to save highlights" - what on earth are you talking about? RFC and its ability to reveal the highlight data...

How can the added sleeve outline, which is not in the second frame, be introduced by RFC except through taking it from frame 1? There aren't any highlights in Frame 2 like that, so how could RFC...

You must be psychedelic - otherwise how could you have known that? And you are right, the X20 is better than the X10, especially in fine detail, resolution and AF. Even the fact that the X20 is...

The X20, unfortunately, does not have less noise than the X10.  The X20 is a veritable noise box. However, it produces sharper and more detailed images than the X10. I can show you examples if you...

You have chosen a "subject" which doesn't show noise or smearing very much because there is no fine detail, and nothing very dark. Try hair, especially.  You could have done it better using the...

I'm sorry for "jumping" on you earlier. You are quite wrong in still saying that RFC only uses one frame at M size. This image I have included was shot at M size and DR400. If you examine your...

In the second image on my monitor the leaves on extreme left and right are in sharp focus.

That's easy. You have focused (or the camera has) on the blind shutters, so the background is blurred.     That's easy, too. You have fiocused on the background so the foreground is blurred. No...

Thanks for reminding me of the mirror slap issue, I had forgotten.  That only occurs below 1/100th or slower, doesn't it?  We woiuld normalyy be shooting 1/125 at f4 and ISO3200