We Need An Adobe Lightroom True Competitor Locked

JNR wrote:

Skillfully executed response. What I don't see is a response to my point that Adobe has done far more quality work on NEF profiles than on RAF. I suspect you might agree.

I would agree that ACR is more finicky when it comes to RAFs. There's more latitude when sharpening or masking noise  while working with a NEF. To the question of whether or not Adobe has "done more quality work on NEF profiles than on RAF," I'll leave that to Adobe insiders to address.

All the most significant LR upgrades of the last few years can be applied to RAFs. At the time of its introduction, the Enhance Detail tool was particularly welcomed by Fuji photograhers. However, I don't have any inside info to support or refute a characterization of Adobe's investment specifically in the RAF file type.

More importantly, I don't see you chiming in about how you've personally trialed the major LR competitors in recent history (if ever) - DxO and Capture One.

I don't make it a priority to trial the latest versions of other apps. I trialed Capture One about 4 1/2 years ago. I used IXT for a couple of years after getting my X-T20. But updates to ACR allowing it to do a better job of handling RAFs largely removed (for me) any need to explore other options.

Also, Adobe's regular improvements to LR, including new features & tools, have kept me very satisfied with the app.

I admit I haven't gone into LR lately, but I follow the progressions made... and they are relatively minor. There's good reason LR is losing market share (not just to C1) - especially among professionals, and that is because Adobe insists on sliders rather than dynamic tools for color accuracy, poor hardware optimization, and very little progress made on NR (see all the well-earned accolades for DxO).

I would personally not characterize Adobe's improvements and upgrades to LR as, minor. To mention just a few significant improvements, LR's merge to HDR, merge to panorama, and merge to HDR panorama tools have had a significant impact on my photography. They've opened the door to using long lenses for wide angle landscape and wildlife photography. For several years, these tools were not available in the major competitors to LR. Have they been added?

Also, the reformatting of LR in the last year to an interface that I'm sure feels more familiar to Photoshop users, adding layers as a working environment, is a major upgrade.

I understand the pluses and minuses of the major software offerings. Too many advocates for the (still) leading option rely on that fact to be curious about the challengers. It is rare that those advocates effectively respond to that valid criticism.

As I've commented previously, competition within the photo processing & editing segment is nothing but good. There are options for every aesthetic and workflow. That's as it should be.