Best software for editing Fuji Raws

In my experience Iridient Developer gets out the most detail (if you use Mac; otherwise Iridient Transformer); but you have to bump up the contrast a bit. The default seems a bit weak on contrast.

For shadow and highlight recovery I find Capture One Fuji Express much better. Colour-wise with C1, default colours are too saturated, you have to dial them down or use one of the less saturated presets. Even the Provia preset looks oversaturated to me. Detail by far not as good as in ID.

So I usually use ID and then, if necessary, make shadow and highlight adjustments in C1.

The best one is the one that gives you the best result for you (subjective) while being fun to use. If you have a software which is absolutely amazing but you curse each time you have to edit with it is pointless because the way i see it, editing is part of the overall process of taking a picture.

If you are used to LR then you can use the comments above for plugins etc to get the desired results. When i picked up my Fuji i didn't have any software at that moment so i tried C1 (after searching for "the best software for RAF files") , fell in love with it and thus is the one i use and will probably stick to it.

teenaxta wrote:

I know this question is repeated more than 1000 times but honestly i am confused. The reason I am asking here because every comparison is filled with 100 pages of detailed comparisons and it gets really confusing. I am lightroom user but just got a Fuji X-E3, so what should I go for? Capture one or lightroom with some tool for developing?

Would appreciate a concise and easy to understand answer.

Since you have not responded to the thread you started, I suspect you may conclude that there is no "concise and easy to understand answer."

That is why the "question is repeated more than 1000 times" and you did not find answer there. The reason, to be obvious, there is no easy answer, concise or otherwise.

You are talking about art, and asking "what is the best way to paint a portrait, or make a sculpture. There is no "best" for anyone. There are infinite ways to edit and you must find your own answer.

Download trial versions and decide for yourself.

I have not seen it mentioned yet, so I will add RawTherapee. As far as I know, it is the only one that do dual demosiac algorithms. I can do this based on the level of detail in a image. So for example if you have foliage and sky, one algorithm will be applied to the foliage for maximum detail and a different one to the sky so it will be smooth and artifact free even with sharpening applied. The option is called '3 pass + fast'. You can actually set the threshold but I just let it autocalculate.

Another awesome feature is the new 'capture sharpening'. It applies a deconvolution sharpening at the very beginning of the pipeline and does a very good job.

Overall, RT is extremely powerful. The only downsides are the complexity and the lack of layers and local adjustments. (But local adjustments are under development and you are free to use the development version if you want)

pifilos wrote:

The best one is the one that gives you the best result for you (subjective) while being fun to use. If you have a software which is absolutely amazing but you curse each time you have to edit with it is pointless because the way i see it, editing is part of the overall process of taking a picture.

This is so true. I used to have On1 Photo RAW, but I found it very frustrating (with an i7, 16Gb RAM and a 2Tb SSD). It kept hanging, freezing or crashing. it just lost its appeal and fun factor for me. Nice software when working.

If you are used to LR then you can use the comments above for plugins etc to get the desired results. When i picked up my Fuji i didn't have any software at that moment so i tried C1 (after searching for "the best software for RAF files") , fell in love with it and thus is the one i use and will probably stick to it.

I bought Capture One/20 in April. Not a single issue with it. The tutorials and webinars are very helpful. The HDR slider is very useful too.

teenaxta wrote:

I know this question is repeated more than 1000 times but honestly i am confused. The reason I am asking here because every comparison is filled with 100 pages of detailed comparisons and it gets really confusing. I am lightroom user but just got a Fuji X-E3, so what should I go for? Capture one or lightroom with some tool for developing?

Would appreciate a concise and easy to understand answer.

I highly recommend RawTherapee. Much better demosaicing algorithm than Lightroom, easy to use, and free (open-source): https://rawtherapee.com/

RawTherapee downside is that it doesn't (yet) feature layers. However, most of the time I don't need it. You can see full resolution examples of post-processing in my flickr gallery in my signature.

I have been a LR user since it came out but switched to capture one about 6 months ago when I made Fuji my primary system. While I think both applications are capable of great results, the color control and use of layers on the RAW file were the deciding factor. With LR I would have to use PS to get the same control I get natively in capture one. This means no need for a second file. For the times I need to do pixel editing I use Affinity but that is rare these days and typically for complex object removal.

I do think that LR/PS is great deal for the price but I know the price will increase at some point and I don’t want to be backed into a corner. I also had concern about how long LRC and LRCC will both be maintained. I had no interest in LRCC.

teenaxta wrote:

I know this question is repeated more than 1000 times but honestly i am confused. The reason I am asking here because every comparison is filled with 100 pages of detailed comparisons and it gets really confusing. I am lightroom user but just got a Fuji X-E3, so what should I go for? Capture one or lightroom with some tool for developing?

Would appreciate a concise and easy to understand answer.

There are probably five options here.  1) Lightroom, 2) Iridient Developer, 3) Iridient X-Transformer (into DNG) into Lightroom, 4) Capture One and 5) Other

Each will have proponents and each will have opponents.  Since no Adobe product darkens my Mac - I won't comment on 1) or 3).

Iridient Developer is a wonderful convertor.  Brian seems to have XTrans processing down to a art and science.  I use C1 normally since it is basically a fully function edition package.  However, for particularly difficult files I can spawn Iridient Developer from within C1 and often do.  I would say ID is the creame de la creame of developers. The down side is it is Mac only.  That doesn't bother me but for those that use a MicroSucks box it would.  There is XTransformer for those that want to use a PC.  I don't know the difference between ID and XT so won't comment on that.

Capture 1 - especially Capture 1 20 is a top notch product for both development and editing.  It produces nice images.  If a file is particularly difficult you can use Iridient from within so you can develop two ways and then pick the best for follow on.  C1 seems to have struck a deal with Fuji and fully supports the film simulations of Fuji plus the large catalog of "styles" both from C1 and third parties.  Maybe the best part you can still own C1 or you can rent it if you want.   Adobe does not offer that option.

On the others, I have looked at Luminar.  I loaded in on my wife's Mac since it is easy to use and she was just getting started.  However, from a computer science point of view Luminar is pretty much not ready for prime time and it was prone to crash and one often had to worry about cleaning out files as it doesn't seem to use memory very well.  Probably issues with memory leaks but now she uses C1.  Luminar has a lot of "presets" which make editing  pretty quick.  C! requires a little more understanding but once you have it C1 becomes easy to use and the results are much better.  For any other "other" - I have not tired them since I am happy with C1 and would rather spend time making images than learning S/W packages.

Each of the options requires some work to understand and develop an efficient work flow.

Exactly what I do,

Since the early days, I bounced around between Apple Aperture and LR and then settled on LR for many years.

Now I exclusively use Capture One Pro. And I've tried going back to LR recently.
But C1 pro just handles the Fuji files so much better IME. And C1 has some nice tools/features.
And I get to use photoshop and LR for free, yet the difference is worth the annual cost of C1 to me.

Capture 1 20

IMHO

jhorse wrote:

This is going to be an interesting thread where responders will advocate their preferences (which is a good way to respond). Personably, if you want the best for Fujifilm RAW I suggest Capture 1/20.

I’ll second that wholeheartedly!