Fuji X-E3's Unacceptably Aggressive JPEG Sharpening?

March 03, 2019

I thought that getting an X-E3 was gonna give me X100F kinda compactness (both have similar size) & performance (both have the same stellar X-Trans III sensor), with the added possibility to change lenses! But after some testing I discover that the X-E3 seems to have pretty aggressive in-camera JPEG processing! WTF? … For a “fine-art junkie” like me the resulting JPEG's are unusable! So, if you’re a JPEG guy, who loves to print big, save yo'self some trouble & money by not buying an X-E3 for the wrong reasons: Take a look at the red arrows in the image below and please read on … scary!

Look at those X-E3 JPEG sharpening artifacts! Yeah right, I copied the red arrows in afterwards ;-)

Now why would someone want to use JPEG's for fine art? Simple reason is ACROS! This Fuji JPEG film simulation incudes a tonality dependent grain enhancement (see here, here and here) which creates ab-so-lutely gorgeous black and white PIECES-of-ART with subtle film-like grain (provided you don't just photograph brick walls, and even then those will look amazing too ... ;-) FYI y’all gonna miss out on this grain enhancement if you try to replicate ACROS via presets after conversion in Lightroom or other RAW converters. Large enlargements off original Fuji JPEG's taken with ACROS look amazing & like no other digital file! ACROS is one of the main reasons I'm stuck on Fuji!

So, back to the topic: As mentioned above, after looking thru images taken with my X100F and my meanwhile sold X-Pro2 & X-T2 it became clear that the in-camera JPEG sharpening of the X-E3’s way more aggressive than on Fuji´s Pro-line cameras. However, to be fair, if you mainly work with RAW files and/or use JPEG’s only for online sharing you’ll probably never even notice anything & you’ll enjoy your X-E3 as a fast, light & compact camera with excellent output. After all these artifacts only become visible in JPEG’s in further distant, small details (especially if they’re against uniform darker backgrounds …)

But if you’re a real ACROS aficionado and you love creating large blow-ups of your JPEG’s? You. Will. Notice. I do print BIG from JPEG’s and so I do see those ugly artifacts. Hell, even dialing down the JPEG sharpening to -4 ("softest") didn't fully get rid of them (and then the whole image looks kinda mushy now), see below ...

Even with JPEG sharpening dialed down to minimum (-4) the X-E3’s JPEG artifacts still remain visible …

The reason for all this is that many camera manufacturers tend to apply stronger JPEG sharping on their consumer level products compared to the algorithms on their pro models. This makes sense given that casual photographers (the main target group for consumer grade cameras) usually only post their images on social media & usually don’t aspire to print large images. And they want their pics to look tack sharp right off the bat, with minimal effort (i.e. with no or minimal post processing)

Long story short, the aggressive JPEG sharpening of the X-E3 renders it useless for my workflow and so I’ve decided to trade it in for an X-H1, which (acc. my trusted Fuji dealer) is supposed to be less aggressive. Some people over at DPR also seem to agree. Luckily they were right, coz the X-H1 does cost more than twice as much than the X-E3 and is also a fair bit larger / heavier too. Ok, to be fair it’s also playing in a different league, with IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization), a much larger & more beautiful EVF, tilt LCD screen, … etc. Anyway, y’all can probably understand my relief when I checked out the first test images taken with my X-H1 and wasn’t finding any weird artifacts (see below & compare to the pictures above):

Luckily no JPEG artifacts on the X-H1 (focus plane was the wall at the lower edge of the image)!

Just out of interest I also compared the Fuji X-E3 (with XF 35mm f/1.4R) to my Nikon D850 (with AF-S 58mm f/1.4G. Again, on the X-E3 image you can clearly see the JPEG sharpening artifacts (look at the people’s faces and the wrought iron grating at the windows). The D850 image is much clearer (Ok it has also nearly twice the resolution ;-) but more important you don’t see any sharpening artifacts (see face on bottom left corner):

X-E3: JPEG sharpening artifacts visible @100% crop

D850: No JPEG artifacts at same magnification!

Ok, I concede these images ain’t gonna win no laurels for artful content, but they’ve served me quite well to compare various pieces of kit and decide which camera is the best for me: The X-H1 it is! So on that note I’d like to share my usual daylight settings for the X-Trans III sensor on my X-H1 (of course these settings influence only the JPEG’s and are sometimes tweaked depending on image content):

ACROS-R film simulation
Auto ISO limited to 800 max. (thanks to IBIS ;-)
Auto White Balance & Dynamic Range
Grain Off (ACROS has already a tonality dependent grain feature)
Noise Reduction -2 or -3
Hi-light Tone 0
Shadow Tone +3
Sharpening 0 or +1

This gives me punchy JPEG’s w/o visible sharpening artifacts!

I hope you enjoyed this post and would be happy if I was able to give some of youse some advice on which camera to go for in case you love Fuji’s ACROS JPEG’s and enjoy enlarging your images!

Summarizing I am very satisfied with the X-H1’s performance, the JPEG’s are amazing and the slight weight / size disadvantage vs. the X-E3 is more than compensated by having image stabilization, a flippy screen, better, more ergonomic grip and a fantastic EVF!

If you have any questions or comments, please share in the comment section below and I’ll answer you ASAP.

Many thanks & best wishes for 2019,

Hendrik

I hope this post was helpful / interesting for you - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance!

Fuji Image Processing Contest: JPEG Mobile vs. RAW Desktop

January 20, 2018

Those of youse who been following my blog'll know I ain't the kinda photoshop geek who loves to spend his whole life playing around on his computer. No sir. I'd rather be out snappin', actually using my Fuji gear to capture the wonderful world around me! My mobile JPEG based workflow is what allows me to minimize time spent processing images. But that little voice in my head just don't give up: "wouldn't RAW still have been better?". Please read on if you're interested in the answer!

Fuji X-T2 with XF 16-55mm / f2.8, ACROS JPEG file developed in Lightroom CC Mobile

This image seems to be an appropriate guinea-pig: lots of contrast & lovely gradations of grey in-between! I always shoot RAW+JPEG, so I import:

The JPEG's to my iPad, for mobile development using Lightroom CC Mobile, Snapseed, and
Selected RAW's to my MacBook Pro, for desktop processing using Capture One Pro 11

Mobile development’s really fast, hey just 30secs max per image (only tweaking of curves & highlights / shadows). And really good results to boot (OK no sweat, everybody knows about the amazing quality of Fuji ACROS JPEG’s, which are mostly more than enough to get the job done!). This significantly speeds up my workflow & I can limit the more time consuming RAW development at a later point of time for those images where I really need the RAW file´s increased highlight headroom, see below the same image as above developed from RAW in Capture One Pro 11:

Fuji X-T2 with XF 16-55mm / f2.8, RAW file developed in Capture One Pro 11

And here some crops from the above images. Gotta say that the Fuji ACROS JPEG's are good. Really good! Can't really see a big difference between the two. OK, so the Capture One RAW has maybe a bit more definition but you really gotta do serious nitpickin' to identify it:

But what if you wanna do that serious nitpickin' (aka pixelpeepin')? Like what about the grain? Yes, GRAIN! People grown up in the digital age don't know nothin' about it. This is what makes our images come alive, giving them character and emotion. Harking back to those magic days & (especially) nights in darkrooms, where images materialized from a blank piece of paper in the developer tray under the light of a red darkroom sun. Let's just take a look at that grain for a minute now (200% crops):

Grain in Capture One Pro 11 Pro RAW crop

My adjusted Capture One Style BW-15 on the left (grain dialed down from 80 to 60) does quite a good job, but I gotta admit it don't hold up to the magic Fuji´s ACROS film simulation is doing on the JPEG (right picture). Not at All! As you can see Fuji somehow manage to vary the strength of the grain depending on tonal values, reducing the effect in the highlights and accentuating it in the darker tones (just as silver halide films do). See here an interesting article explaining how this works!

Please decide for y´self what you prefer, but for me it´s really a difficult choice. So difficult I often I print my fine-art prints off slightly tweaked Fuji ACROS JPEG´s to retain this magic film-like grain effect. I can't get that from any RAW processor! Somehow a print off a "digital" looking RAW file don't seem to create that emotional connection for me (much like music played off vinyl records comparing to a CD). Call me old fashioned but I'm afraid that's how it is ;-)

Just so y'all don't get too bored looking at the same image for the umpteenth time, I added another pic I took in a Marriott hotel lobby in a far away place:

Marriott hotel lobby, Fuji X100F with Fujinon 23mm / f2, developed in Capture One Pro 11 — Marriott hotel lobby, Fuji X100F with Fujinon 23mm / f2, developed in Capture One Pro 11

So now I'm curious what you think! Did I make a convincing pitch to use JPEG´s with Fuji´s fantastic ACROS film simulation, or d´you still prefer doctoring around for long hours glued to computer screens with your RAW´s? Hey, think of it. If that extra time spent don't deliver significantly better results it´s time lost, can't ever get it back! Ain't it better to spend that extra time out taking photos? It´s up to you. With that somewhat philosophical closing line I´ll let y'all go - Hey, at the end it´s YOUR decision ;-)

Look forward to your opinions & comments - please leave me a message & I´ll answer ASAP, many thanks for your attention & for visiting! Here's to wishing you great images & a great weekend!

Best regards,

Hendrik

Fuji X100F Review - 3 Reasons why "F" spells Freedom !

May 25, 2017

X100F ... ? So, what´s this "F" stand for ? Fuji says it means “the Fourth" iteration of the X100 series. Or maybe it´s to say the "Force" is with her ... (yes the X100F´s a she ;-) or it stands for Fantastic ... Hey, probably it´s a bit of all those! Well, for me the "F" on Fuji´s fourth iteration of the X100 refers to "Freedom". Freedom from the technicalities of photography, from weight, bulk, choices and complexity. Freedom to Focus on the image! Please read on to learn how the combination of the right camera, software and workflow can liberate your photography & boost your creativity:

F stands for Freedom! Me & Irene, myFuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/40 sec on ACROS-Y — F stands for Freedom! Me & *Irene*, myFuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/40 sec on ACROS-Y

Disclaimer: If youse expecting a traditional type review full of geeky tech details I gotta disappoint you (I´m sure you'll find loads of technical / feature reviews on the web). Here I´d like to focus more on how the X100F handles in everyday practical use!

I remember the day like yesterday: 2016/4/13 - the day I traded my beloved X100T for a new X-Pro2. I wanted the 24 MP resolution bump. With that and the increased processing power came ACROS - Oh boy, did I fall in love with Fuji´s ACROS Film simulation! But even though the X-Pro2 was great, I somehow could never seem to be able to come to terms with the for me too low viewfinder magnification (0,36X with 23 mm vs. 0,5X on the X100 series): looking thru that one made me feel kinda claustrophobic ... In practice I also discovered that the X-Pro2´s increase in size (vs. my X100T) was quite substantial ... How many times since then did I wish for a reincarnation of the 24 MP ACROS goodness in a smaller form factor? Well now, it´s Finally here (another "F" ;-) in form of the new Fujifilm X100F!

Mirrors on the Walls, seen with Fuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y — Mirrors on the Walls, seen with Fuji X100F, with 23 mm / f2 @f5.6, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

For me the advent of the Fuji X100F has finally brought together 3 key building blocks which have liberated my digital photography, giving me a déjà-vu back to my film days! I see 3 reasons why the "F" of the X100F means Freedom:

Freed of Ballast: The X100F is a compact prime lens camera delivering exceptional image quality. Working with only one prime lens on a compact camera can be very liberating: No more lugging around a big bag of kit, juggling lenses to find the best fit to the scene while the opportunity passes. With the X100F you will instead focus more on image composition, lighting, and mood and “zoom with your feet” to find new / more interesting perspectives. Chase Jarvis once said "The best camera is the one that´s with you ..." - Ok, he was referring to iPhones, but in essence this quote invokes the "Law of Inverse Proportions": The smaller your camera/lens, the higher the probability that you will (always) take it with you, have it ready when needed and get to take pictures you didn't expect to find. This will for sure boost your creativity and improve the impact of your images!
Freed of RAW: The X100F has sufficient resolution & processing power to realize the ACROS JPEG film simulation. The resulting JPEG´s are awesome, with beautiful smooth gradations and a subtle, tonality dependent grain effect (only possible with Fuji´s 24 MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor & X-Processor Pro technology). No way you can replicate this “analogue film-like look” by RAW processing, or by applying post processing filters! For me this is a strong incentive to mainly focus my workflow on JPEG´s! Only downside of the higher resolution is an increased risk of camera shake blurring your images (approx. factor 1.5x vs. what you were used to on Fuji´s 16 MP sensor)
Freed from the Desk: Focusing mainly on JPEG´s allows me to predominantly do my post processing on my iPad Pro using Lightroom Mobile. ACROS JPEG´s are so good that I only need some minor curves tweaking and maybe some local dodging/burning. Edits done on the iPad are automatically sync´d to Lightroom on my MacBook Pro. By this I significantly reduce time spent on post processing or behind PC´s, and I can do that while travelling or during lunch. By setting file saving to JPEG-F+RAW I always have the RAW files as back-up to later either (re)develop in camera with different settings or convert them in Capture ONE in case of critical lighting conditions where more fancy post processing is needed (to be honest this rarely happens btw ;-)

Evening drinks, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/25 sec, +1EV compensation on ACROS-Y — Evening drinks, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/25 sec, +1EV compensation on ACROS-Y

I would like to point out three additional aspects of the Fuji X100F, which make its use less obtrusive and invasive:

Main photographic settings (aperture, shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation) are visible at one glance and can be adjusted via dedicated analogue dials, without needing to look thru the viewfinder or diving into menus
Autofocus user interface, accuracy and speed are (finally :-) fulfilling my expectations. I mainly use zone AF setting with face/auto-eye detection ON when taking people images
Flexible hybrid viewfinder: I use the OVF (Optical View Finder) mainly for people images where I want to concentrate on facial expressions and background environment. For street / landscape / storytelling photography, where composition, perspective, contrast and hi-light & shadow tone are important, I prefer the EVF (Electronic View Finder) which allows me to pre-visualise the image as it will be captured (eg. in ACROS film simulation) before even pressing the shutter release. So, no need for the dreaded "chimping" after taking each image ...)

This means, especially when photographing people, that you only need to bring the camera to your eye for a short moment just to take the picture: Check framing, press shutter, done - max 2 secs. The combination of this short time in front of your face, the fact that the camera is quite small and only covers part of your face due to its rangefinder-esque design, and the X100F being totally silent means people rarely even realize that you´re taking their picture. This results in very natural, un-posed images (try that with a DSLR! ;-) ... as example the below image I took of my lovely wife while we were relaxing on our patio:

Relaxing on our Patio, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y — Relaxing on our Patio, with Fuji X100F, 23 mm / f2 @f2, 1/60 sec on ACROS-Y

On that note I´d gotten the impression that people tend to act more relaxed around the silver version of the X100 series. Maybe a black camera´s perceived as kinda sneaky, or as "wannabe PRO" (I dunno, my X100T was black ...). At the end I decided to order a silver X100F. IMO apart from that one´s more classic "retro" look it´s got so much more character! In fact so much that this is the only camera I felt needed to be given a name: "Irene" (sounds better than "X100F", coz that could be anyone´s ;-)

Summarizing:

The "F" in Fuji´s X100F really gives you Freedom, Fuji has finally fulfilled the promise of the X100 series: A small, inconspicuous camera with a widely usable medium wide-angle focal length, delivering stunning images and able to cover most photographic applications. So you can leave all your bulky gear at home! Its compact, classic rangefinder-esque design begs you to go out and enjoy capturing images of life around you, experimenting with composition, light and perspective rather than bothering with the technicalities of photography! Furthermore the quality & beauty of Fuji´s JPEG´s (especially of ACROS) allow you to avoid having to spend hours of RAW processing in Lightroom

If you´re interested I´ll cover my improved mobile workflow in a next post, please let me know in the comments section and/or leave me any comments, suggestions or questions you may have! Many thanks in advance, I´ll answer you as soon as possible

I hope you enjoyed the read - I can only advise those of youse not yet bitten by the Fuji X100 bug to try one out soonest and experience it for y´self!

Many thanks & best regards, wish y´all good light & success

Hendrik

I hope this post was helpful / interesting for you - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Forget RAW and go ACROS - The Definitive Review !

March 19, 2017

For all those of youse love fussin´ with RAW files I got news: Forget RAW and go ACROS! If you want your images to look less "canned" (i.e. digital) and more real (analogue-like), that is. As a bonus you get to spend less time hulking in front of a computer & can go out shooting ! Why ? Please read on if interested ...

First spring sun in Bayreuth, Fuji X-Pro2 with XF 23 mm / f2, SOOC ACROS JPEG

Don´t dare to shoot only JPEG´s ? No problem, just select RAW+Fine JPEG image quality! Then you always have both & can stop worrying (like I do, but ever since my hard-drive´s filling up with unused RAW files ;-) But hey, I kid you not: There´s just no way you can get Fuji´s unique in camera ACROS analogue film like appearance from post-processing!

So, what´s all this ACROS excitement about ? See Fuji´s website for details: During in camera JPEG conversion a subtle random graininess is selectively added to image areas the darker their tone is. This effect is amplified the higher the ISO setting is, giving the images a wonderful analogue film-like aura (in contrary to the "digital" grain effect applied uniformly during post-processing on the computer, resulting in the ubiquitous, artificial "processed" look). This can only be achieved with Fuji´s X-Trans CMOS III sensor & X-Processor Pro technology!

To demonstrate what I mean I´ve prepared a number of comparisons at ISO 200, 800 and 2000 using the in camera RAW converter vs. post processing in Lightroom (apologies for the somewhat mundane image, but it includes many details and textures to better compare the grain effects ;-)

1. Monochrome-R JPEG film simulation in camera w/o any grain application:
I find that w/o any grain effects the images tend to have a "synthetic, digital" look!

2. Monochrome-R JPEG film simulation with separate grain effect "Grain=Low" added in camera:
The uniformly added in camera grain effect makes the images look even more artificial (even at "Low" setting) IMO ...

ISO 200, Mono-R, Lo Grain — ISO 200, Mono-R, Lo Grain

ISO 800, Mono-R, Lo Grain — ISO 800, Mono-R, Lo Grain

ISO 2000, Mono-R, Lo Grain — ISO 2000, Mono-R, Lo Grain

3. RAW files developed in Lightroom with post processing ACROS-R film simulation applied:
Trying to add grain in post processing using Lightroom´s ACROS-R preset appears to add an additional layer, not at all comparable to Fuji´s in camera applied film simulation ...

4. ACROS-R in camera film simulation, using Fuji´s unique differentiated grain application:
Fuji´s in camera ACROS film simulation definitively creates an analogue, "Film-like" look, achieved by differentiated grain application to darker image tones and amplified at higher ISO settings!

I hope this post was an interesting read & has brought some light into the mystery of Fuji´s amazing ACROS film simulation! The fact that no external RAW converter can achieve a similar analogue film-like look is for me an additional incentive to focus on using JPEG´s (on top of the already simplified and faster workflow)!

Please let me know if you have any questions, I´d be most happy to help and learn from your comments & critique!

Have a relaxing Sunday eve, best regards

Hendrik

I hope you enjoyed reading this post - If you like you can support me by sending me a small donation via PayPal.me/hendriximages ! Helps me run this site & keeps the information coming, many thanks in advance !

Fuji X-E3's Unacceptably Aggressive JPEG Sharpening?

Fuji Image Processing Contest: JPEG Mobile vs. RAW Desktop

Fuji X100F Review - 3 Reasons why "F" spells Freedom !

Forget RAW and go ACROS - The Definitive Review !

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