#sharpening

How to Get Best Image Quality Out of Fuji X-Trans III RAW´s

Hey I got something for those of youse who REALLY wanna get the very best possible image quality out of Fuji´s new X-Trans III image sensor (as currently used on Fuji´s X-Pro 2 and X-T2 mirrorless APS-C cameras). Yeah I know ... Said some posts ago that Lightroom´s all you´ll need ... Basically that still holds true but it all depends on what you expect from your photography, please read on to discover how:

Portrait of my lovely wife: Fuji X-Pro 2 with 35 mm f2 WR @f2.8 1/125 sec

Portraits seem to present quite a challenge regarding image quality (apart from the obvious challenge to capture the right facial expression reflecting persona & character of your model ;-) ! Working on a portrait series I discovered that different RAW developers produced subtle variations in the results. So I thought I´d share them here, starting off as baseline with Fuji´s very good SOOC JPEG rendering. This already delivers an overall pleasing result, however finest details are lost during in-camera conversion:

SOOC JPEG using Fuji X-Pro 2´s X-Trans III 24 mp sensor

Then I tried RAW conversion using Affinity Photo, a relatively new kid on the block (many thanks to The Lightweight Photographer for pointing me to it !). With this one I do get a very nice contrast, which I initially liked a lot (for me nearly the most pleasing off the bat). But on closer scrutiny I discovered it dissolves finer details even more than the JPEG and also produces some unwanted artefacts (see the line between the cornea and the lower eyelid):

RAW conversion using Affinity Photo

This is not the case with Adobe´s latest version of Lightroom CC. Better fine details than the JPEG´s and a fully integrated workflow to boot (no external RAW converter, so no additional exporting / importing needed). However ACR does seem to slightly exaggerate high contrast fine detail - the eyelashes seem to look a bit thicker / heavier than perceived (I learnt a lot from Thomas Fitzgerald´s excellent X-Trans guides & used one of his sharpening presets, they´re really good !). To further optimize this I may need to experiment a bit more in detail with the sharpening settings:

RAW conversion using Adobe Camera RAW in Lightroom CC

Last but not least the most balanced high quality result came out of Iridient Developer: Extremely fine details are retained and beautifully rendered (using default "Iridient Reveal" sharpening). No artefacts, no exaggeration, IMO the very best result I could achieve (with a reasonable effort - I really want to minimize the time spent in front of my Mac, of course ;-)

RAW conversion using Iridient Developer

Concluding I have to say that Fuji shooters have a lot of choices nowadays: Need a fast result w/o hassle ? You can use the SOOC JPEG´s without any problem, they´re amazing ! Want to go RAW for a really good result with an integrated workflow ? Lightroom CC ain´t gonna disappoint you ! But if you want the very best image quality & don't shy away from some extra workflow integration ? Use Lightroom CC for image management and Iridient for RAW conversion (it can be easily integrated into your workflow - excellent "how to" advice available here)

Hope y´all liked today´s post & could find some guidance & information for your own work ? If you´ve any questions, comments or ideas - please leave me a note in the comments section or on my "Contact" page ! Many thanks for reading, for your continued interest & support, and hope to see you here again soon !

Good luck & 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 !

Mobile X-Trans Image Sharpening

Hey, Fuji's JPEG's are awesome. Fact! So, after going "mobile" with my online workflow (post processing on my iPad), I was doin' some experimenting on in camera settings & sharpening which I'd like to share here - please read on, hope y'all like it! Starting point was a nice portrait of my lovely wife:

X100T 23mm (35mm FF eq.) @ f4, 1/50sec

To save y'all from searching my previous blogs I'll do a quick recap of my simple 3-step mobile workflow here:

  1. Select best images on my X100T's LCD & perform in camera RAW conversion to Classic Chrome, with color +1; NR, highlights, and shadows -1, sharpening as required (see below)
  2. Export the Classic Chrome JPEG's to my iPad using Shuttersnitch App (for automatic adding of IPTC copyright & author info)
  3. Post processing the JPEG's on my iPad by first optimizing WB, exposure and contrast using Athentech's Perfectly Clear App and then post processing them into black & white images using Photogene4 App

For the sharpening evaluation I prepared 2 JPEG's with "capture" sharpening settings of -1 (soft) and +1 (hard) using Fuji's in camera RAW converter. Then I exported them to iPad and applied to both 1.5 strength / 0.3 radius "output" sharpening in Photogene4, see enlargements below:

Capture sharpening +1 in camera

Capture sharpening -1 in camera

For me the one which had +1 sharpening in camera during RAW conversion is on the edge (too harsh) for portraits, the milder -1 sharpening delivering the more pleasing & natural result. Here the effect on hair with same sharpening settings as above:

Capture sharpening +1 in camera

Capture sharpening -1 in camera

On request of reader here a version with -1 sharpening applied in the in camera RAW converter, but no additional sharpening applied in Photogene4 post processing:

Capture sharpening -1 in camera, no additional sharpening in post

Curious to hear what's your view? Please leave me your comments below or contact me via my contact page! Many thanks in advance for reading & for your feedback, best rgds,

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 !