Fuji X-TRANS / X100T Lightroom workflow for raw and jpg files

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1,753
Name
David
Edit My Images
Yes
It looks like I’m coming to the X100T after a long time away with Canon, and up to now my workflow has been focussed on the raw files, and Lightroom has worked well for me.

I’m perhaps seeing a problem where there isn’t one, but as I wait for my new baby to be delivered, I’m reading a lot about issues around the X-TRANS raw processing in Lightroom (even if I understand the latest release has addressed some of the issues).

I’m also reading that the 'out of camera' jpg files from the X100T are very good.

Now I’m not going to shoot jpg only, that would be too big a step for me, but I want to find a way to ‘reverse’ my workflow, so I use the jpg files as the primary image in Lightroom, and only dip into the raw file if I want to make a (significant?) edit.

My process is looking to be:
  • Import into Lightroom (check-box to treat jpg and raw files as separate images enabled in preferences)
  • After import select all the images.
This will give me duplicate images in library view, so...
  • Auto-stack by capture time (zero second tolerance)
  • Collapse all stacks
at this point the .RAF file will be on the top of the stack, where as I want the jpg, so...
  • Select all stacks
  • Right click and select ‘Move down in stack’
Now all the .jpg files will be at the top of the stack.

This way I can use the Fuji developed jpg files as my primary reference as to look and feel, and where I want to explore deeper, I can expand the stack and work on the .RAF file, and then promote the edited file to the top of that particular stack.

It all seems a bit of a faff compared to my old workflow, but I’m led to believe that due to limitation in the way Adobe process X-TRANS files, this could be a preferred way.

What are the real-life use cases here?

Others have suggested supplementing Lightroom with Irident Developer as the raw engine; I’ve had a look at samples and it does produce a lot of clear detail. Would this be the first step in towards dropping Lightroom altogether and finding another cataloging solution? Is it really worth the extra effort? Again, real world examples rather than lab test charts :)
 
I have both Lightroom 6 and Iridient, the latter obtained after getting an X-E1 and reading about the lightroom problems with smearing greens. To be honest, since the improvements that Adobe have made to X-trans processing in LR6 (purchased, not on subscription, so I don't have any further improvements that Adobe may have made in 6.1) I struggle to see much difference between the two, unless there is a lot of foliage in the shot, and even then its a pixel-peep to see.

Nowadays I import everything into LR, and use only that for about 90% of the X-E1 processing. When I do use Iridient I just do a basic conversion to TIFF (including NR and sharpening, as it seems to me that these are more effective on the X-trans files in Iridient, but that's only a personal view) and take it back into LR6 for final tweaking. Both LR6 and Iridient have implemented interpretations of Fuji's colour profiles, so there is a choice there.

I would say that I probably should explore Iridient more, as there is far more to it that I currently use, and if Adobe ever moved to a fully subscription model I would probably revert to Iridient as my main conversion tool, although as you say I would need to find another cataloguing solution.

Just my own view, FWIW.

Iain
 
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