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| Raw photo processed with Fuji FinePix Studio |
So, with my camera, I'm shooting almost exclusively Raw files. The benefits that this provides is that it allows far more options post processing to get the shot I was looking for at the time. The down side is that I have to then post process them on the computer. There are very few options for software that can handle the Fuji Raw files and I think that this is because of the way the CCD works inside the camera. I think most other cameras have a CCD that captures the picture similar to how it is displayed, in a grid which can be represented with X and Y coordinates. The Fuji CCD, however, captures the pixels in a honey-comb format. The end result is that the Fuji cameras can produce some stunning Jpeg files and mine will pump out a 12mp (4000x3000) jpeg file with good results. However, by working with the original raw file, I can get 5616x4216 which equates to an impressive 23mp photo. The camera comes with Fuji Software (Finepix Studio) which does a reasonable job but it is very basic and painfully slow (and I do mean very painfully slow)
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| Raw photo processed with S7Raw |
The next processing software used is some opensource/freeware called S7Raw. It's quite fast, and produces not bad results but, oh, the noise. I just can't seem to get around the noise. It could just be that I'm not getting the settings right and it could well be that when printed, the noise would not be an issue anyway but even with a low ISO, I'm getting annoying noise. It produces images at 5640x4252, again just short of 24mp so production onto canvas is not an issue but just concerned that the noise would be more noticeable when enlarged to anything more than a small photo.
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| Raw photo processed with Adobe Lightroom |
I must say that I am impressed with the abundance of features available in Adobe Lightroom but at a whopping £238, lightroom is out of the price-range for the average amateur photographer. Adobe does allow you to trial their software but here is the issue that I found - When processing the image, Lightroom produces a 4000x3000 image. Yep, all that extra data is discarded. Is this really an issue? I'm not sure really. The noise reduction is impressive and being able to fine-tune your end result is just bliss but I for one cannot justify spending that amount of money on something which is purely a hobby. Maybe, if I get enough people wanting portraits done, then it may well justify itself with speed and flexibility.
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| Raw photo processed with PaintShop Pro |
I like paintshop. It is easy enough for a complete novice to find their way around whilst having enough features for a hardened photo editor to get some great results. Vignettes and soften photos are created in seconds however, how it deals with Fuji S200EXR Raw files is just diabolical. It takes your 23mp of data and produces a 2824x2128 6mp image that is grainy and dark (even with the brightness pulled up) To say that I was disappointed is an understatement (especially after downloading the patches just to get it to recognize the S200EXR files) It has a very limited number of sliders to manipulate your image and the end result leaves you thinking "Why did I even bother."
In summary, Lightroom and Finepix Studio give the best results but S7Raw may well be the compromise between speed and features. It could be that the 12mp produced by Lightroom allows for sufficient enlargements. All of these except Paintshop Pro have something to offer. Paintshop Pro, whilst exceptional at manipulating Jpegs, falls far short of the mark when processing Fuji S200EXR Raw files. Small and grainy leaves little options for cropping etc. I think the next stage would be to actually print these images and see what the printed image results are.
