Iridient

Brian just released Iridient Developer 2.3.2. No Fujifilm specific changes in this one. This version does fix a critical issue with the exposure slider for users running 10.6.8 and some non-English localizations introduced in the last update. Also fixes a preview display bug that could produce edge artifacts when viewing at high magnification in the preview window and also fixes potential issues with the UltraRez resizing methods when exporting very, very high resolution images (such as 24MP images scaled to 400% or more).

The new version can be downloaded from my web site here:
http://www.iridientdigital.com/products/rawdeveloper_download.html

The full release notes for this and all previous version are available here:
http://www.iridientdigital.com/products/rawdeveloper_history.html

Photo Ninja

– “Photo Ninja – Some comments from Jim Christian, the developer” can be read at soundimageplus here. Seems that now also PC user have a good alternative to Lightroom (MAC users already have Iridient). Soundimageplus says: “I and many others have been seriously impressed by what Photo Ninja has achieved with the Fuji X-Trans sensor raw files, finally ‘liberating’ them from the over processed ‘mush’ that has been the result of some more well-known software companies efforts and indeed the unimpressive Fuji / Silkypix software.”

Alternative Workflow

– The Alternative Workflow: from Lightroom to Photo Mechanic and Iridient Developer at thevisualexperience here: “Adobe Lightroom is great. Gives you a lot of possibilities, manages your library, develops your RAWs. It’s a great piece of software. Now, up to December 31st, you can have it with Photoshop for 10 USD a month if you, like me, have a licensed version of a Photoshop >CS3. So it’s a no brainer kind of buy. BUT. But if you’re looking for the best image quality out of your RAW then, well, there is something more. Previous tests on Iridient Developer  actually confirm that, especially with X-Trans sensors, you can get much better results out of your RAWs. So the question is: If there is a good alternative for the RAW processing part, is there  also a good alternative for the Library Management part?”

Fuji X-Trans Sharpening Presets for Lightroom

– Fuji X-Trans Sharpening Presets for Lightroom at thomasfitzgeraldphotography.com: “Incidentally, a lot of people have recommended Iridient Developer to me as it does a really good job with X-Trans files and I’ve been trying it out this weekend. It does indeed do a great job and certainly does a better job of de-moosiacing than Lightroom, however it does lack many of Lightroom’s creative tools. Still, I’m working on a workflow for using the two in tandem, and I’ll have a post about it soon.”

X-Trans

– Continuing Yin and Yang, the good and the bad with the Fuji X sensor at soundimageplus here: “Sometimes I think the images from my X-E1 are amongst the best I’ve ever seen, sometimes, if they happen to contain a lot of smeared similar looking green foliage, I wonder why on earth I bought it. However, spending the last few days in a heavy editing cycle, I’ve found a way to both deal with that and come to terms with it. You may have noticed that despite all my many reservations about the X-E1, poor battery life, smeary foliage, poor video etc. I still have it and still use it. I expressed some reservations in a previous post about the performance at low ISO’s, but I’ve made an interesting discovery. The more you upsize the files the better the camera / sensor does in relationship to others.”

– Don’t forget the Fuji details at simonpeckham here.

Online petition 1

– And if you are still not happy with how LR handles X-Trans files, then here is an online petition: “Please [Fuji and Adobe] cooperate to provide your common customers with better X-Trans raw files support.”

Online petition 2

Stop the discontinuation of Fuji 3000b Instant Film by Fujifilm: “Fuji FP-3000B is the most versatile instant film on the market today. Not only does it have the highest ISO rating of any instant film currently produced, it is the only one that produces a very easy to work with negative. There IS a market for this film. We ARE out here using it and supporting it every day. There are groups on Flickr and Facebook designated specifically to instant film. We highly encourage you to STOP the discontinuation of your wonderful and beloved 3000b film!” Do you agree? Then sign the petition here.

George

Hi Patrick,

I’m a new convert to Fuji and thought I’d share the journey with you. I did a blog on the change, and then a review on the X-E1, and you can find them here:

The DSLRosaurus (“All I can feel is freedom!”)/ Fuji X-E1 review (“All my concerns about changing from a DSLR system were totally unfounded. I doubt I will ever own a DSLRosaurus ever again.”)

The biggest anxiety I had during the changeover was if the Fuji’s could handle wildlife. To give you an idea of whether or not the [shoplink 12881]X-E1[/shoplink] can handle wildlife, I’ll just say that where I used to be happy if I managed a dozen keepers, I’m now finding I’m managing 30 keepers or more. Not only that, but the RAW files are a real joy to work with. Check out these recent photos from a wildlife shoot, all taken with the X-E1 with [shoplink 12892]55-200mm[/shoplink].

shot 1 / shot 2 / shot 3 / Many thanks to Fuji for transforming my photography life, and I can’t wait for the X-Pro 2!

One of my biggest challenges in the past has been capturing the moments. Well, not really capturing the moments, but having RAW files at the end of the day that were usable. It’s been a problem. In the past, if files weren’t too noisy, they would be too soft, or not have enough dynamic range, or something else that mostly prevented me from using them professionally even though I’d caught the moment. Since changing to the Fuji X series, my keeper rate has rocketed up. We were on a seals shoot this past weekend, and I jokingly said to my gf that I thought I might have as many as 40 keepers. I laughed when I said it as it was a joke, as I expected *hopefully* perhaps up to 20 *in my dreams*. I’ve just finished working through the RAWs today and I have 36 keepers! For example, here is a grey seal mother and her pup having a kiss out in the ocean. I knew I’d caught a once in a lifetime moment, but in my heart I doubted my gear. Had my gear caught focus? Would there be enough dynamic range as I was shooting almost into the sun. Would the pup’s white fur be too burned out? What would the noise be like? Again, the RAW files astounded me. Here’s the photo. Not only was it sharp, there was hardly any noise, and I was able to pull the detail out of the pup’s white fur with no problems at all.

Here is a heavily backlit sun shot of a male grey seal mating with a female. I couldn’t believe how much dynamic range there was to play with in the RAW file. I know for a fact that if I’d taken this with my old gear, this shot would have ended up in the recycle bin as the highlights would have been totally burned out.

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Here is another example of a heavily backlit subject, a bull grey seal who decided to come out of the water to check me out. You can’t mess around with wildlife when shots like this present themselves, you just have to take the shots. Again, I was convinced that the RAWs would be unusable, but as you can see there is plenty of detail and colour in the highlights and in the shadows. This is another keeper I most definitely would not have had with my old gear.

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The details and textures in the RAW files are also astonishing. You can’t really see it in these small jpgs, but this seal you could almost reach out and touch in the full sized image it’s fur and whiskers look so real.

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As to favourites? Well, here are three very recent ones [Patrick: one is shared at the beginning of this post] from the last couple of weeks which I love, and which I’ll be entering into a top Scottish photography competition – a family portrait, a pup, and a seal in the surf. Next week I’ll be trying out the [shoplink 12887]18-55mm[/shoplink] with wildlife, and I’m excited about it. I’ve not been this excited about photography for a long, long time.

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