In 2019 I wrote an article about leaving Lightroom for Capture One.

Well, here we are, six years later, and this time I’m announcing another change: I’ll be leaving Capture One for DxO PhotoLab 9.

First off, let me be clear: my time with Capture One has been excellent. It’s a fantastic piece of software, and I never once regretted switching from Lightroom. If you’re sticking with Capture One, you’re still making a solid choice.

Why am I leaving?

Before we start, it’s worth remembering that Capture One supports Fujifilm cameras because Fujifilm pays them to. That’s part of their original agreement. So if you’re happily editing your Fujifilm files in Capture One, thank Fujifilm, not Capture One. And that’s totally fine — just business as usual.

What really bothered me, though, was Capture One’s handling of the free Express version. They announced its removal, but in reality, they didn’t actually discontinue it for Fujifilm shooters — they simply hide and renamed it.

Instead of openly saying “Capture One Express is closing, but Fujifilm users still have access to a free basic version,” they didn’t tell us about it and made it complicated to find. The probable goal: push Express users into upgrading to the paid version. Luckily, on FujiRumors we figured out the not-so-intuitive way to still access the new “Fujifilm RAW Converter (FRC)” and shared it with the community.

Legally, it’s all fine. I assume (but that’s just a guess of mine) their contract with Fujifilm might oblige them to offer a free basic version, and if so, they would have technically respected that. But from a customer-relations point of view, it felt a bit disingenuous. A little transparency and clarity would have gone a long way.

The turning point

Now that I own the Fujifilm X-E5, I had to make a choice. As a perpetual license holder, I would need to pay Capture One full price just to get support for my new camera. At that point, I asked myself: do I double down on Capture One, or finally make the switch to something else?

And the answer was clear: it’s time for DxO.

Also consider: while Capture One won’t support the X-E5 in older standalone versions, DxO added X-E5 support also the PhotoLab 7 and 8.

So this makes me confident that if one day I’ll treat myself with a Fujifilm X-E6 or X-T7 or so, I guess I won’t be forced to pay the upgrade to DxO PhotoLab 10/11 to use its RAW files on DxO.

Why DxO?

Over the past two years, DxO has impressed me more and more. The new PhotoLab 9 is a powerful, feature-rich editor — with great tools like AI Masking. I’ll be pairing it with FilmPack 8, which unlocks all Fujifilm film simulation profiles.

On top of that, DxO PureRAW 5.3 now supports DeepPRIME XD3 for all X-Trans cameras, delivering outstanding noise reduction and detail retention.

So, from now on all my editing will be done with PhotoLab9.

What About You?

Since I’ve shared my own quick editing software journey, I’d love to hear yours. What software are you using now, and how did you get there? Feel free to share your story in the comments below.

Last year the Fujifilm X-T4 infrared camera appeared on BHphoto.

Well, now the Fujifilm X-T4 infrared camera has been discontinued at BHphoto.

The X-T4 IR might not have had the longest life span, but it will go down with a clean 5 star rating, thanks to one person who bought and gave it an excellent review :).

And remember… somewhere in the X App secretly appeared other X/GFX infrared cameras.

Gear Detox – a Waste of Time?

• Your Guide to FUJIFILM Film Simulations

From time to time, we should be reminded that light, moment and inspiration matter more than megapixel, specs and AF speed.

I mean, I am the first to admit that I also enjoy talking about gear here on FujiRumors. It’s fun—there’s just no way around it. :)

But the words we speak here, the chats we have… I don’t print them big, frame them, and hang them on a wall. I don’t print and frame the spec sheet of the latest camera.

What I do print instead are the images I’m most happy with.

And that’s what this post is about—a little roundup of photographs shared by you, the Fujifilm community. It’s a chance to pause the gear talk for a moment and just enjoy what really matters: the images.

And look… I know. These image roundups don’t get many views. They take a ton of time to make. They don’t boost traffic. I guess that’s why no rumor sites make them.

But I decided—I don’t care.

I’ll do an image roundup now, and I’ll try to do more in the future. Because they matter to me. And maybe to a few of you, too.

In a world where others make up rumors in a vile attempt to grab your attention and profit from your good faith, we go the opposite way: we don’t share the endless stream of dubious and fake rumors we receive. Instead, we focus on what matters—enjoying photographs.

I might lose time. I might lose traffic. But I’ll be proud of this article… and of the amazing Fujifilm community that is capable of creating such wonderful images.

• Your Guide to FUJIFILM Film Simulations

The Best Fujifilm Communities

• Fujifilm Film Simulation Group
• Fujifilm X-T Shooters Group
• Fujifilm X100 Shooters Group
• Fujifilm GFX Shooters Group
• Fujifilm X-Pro Shooters Group
• Fujifilm X-H Shooters Group
• Fujifilm X-E Shooters Group
• Fujifilm X Third Party AF lenses Group
• Fujifilm Astrophotography Group
• Viltrox X mount lenses Group
• Fujifilm X-S shooters Group

Film Simulation Power

For today’s image roundup we take a look at images shared at our immense Fujifilm Film Simulation Group.

You’ll see the power of Fujifilm colors in action. Enjoy :).

_ _ _

by Emanuele

📸 Fujifilm x100VI
📍 Venezia, Italy
🎞️ Last Summer Roll

_ _ _

A long while ago a reader sent me an article published at The Guardian called “Believe it or not, some companies still put their customers first!”

The article noted that customer satisfaction has fallen to its lowest point in years, yet highlighted a handful of companies that still go the extra mile when it matters most — and Fujifilm was among them.

Here is what a fellow Fujifilm X-T5 shooter from Redditch (UK) had to say about Fujifilm customer service:

“I took a tumble on holiday and broke the screen on my new Fujifilm X-T5 camera. Fuji delivered a post-paid box for me to return the camera so they could assess the repair cost. I was then emailed to say that Fuji had replaced the screen at no cost, and were returning the camera, again at no cost to me. I was expecting major delays and a large bill. Fujifilm have revived my faith in corporates

To be fair, my impression is that Fujifilm’s customer service can vary depending on the region. For example, I consistently hear excellent feedback about Fujifilm UK and several other countries. At the same time, I’ve also received — and shared in past articles — some critical reports from other regions.

That’s why I’d like to open the floor to all of you: let’s collect our experiences with Fujifilm service from around the world. Tell us about the times things went smoothly, and also about the times they didn’t. Hopefully, Fujifilm will take note and use this feedback to raise the bar wherever improvements are needed.

As for me, I’ve had to use Fujifilm service only three times:

• sticky X-E3 joystick – I got a new camera right away
• X-T1 rubber skin coming off and door bending – fixed a second time out of warranty free of charge – the problem did not occur again after the second fix
• dust spot in 56/1.2 – fixed free of charge during warranty period

In all three cases — two under warranty and one outside of it — I never had to pay anything, and the turnaround was fairly quick.

But now it’s over to you. Share your own stories, good or bad.

And if you’d like to read the original Guardian article that sparked this discussion, you can find it here.

• X-T5 body
  BHphoto / Amazon / Adorama / Moment / BestBuy / Paul’s Photo

According to a recent survey, the Fujifilm X-T5 is the most owned Fujifilm camera by FujiRumors readers.

No wonder that therefore I also get many emails from X-T5 owners asking me all sorts of questions. And one question that comes up quite regularly is which UHS-II SD-Cards I recommend for the Fujifilm X-T5.

• The Fujifilm X-T5 – Here are the Top 5 Accessories I Can Recommend

And since it comes up regularly, I will answer it once for all in this article.

There is only one correct answer to this question: if possible, stick with the officially Fujifilm recommended SD-cards (list below).

*1 Model name could be different depending on the market.
*2 Where xxxx is “JNJIP/GHJIN” in Japan, “ANCIN” in the U.S.A., “CNCIN” in Canada, “ZN4IN” in China, and “GN4IN” for Global.