X100 RAW in Aperture 3: get Adobe DNG Converter.

Itching to work with X100 RAW files I decided to — once again — download the latest Lightroom trial. Of course I — once again — found it unbearable to work with (it's a long story) but feeling the power of RAW on X100 files was still very satisfying. So I decided to use LR to export those files to DNG and see how Aperture would react: it works. For those who don't know the DNG format, here's Wikipedia's take:
"Digital Negative (DNG) is an open raw image format owned by Adobe used for digital photography. It was launched on September 27, 2004.[1]"

The big advantage of DNG in this case is that you essentially end up with a RAW file that Aperture can work with, complete with all the control you'd expect over exposure, black point and white balance. Here's a screenshot:

Aperture! X100! RAW!

What’s missing from that panel is Noise Reduction but so far I’m extremely impressed with the lack of and/or quality of noise from this camera; it doesn’t seem to just be good NR applied to in-camera JPEGs but actual sensor performance. Which bodes very well indeed.

Does this mean I have to buy Lightroom? Nope. In a rare generous move by Adobe (don’t get me started) they provide a free utility called Adobe DNG Converter that does batch conversions of entire folders. It’s always powered by the latest Camera RAW version so you get the same camera compatibility than the rest of the Photoshop family.

I never had any use for it — until now.

This means I’ll be saying goodbye to film modes and Dynamic Range settings to concentrate on the holy trinity of shutter speed, aperture and ISO. To be honest, that’s absolutely fine by me. Like getting air back into my lungs really. This post from Rhys of X100rumors sums up my feelings perfectly.

I’m AM going to need more SD cards though…There's always something ;)

It’s raining cats and dogs over here and I’m stuck in the studio, but below is my first Aperture processed RAW pic. Interestingly the DNG files come in at about 10MB each compared to 20MB for the original RAF. Not sure what the overhead is but 10MB makes a lot more sense for a 12MP photo. Hmm.

Later



And a couple more pics while I'm at it - JPEGS though:

Comments

[Fuji X100 ~ Weekly Round Up 2]

[...] so he took the extra steps required to do this. His blog post describing the process can be found here. I don’t blame him, I’ve tried to get into LightRoom so many times, once each version. [...]

[Kelvin]

Nice tip on the DNG to Aperture, could have thought about that one :-( Question, why ditch the B&W from the X100? Looking at your photos and i am assuming they are all OOC Jpg's without any PP, to me they look fantastic! I just got my X100 today and one of the reasons i bought the camera is to shoot B&W Jpgs OOC, from the few test shots i have done so far today, i love them, its exactly what i expected from this awesome beast... Your photos again in B&W as well as color have been the best sample i have seen anywhere from the X100.

Anyway i was just curious... Love your site BTW! Also have you tried Capture One? The new version 6.2 has Raw support for X100 files.

Cheers!
Kelvin

[Patrick La Roque]

Congrats on the X100!

I'm doing some further tests on the DNGs right now. The noise doesn't hold as well as I thought in certain situations so there's definitely custom NR going on internally for the JPEGs. It's still a stop gap method — hopefully native support will help, even if NR isn't one of Aperture's strong point.

> i am assuming they are all OOC Jpg's without any PP, to me they look fantastic!

Thanks! But I have to be honest with you: they're not OOC at all. All post-processed from colour in Aperture 3. The native B&W JPEGs just don't seem to have the punch I like and I find I have less to work with than with the colour files. I don't know… maybe I need to shoot some more.

Everything I do goes through post btw, both colour and B&W. But some of the Velvia files from the X100 are the closest OOC pics I've shot in a long time, very little needed… in fact, usually toning it down a notch. It's not just the saturated colours (which can be a bit much) but the overall curve just works surprisingly well on a lot of subjects. The second and third pics on this page are an example of that: minimal tweaks in post.

Haven't tried Capture One recently. I really only downloaded LR to see what the RAW files looked like in a "real" editor. I'm an entrenched Aperture guy and will be holding out for support as long as I can.

> Your photos again in B&W as well as color have been the best sample i have seen anywhere from the X100.

That's a huge compliment because there's some pretty amazing photography out there already — so thank's again. I think we're in for a great ride with this camera.

I see from your blog you're a Leica shooter? I'll be looking forward to seeing your work with the X100 :)

Best

[David]

Patrick, could you try the raw files with RPP? http://www.raw-photo-processor.com/RPP/News/News.html
I usually get amazing quality for my Canon 5d mk2. You can work your raw in RPP and complete your post in Aperture by exporting to tiff. Would love to hear about your experience, this X100 is one sexy camera :)

[Patrick La Roque]

David,
RPP is indeed very impressive. But I have a few problems with it:
1- It's quite slow and labour intensive. Having to refresh every time I move the black point slider can be an exercise in frustration. Especially combined with their extreme sensitivity. Using the keyboard helps but it's still somewhat glacial.
2- It creates good versions but they're way off internal JPEGs when compared to DNGs and need a lot of post.
3- Each photo becomes a 75MB TIFF (at 16bit). That's obviously user choice but it's something to consider when it comes to workflow.

What I like about the DNG solution is the ability to work in Aperture as I do with other RAW files. What I'm not crazy about so far (after further testing) is noise. While DNGs in AP look pretty much identical to RAWs in LR (Aperture even seems to do a better job with chroma noise) the scale tips to LR as soon as you need to apply even a minimal amount of luminance noise reduction. NR in Lightroom is just stellar, no contest. By comparison Aperture's is a mottled mess.

I'm hoping once we get true RAW support the De-Noise slider will come back in RAW Fine Tuning and it'll no longer be a problem. If not… I might just end up getting LR just to process raf files — not a great prospect.

Of course I can always stick to JPEG with the X100, they're really good and I've been happy so far…

Thanks for your post!

[Kelvin]

Thanks Patrick, I do like Aperture 3 as well and will wait for updates that support X100 Raw files. I will be taking the X100 out all day tomorrow Saturday and maybe Sunday, will be posting some photos on my Flickr... So far i can honestly say the X100 has exceeded my expectations in both handling and IQ. We are truly in for a great ride with the X100, i can tell already, i know i will have a blast with it, with a second one on pre-order as back up for that just in case moment :-)

I've had my M8.2 since it was released and love it for what it is, the X100 will complement it well.

Cheers
!

Kelvin

[Susan]

Patrick,

Glad that I stumbled onto your blog-love your work and insights! I just received my X100 a couple of days ago and so far, have been very impressed with the images out of it...for the first time I haven't really minded shooting jpeg because the X100 does a really decent job with it's in camera processing, IMHO. That said, I definitely prefer shooting RAW..and have been for the last five years or so.. and Aperture is my post processing/ organizational tool of choice...love it.
I tried the Adobe DNG conversion tool and I am finding the raw files look very underexposed and the blacks appear to blocked up....just wondering if you have experienced this to any degree as well? And if this is caused by the conversion from RAF to DNG...? I do actually own a copy of Lightroom 3 (it came with my Leica M9) but I've never bothered to install it...I had tried LR here and again and I much prefer Aperture: however, I am thinking about installing it as a last resort or just shooting jpg until Aperture supports the X100 (sooner than later we all hope) but since it's also an Adobe product, I'm thinking that it may also render the RAW files in the same way.

[Patrick La Roque]

Thanks Susan :)
We seem to be going through a similar process. I do find the shots somewhat to very underexposed after the DNG conversion and I agree with you on the black levels. Not ideal since it tends to force a strong exposure boost in Aperture which then leads to noise. I want to do further testing before posting an update but if you have LR and some time on your hands (not much of it this weekend, personally) I'd love to hear your experience.

I too am a diehard RAW shooter, very used to the headroom and quality it provides. But yesterday morning before the river shoot I switched the camera back to JPEG only, after a day of testing RAW+JPEG. As you said, there's some very good processing going on in this camera and I'm very impressed by how much I can push the files in post — or how little I sometimes need to. In a way, shooting JPEG puts me in a film mindset... Kinda fits with the vibe of the X100.

I'm very much in a testing phase still; nothing set in stone. Part of the fun really.
Looking forward to your insights as well. And congrats on the new camera :)

Patrick

P.S For reference: the RAF files in RPP come in even darker than in DNG Converter. I wonder what's going on.

[Patrick La Roque]

"with a second one on pre-order as back up for that just in case moment :-)"
Well... Now you're just boasting ;)
Looking forward to the pics — have a great weekend!

[Susan]

Patrick,

Not much time this weekend, but I might throw in the towel and install LR 3 later this week...I haven't yet because I really dislike it and I've been surprisingly happy with the jpeg files-totally agree about shooting in jpeg and a film mindset with the X100. Still hoping too, that apple might just have an update for us in the near future-especially since the X100 is shipping out in larger numbers now! :)

[the dillema | to RAW or not to]

[...] I found the Adobe DNG Converter trick I did quite a few RAW vs JPEG tests and in the end decided to stick with JPEG. I wasn’t that [...]