Fujifilm's In-Camera Raw To JPEG Conversions; Is It Something That You Might Find Useful?

Amtrak Train 65; Conversion from RAW file in Lightroom  (click to enlarge)
Fujifilm X-T1, 18-55mm lens @ 32.9mm; 1/1000th sec. @ f/6.4; ISO 400

I had never used the in-camera RAW to JPEG conversion feature in my Fujifilm X-T1.  I really didn't have a use for it but I thought I would try it out to better understand what the feature does and how it works.

I set out to one of my favorite local spots to make a few images.  In this case it was the local mainline railroad tracks.  I timed my visit to catch an Amtrak passenger train that I knew would be passing within 30 minutes of my arrival.

I set my X-T1 camera to my normal settings for capturing a fast moving train.  These settings include ISO 400, RAW file, 1/000th sec. @ f/whatever is appropriate, auto white balance, etc.

I then walked around to find a pleasing composition, exploring various distances, foregrounds and specifically looking to capture the passing train's reflection in a temporary pool of recently fallen rainwater that I spotted.  The sky was not very attractive, so I thought I there was more foreground interest than sky.  I precomposed the image I had in mind and marked the spot on the ground where I would want to stand, then I waited in my car for the train.

In-camera Classic Chrome conversion (click to enlarge)

The train passes this spot at 79 mph (127 kph) and the only warning that the train is approaching is clanging of the bell and closure of the crossing gates nearby.  With that, there is less than 15 seconds warning, hence the reason I mark the ground so I can immediately return to the exact spot of my predetermined composition.

The train roared by and I made two exposures.  The better of the two is above.  It is a JPEG of the RAW I made after returning home.  It is not one of the in-camera created JPEGS.

After the train passed, I sat quietly in my car to experiment with using the in-camera RAW conversion feature, assess how easy it is to use and share the image if I so chose. I planned to look at my results when I returned home and imported the images into LIghtroom and examined them on my 24" monitor.

Looking at my image on the rear LCD, I then went into the menu system to develop some JPEGS from the RAW image.  Here are the parameters that Fuji allows you to adjust:

-Reflect Shooting Conditions
-Push/Pull Processing (you can add up to +3 stops more exposure or reduce exposure by up to 1 stop, in 1/3 stop increments)
-Dynamic Range (choose among 100, 200, 400)
-Film Simulation (all film simulation modes are available)
-White Balance (all white balance modes are available including auto and Kelvin temps)
-WB Shift (shift white balance in small increments anywhere between yellow/blue and red/green axes with separate controllers)
-Color (high to low in 5 increments)
-Sharpness (hard to soft in 5 increments)
-Highlight Tone (hard to soft in 5 increments)
-Shadow Tone (hard to soft in 5 increments)
-Noise Reduction (high to low in 5 increments)
-Lens Modulation Optimizer and 
-Color Space (Adobe RGB and sRGB)

In-camera Velvia conversion (click to enlarge)

Those are some amazing choices Fuji gives us to fully control our output as well as make a wide variety of variations of the original RAW image.  Comparatively, Olympus doesn't provide these options to convert a RAW to JPEG in my E-M1.  I wish they did.

I played around with raising and lowering shadow and highlight detail, raising and lowering overall exposure and with different color and black and white treatments.  In the end, I made about 10 conversions.  You can see some of those variations in the accompanying images.

But what is the point of this feature?  Can't you do all of this comfortably sitting in front of your computer back at home and better see the results?  The answer is yes and no.

There may be circumstances when you want to share an image over the Internet long before you arrive home.  You may be traveling and want to share an amazing image with your family or friends back home right from the spot you are standing.  You may want to see how a RAW image translates into various JPEG images before leaving a scene so as to have an opportunity to remake the image before leaving.  You may want to see if you can raise any potentially lost shadow detail or assess if you can recover any potentially any highlight detail.  You may want to see how the image looks in black and white with various filters, etc.  You may just have time on your hands and want to play with your images as a means of creative expression.  Personally, I found it kind of fun!

In-camera black and white with Red filter conversion (click to enlarge)

But why not do the conversions at home in Lightroom, Capture One Pro or another image editing program?  Of course, you can, but one answer is that in-camera conversions directly reflect the Fuji engineers hard work to accurately mimic their film simulations while using a third party image editing program uses the "best guess" in reflecting those Fuji engineers' work.  If you like Velvia, Classic Chrome, Astia, etc., the way the Fuji engineers designed them, then the in-camera conversion will be the most accurately rendered.

Another neat trick that you can do is to take a RAW image from your image editing program in your computer and copy it back onto your memory card, re-insert it in the camera, then play with the in-camera RAW converter.  That is very cool!

All in all, the in-camera RAW converter Fujifilm provides can be a useful feature, a fun feature and a creative feature.  I enjoyed playing with it to see what I variations I could make on my original RAW image and was very pleased with the range of controls and wide variety of images I could create. 

In-camera black and white with no filter conversion (click to enlarge)

I suggest, again as a way of fully understanding your gear, to try it sometime as well.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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