Capture One and the Fujifilm GFX 50S
If I were to classify my acquisition of the GFX 50S, I would definitely chalk it up to being an impulse purchase. Call it love at first handling if you will. Compared to my Sony A7rII, the GFX’s superior ergonomics really won me over, and the film grain-like high ISO shots were a definite plus as well!
The transition to the GFX hasn’t been without its hiccups though. I use Capture One Pro as my main editing and management software, and I love its workflow and rendering of images. To my dismay, Capture One Pro 10.1 does not, and as of this writing will not, support the GFX 50S.
Well crap.
For my first couple of shoots, I just used Lightroom since I just wanted to edit the photos quickly and didn’t really want to spend the time to fuss around with figuring out a new workflow yet. Coming back to Lightroom was a frustrating experience after using Capture One Pro for the past 4 years. However, it did do the job of importing the RAF files and had options to change the color profiles to correspond to the in camera film simulations.
I wasn’t necessarily unhappy with the results, but afterwards I realized that now my catalogs were split between Capture One and Lightroom. For my future sanity I needed to tackle this problem sooner rather than later. I needed to figure out a workflow that will let me continue to use Capture One.
Finding a Capture One Workflow
Through trial and error, I learned about the peculiarities of trying to get a GFX 50S file into Capture One. I summed up my findings for Capture One version 10.1:
- RAF files are not recognized as valid files for import.
- Simply converting the RAF to DNG will not work. Capture One will not recognize it as a valid file to import.
- Converting the RAF to TIFF will work and is recognized as a valid file to import.
- Converting the RAF to DNG and using exiftool to change the Make of the camera from “FUJIFILM” to “FUJIFILM_” works and will import.
An interesting finding: how the raw file is converted has a huge impact on the color of the converted image. Much more so than I would have expected. It’s something that I now have to take into consideration when choosing a workflow.
What I’m Looking for in a Workflow
For evaluating workflows, I’m looking at:
- Color
- File size
- Time to batch process raws
Color made it to the top of the list for evaluation when I was observing the difference conversion flows. While it may not be terribly important since the colors may change during the editing process, I’d still like to have the colors as close to what I captured. At the end of the day, I’d prefer to spend less time editing and more time shooting.
File size also makes the list since things can get out of hand very quickly! While disk space is cheap and plentiful, it’s not unlimited. I typically capture around 300 photos per photo shoot, and roughly 1000 photos per event.
Finally, the speed at which the batch process conversion of RAF files is another important factor. I typically shoot around 10,000 digital shots a year, so I’d very much like the process to be as automatic and quick as possible.
Workflow: RFC ⟶ Capture One
Raw File Converter EX 2.0 powered by SilkyPix (RFC for short) is the RAF converter program that is supplied free by Fujifilm. As this is the official raw file converter, this workflow will act as the baseline for comparison with other workflows.
Since I plan to perform all my edits in Capture One, the only purpose that RFC will be to convert the RAF files into 16-bit compressed TIFF files. I left all of the settings at default and only changed the output TIFF settings.
The workflow using RFC is:
- File > Open folder (⌘F)
- Select the folder (or SD card) with the RAF files
- Edit > Select all scenes (⌘A)
- Development > Batch development for selected scene…
- Execute
- Import TIFF files into Capture One
RFC is clunky (and definitely not Retina compliant), but at least there are a few keyboard shortcuts to speed up the process a bit. The colors of the TIFF look true to the JPEG files rendered in camera, which is a huge bonus. File size is not so hot, coming in around 300 MB per file on average using LZW high compression. Batch converting 100 RAF files took roughly 1 hour to finish.
Also worth noting is that the RFC conversion applies some sort of distortion correction.
Here are the metrics for this workflow:
- Color: Accurate
- Average File Size: 300 MB
- Average Conversion Time: 100 seconds / photo
Workflow: Adobe Bridge ⟶ Adobe Camera Raw ⟶ Capture One
Adobe Bridge CC is essentially a file browser that lets me inspect all of the RAF files in a folder (or SD card). The same mechanics can also be accomplished in Lightroom (as Bridge is probably incorporated into Lightroom), but I’d like to bypass the whole cataloging experience that Lightroom brings with it.
The real heavy lifting will be done by Adobe Camera RAW (ACR for short) which performs the raw file conversion to TIFF. ACR is only accessible via another Adobe product (Lightroom, Bridge, or Photoshop), so I chose Bridge since it’s the lightest weight option.
Like the previous RFC workflow, I am really only interested in performing a quick and painless conversion to TIFF. All of the heavy editing will happen in Capture One, or Photoshop if needed. For the TIFF conversion settings, I created a preset to generate 16-bit zip-compressed TIFF files using ProPhoto RGB color space.
The workflow using ACR is:
- In Bridge CC, navigate to the folder (or SD card) with the RAF files
- Edit > Select All (⌘A)
- File > Open in Camera Raw… (⌘R)
- In Camera Raw, select all images again (⌘A)
- Click on Save Images…
- Click on Save
- Import TIFF files into Capture One
Since the workflow is just using default settings in ACR, it looks like the film simulation color profile is not automatically applied and the standard Adobe color profile is used instead. It’s not the end of the world, but also not really expected. From an ease of batch processing standpoint it’s easy enough, but it does feel strange to have one program open another to do the real work. File sizes come in around 250 MB per file. Zip compression seems to work well.
Here are the metrics for this workflow:
- Color: Close; no film simulation applied
- Average File Size: 250 MB
- Average Conversion Time: 15 seconds / photo
Workflow: Iridient Developer ⟶ Capture One
Prior to obtaining the GFX, I’ve never heard of Iridient Developer before. It appears to be a decently capable editing program in its own right, but my interest lies in its ability to convert the GFX RAF files into TIFFs. I used only the default settings in Iridient Developer (ID for short). When exporting, I chose 16-bit compressed TIFF using the ProPhoto RGB color space.
The workflow using ID is:
- Select the folder (or SD card) with the RAF files
- Edit > Select All Images (⇧⌘A)
- File > Batch Process Selected Image(s) (⇧⌘E)
- Import TIFF files into Capture One
Like the ACR workflow before, I’m not entirely sure if the film simulation color profile is being applied at all. Batch processing was very easy. All it took was a couple of keyboard shortcuts and it was off to the races. I really appreciated that! File size seems more manageable clocking in around 307 MB on average.
Here are the metrics for this workflow:
- Color: Close; no film simulation applied
- Average File Size: 307 MB
- Average Conversion Time: 37 seconds / photo
Workflow: Iridient X-Transformer ⟶ ExifTool ⟶ Capture One
The last workflow I tried involved Iridient X-Transformer (IXT for short). It’s a single purpose tool made by the same developer of Iridient Developer that converts raw files into DNG files. However since GFX DNG files are still not importable into Capture One, the EXIF data is hacked a bit to trick Capture One.
In IXT, I changed the RAW process to smoother, turned off sharpening and both noise reductions. For the output DNG settings, I enabled lossless compression.
The workflow using IXT is:
- Click on Select Image(s) to Convert… and select the folder (or SD card) with the RAF files
- In Terminal, navigate to the output folder and run the command:
exiftool -Make="FUJIFILM_" *.dng - Import the modified DNG files into Capture One
While ease of batch processing is very good, color rendition is pretty terrible. I’m also not sold on the idea of mangling the EXIF data. However, the DNG file sizes are quite reasonable; averaging around 130 MB per file.
Here are the metrics for this workflow:
- Color: Not accurate
- Average File Size: 130 MB
- Average Conversion Time: 12 seconds / photo
Summary of Workflow Results
I’ve included the same files that were compared in the previous sections, but stacked into an animated GIF to illustrate the differences between the workflows.
Working with TIFFs in Practice
From the workflow results, the ACR workflow appears to be the best compromise; retaining color and speed at the expense of file size. However in practice, dealing with the resulting TIFFs were problematic.
When using the converted TIFF files in Capture One, highlight recovery and white balance do not work as expected. Highlight recovery in particular will tend to darken the entire image instead of just reducing the highlight area when compared to the DNG with the same operation. The result is that the TIFF image looks very muddy.
Not only are the TIFF files significantly larger in size than the compressed raws, they are also far less malleable in post processing to the point of being unusable.
So much for that.
I took my workflow exploration down the remaining path left: DNG conversion.
Capture One Workflow Using DNG
Converting the RAF into a DNG can be accomplished via various programs, such as Irident X-Transformer or Adobe Lightroom. In my testing, I couldn’t discern any difference in image quality in the outputted DNG files between X-Transformer and Lightroom (or more appropriately Camera Raw).
Since I am already paying for Lightroom and Photoshop CC via the Creative Cloud Photography Plan, I decided to go with Adobe for the raw conversion. However, rather than going through Lightroom, Photoshop, or Bridge, I am using Adobe DNG Converter. It functions pretty much the same as Irident X-Transformer in that it is a stand alone application dedicated to converting raws into DNG files.
In addition to the DNG Converter, EXIFTool is also needed to change the Make field of the EXIF from Fujifilm to Fujifilm_. This is to circumvent Capture One 10’s software block on importing Fujifilm GFX 50S tagged files. EXIFTool can be found here with installation instructions here.
The workflow using Adobe DNG Converter is:
- Select the input folder containing the compressed RAF files
- Change preferences if desired (you’ll only need to do this once)
- Hit the Convert button
- In Terminal, navigate to the output folder and run the command:
exiftool -Make="FUJIFILM_" *.dng - Import the modified DNG files into Capture One
As a pleasant surprise, the generated DNG files are approximately the same size as the original compressed RAF files! DNG conversion takes about 2.5 seconds per file which is acceptable. The only issue is the color.
Here are the metrics for this workflow:
- Color: Dull
- Average File Size: 52 MB
- Average Conversion Time: 2.5 seconds / photo
Color Correction in Capture One
One of the obvious problems with importing the GFX 50S DNG files is that they do not have the correct color profile, resulting dark and dull images. Rather than just use one of the existing color profiles, I decided to make a proper color profile for the GFX.
In my search for software to create ICC profiles, I came across DCamProf which is an open source color profiling tool. The tool itself is extremely powerful (and consequently extremely complex), but fortunately there was a section just for Capture One ICC profiles. Needless to say I followed the guide verbatim.
For my reference image, I did the following:
- X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Photo mounted to a tripod
- Shot the ColorChecker on a sunny patio at noon with clear skies
- GFX 50S and 120mm f/4 macro lens at f/16, 1/250s, ISO 400
- White balance set to 5000K
- Color space set to Adobe RGB
- I used a slightly different spline for the LUT curve and modified the Neutral+ look to use ProPhoto RGB color space to avoid color space compression.
This is the resulting GFX 50S ICC profile can be found on my GitHub project CaptureOneICCProfiles.
The profile was generated to be neutral and hopefully as close to real life as possible. I have noticed that it’s not quite perfect, but it’s close enough that a bit of editing couldn’t solve. To my eye the magenta range is a bit more saturated than it should be, but I haven’t figured out how to tweak that in the ICC profile yet.
Installing the ICC Profile
MacOS
Copy the ICC profile to: /Users/<username>/Library/Colorsync/Profiles.
Windows
Copy the profile to: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\CaptureOne\Color Profiles.
After copying over the ICC profile, Capture One will need to be restarted. Once Capture One is loaded, the new GFX 50S profile can be found in the Other section of the ICC Profile dropdown box. You may have to click on the “Show All” option first to see it.
Examples
Here are some before and after examples of the GFX 50S ICC profile at work. For the images below, the only difference is using the GFX 50S ICC profile over the default DNG File Neutral profile.
Using the DNG + ICC Workflow in Practice
Using a custom ICC profile for the DNG files turned out a lot better than I expected! I still think that some colors could use some desaturation, specifically the skin tones, but at least that is easy to correct while editing.
Pros
- Still editing with raw files, so everything in Capture One behaves correctly.
- Minimal penalty to file size.
- Color is mostly correct.
Cons
- The DNG’s EXIF data is mangled to allow Capture One to read it.
- Initial conversion time penalty may or may not be small depending on number of files and power of the computer.
I’d call this a success! So that’s it. We’re done, right?
Well, not quite. The last two points on color that I want to touch on are: using other ICC profiles and reproducing film simulation colors.
Using Other ICC Profiles
The ICC profile that I created is general purpose and works for most of my shooting situations. Though I do find that sometimes it is a bit too vibrant or orange in certain situations. Nothing that a tweak to white balance can’t fix, but I became curious after seeing posts on the Fujifilm GFX Facebook group of others using different ICC profiles.
Many were using the Phase One IQ250 ICC profile since it uses a similarly-sized sensor as the Fujifilm GFX 50S. Whether they use the exact same sensor is unclear. However even if they use the same sensor, each manufacturer is likely to tweak the sensors to their in house specifications. Regardless, let’s give it a go!
Here’s another ICC profile comparison. This time with the Leaf Credo 50, which is also a Sony 50MP 44x33mm CMOS sensor.
It’s worth noting that this photo was taken under difficult lighting conditions as far as colors go. While shot in the shade provided by the shipping containers, the blue and orange containers did cast their colors fairly strongly. Obtaining a good white balance by eye was a tough endeavor.
The comparisons show that there really is no right or correct color profile to use; each profile is merely different. Whether that difference adds to the photo’s mood or just looks better is all subjective. If the aim is to have perfect color rendition every time, I would use a color checker periodically during a shoot.
Reproducing Film Simulation Colors
I wish that Fujifilm cooked the GFX 50S raw files with the film simulation parameters. The out of camera renders are extremely good and sometimes makes me question why I even bother working with raw files.
At the end of the day though, all I really care about is the Classic Chrome look. I have Alien Skin Exposure X2, which has me covered for Acros, Provia, Astia, and Velvia film simulations. VSCO doesn’t appear to have a Classic Chrome preset either when I looked (and I wouldn’t want to use Lightroom for it anyways). So with my eyeballs and a trial and error, I created a Capture One style that roughly approximates the Classic Chrome look.
For the Classic Chrome style, I used the following settings:
To save the modifications as a user style, Capture One has online documentation for creating the style. Note that creating styles is only available for the Pro versions of Capture One.
The style I created is a tad brighter and a little pinker. Also noticeable in the comparison is lens correction is performed on the JPG. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough for me.
Journey’s End
Months of experimentation and exploration finally crystalized into a viable workflow for using the GFX 50S raw files in Capture One. I’m pleased that this workflow worked out. Of course I would prefer if Capture One had official support for the GFX 50S RAF files, lens corrections, and film simulations, but this will do.
Color profiles are still a tricky thing to get right and I’ll probably continue to experiment more with ICC profiles under different lighting conditions. At the very least any odd colorations can be corrected in Capture One by adjusting white balance or curves.
Now that it’s all settled, I can finally focus more on shooting and less on experimenting. Thanks for reading along!
Re-edited and reformatted from my original three-part series (part 1, part 2, part 3) on my blog www.kellydunphotography.com.
I have written a follow-up article discussing the difference between Adobe DNG and Iridient DNG here.
