Once X-Transformer has produced the dng file you are free to import it into any raw processor you like which supports the dng format – for example Adobe Lightroom. What it does is de-mosaic the Fuji raw file and store it as a dng (Digital Negative) file. Iridient X-Transformer isn’t a full-blown raw processing package. I had been checking the Iridient Digital web site for any further news of a Windows release for several months and then just as it seemed like nothing was ever going to happen I seem to have missed the notification by about a week. This was exciting news for me as I found it galling that despite much improvement over the last couple of years Lightroom still didn’t seem to render Fuji raw files as well as Iridient did. Last year I read rumors that Iridient were working on “something for Windows”. As a keen amateur photographer (ie – not somebody who makes a lot of money out of photography) I was not going to switch back to using Macs again just to be able to run Iridient Developer, no matter how much better it might make my results.
The software was only available for Mac OS and I switched back from Mac OS to Windows several years ago now. Impressed as I was by the results I was seeing being obtained using Iridient Developer it was sadly not for me. This seemed all the more remarkable as Iridient Digital is a “small” company, indeed to the best of my knowledge a “one-man band”. Iridient seemed to create cleaner, clearer, sharper renderings of the same image. I have often been astonished by the apparent difference in the rendering of Fuji raw files between Adobe Lightroom and Iridient Developer. Back then I was a Canon shooter but for the last several years I’ve been shooting more and more Fuji to the point where as I write I’ve not shot using my Canon gear for over a year.Īs a Fuji shooter I have been aware of the raw processing software “ Iridient Developer” for quite some time. I use Adobe Lightroom as my raw processing software of choice and I have done so since it was first released.
Click to see full size (X-Pro2, Fujinon 10-24mm f4 – yes, I know – not a “portrait lens”!) It costs $30 to register the program, which will remove the watermarked outputs.įujifilm X-T4 vs.1:1 crops : default Lightroom import on the left, same file processed with Iridient X-Transformer to the right. The demo is fully functional, but will add a watermark to all processed images (originals will, of course, be left untouched).
The Windows beta of Iridient X Transformer is available for free demo, so photographers can try it out and compare results to Adobe Lightroom or other RAW processors. The non-standard color filter array on these sensors adds complexity and requires different processing than sensors found in cameras from other manufacturers.įujifilm says the more complex pattern allows for the removal of the anti-aliasing filter from in front of the sensor - which increases sharpness - without taking the normal penalty of incurring additional aliasing, the false patterns that can show up when photographing fine detail.
While the debate surrounding RAW processors is certainly not limited to any one brand of camera, third-party software has a harder time converting files from Fujifilm X Series models that use the company’s unique X-Trans sensors. YouTube user Zed ProMedia has a good comparison between Adobe’s and Iridient’s processing of X-Trans RAW files from a Fujifilm X-T2, which you can watch below. Should users then want to open the converted DNG files in Adobe Lightroom, metadata tags will instruct Lightroom to not apply further sharpening or noise reduction, as detailed by DPReview.įor many photographers, the difference in quality from one raw processor to the next may be negligible, but Windows users after the most control will appreciate that they have a new option in the RAW processing game. Sharpening, lens corrections, and noise reduction parameters can also all be set. Users have control over how images will be rendered, either with sharper details or a smoother result that helps control artifacts. Iridient X Transformer uses the same demosaic processing algorithms found in Developer. The app features a sparse user interface but with powerful image processing under the hood that advanced shooters will appreciate. The program converts images shot in Fujifilm’s proprietary RAF format to Adobe’s open DNG standard. Iridient Digital, maker of the popular Iridient Developer for Mac, has announced it is bringing its high-end Fujifilm RAW processing to Windows with Iridient X Transformer.