CO7 vs the FREE RAW File Converter EX
Lloyd was kind enough to get his original RAF file to me so that I might try to duplicate his Capture One 7 work on this file. Let me point out that I have very little experience using the RAW File Converter (about 2 days now) and that I will probably become more proficient with its use.
I believe there is a difference in the monitor settings that Lloyd and I are using. My monitor and Adobe tell me it's calibrated properly but I see a difference between Lloyd's image and mine as far as brightness goes. I have not modified Lloyd s image in any way.
At any rate, here are the two images. Lloyd s version on top, mine on the bottom. If you wish to see a larger version of my try you can use this link for a file that is 50% in size of the original:
http://www.boxedlight.com/xp1/images/RAF.jpg
Since the forum software seems to downsize the images embeded, here is a link to the photo above that should display without size reduction:
http://www.boxedlight.com/xp1/images/co7-rfcex.jpg
My opinion is that once you become familiar with the FREE RAW File Developer you may be able to achieve the same results as using Capture One 7. This free program is certainly better than LightRoom and Photoshop RAW support. Does it equal Capture One Ver 7? I think it does or the difference, to my eye, is negligible.
Capture One 7 may offer other features that make it a better choice for others but for simple RAW conversion of my RAF files I'm going to save $300 and use the RAW File Converter EX.
My work flow for RAF files is to open the file in the RAW Converter, make adjustments (and you can make a lot of adjustments) then save the file as a TIF for any further work I might wish to do in Photoshop CS6. Mind you this is not something I do for every file, only those that I feel warrant special attention. Most of the time the JPGs are fine for my purposes.
For those who have not tried the Free RAW Converter, here is a link to the download page.
Download Drivers & Software | Fujifilm Global