P: Improved Fuji X-Trans Support?

Ever heard the expression echo chamber? Sorry for putting a contrary view.

My 7-days isn't up, so I only have your word for it, as there was no mention anywhere when I finished the subscription that I would be placed on a 7-day trial. The only reference at all I could find to what happens when a CC subscription ends, re: Lightroom, was an old Adobe blog post from around 2013 which said something along the lines that the catalogue would remain active, but the develop module wouldn't. Nothing about a trial version was mentioned. At present, as an end user, I've cancelled a subscription and have been placed on a 7-day countdown to... what? Usually trial versions expire after the countdown, so I assumed I would lose all access (again, there's nothing in the email I was sent after cancelling, or during the sign-in process giving me 7-days on LR which detailed any of this). So, I'm not yet sure 'dishonest' doesn't apply.

However, let's be charitable, let's say you're right (it's Sunday evening, I'm relaxing after a nice walk, and I really can't be bothered to argue about something I don't honestly care about, because it's not the reason I cancelled my sub, it's something which annoyed me after the fact). So, let's say you're right and after the trial LR remains partly functional and allows me catalogue access after the 7-days. Let's say it's just incompetence, as you say. Fantastic, we've gone from dishonest to just confusing and incompetent. Well that's about the level of where X-Trans support has started and ended for me since getting a Fuji camera three years ago - from utterly rubbish to merely mediocre. Not exactly glowing praise for a product I'm paying good money for every month.

I now feel I've personally given Adobe more than enough time, far more than is reasonable, to finally solve the detail issue and others, and they're still outstanding. I disagree this is cyclical - C1 and others have always handled X-Trans files better, Adobe has never been ahead in any of the tests I've carried out over the last three years of Fuji ownership. I've persevered with LR as I'm heavily invested skills and workflow-wise, and money-wise (plugins, etc.) in the hope, no, expectation, that Adobe would provide a real fix. Well, three years is enough.

Truth is for most photographers, image quality rules all and for that crucial variable Adobe sucks balls compared to nearly every other raw convertor, and let's be honest, it's pretty inexcusable and just another example of distain Adobe have for their customers.

John, I said clearly "for me". I'm not telling everyone to leave Lightroom.

I don't use reference view, guided upright, or mobile. I never used  the catalog in Lightroom. In Capture One I use sessions, and that works much better for me.

There are other tools like the masking and layers, colour editor, that work better for me in Capture One. YMMV.

And I didn't just looking around at other software because I was bored. I was frustrated! Image quality is my primary interest, and FOR ME, how I shoot, what I shoot, and how I process, Capture One is streaks ahead of Lightroom.

Finally, if Adobe addresses the issues that I am experiencing, I would probably come back. My issue that would remain is now the licensing. Having experienced what I have, I would now prefer to not license, so as to retain my older edits, and it's not an option with Adobe.

Overtaken? Maybe with the default, but more than that, it's only subjective. C1 is definitely quicker with XTrans files though, and outside that area its tethering and its focus mask are superior, but its cataloguing features are primitive, and its UI overcrowded and fiddly. I've owned it for 10 years too.

No real updates? Apart from Reference View, Guided Upright, Dehaze, more local adjustments, the whole Mobile area... "what have the Romans ever done for us?"

John

1) Image quality issues in X-trans is STILL an open ticket that Adobe says it is working on. Phase One has caught up and now overtaken Adobe, to the extent that I have to leave the Adobe platform.

2) Capture One are far slower than Adobe to support cameras, I've made that point elsewhere in Lightroom forums. So yes it took them time to support compressed format, and to support some tools in their system for X-trans. But now, they HAVE done so, and the results are, to my eye and many others, far superior.

3) I really don't want to move off Adobe, I'll lose the ability to work with my edits to existing photos for the last however many years Lightroom has existed. Do you think I'm happy with that? I don't want to move, but Adobe is really not making an effort to keep me. No real updates, older and worse processing of RAW files, painfully slow (and I've had to switch off GPU processing because of another bug). Capture One just works right now, for me!

BTW If you are in the same situation as that poster, I think you'd be on firmer ground complaining about competence rather than dishonesty!

That refers to getting access to photos that are only on Adobe's mobile servers and haven't synced down, as I said. Assuming your 7 days is over, try opening your catalogue and you should find it will open and only has the limitations I mentioned.

John - I stated Adobe has placed me on a 7-day trial now I've ended my subscription, because that's exactly what has happened. A quick search shows I'm not the only user who has experienced this, regardless of what Adobe once promised -

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2174621

Refer to post No. 6 in that thread.

My complaint was that it took almost a year for C1 to support the raw file compressed format at all, Mike-Photo.... During the 3 years of this thread, Adobe has greatly improved handling of Fuji raw files but you can never please everyone.