RAW vs. JPEG with the Fuji

RAW vs. JPEG.  This subject is bound to start almost as many fights as Nikon vs. Canon (neither!) and can be argued either way.  Unlike the choice of two camera companies that produce almost identical products, the RAW vs. JPEG decision can have long lasting effects on your image library.  Ever since I went beyond the Auto modes on my first DSLR, I have been shooting RAW.  At first, it was a crutch because RAW files are much more malleable and can be massaged to hide mistakes in exposure, white balance and almost everything else but composition and focus.  I’ve progressed now to using RAW so that I can develop the photograph after I take it and then worry about conversion to black and white, adding curves, clarity and so forth.

The downside to this approach is that every image needs attention to some extent.  I do have a default preset for each of my camera’s that I apply on import into Lightroom, but I end up tweaking every image regardless.  I’ve been experimenting on using the generated JPEG’s from my X-E1, but RAW has spoiled me.  The JPEG’s are great and I think I could be perfectly happy with them, but after seeing what I can do with the RAW files, it’s tough to give up that control to a computer.

Anyway, on to the pictures.  This weekend had me in Pittsburgh for a friends wedding, so I walked around the Pitt campus before the reception and then stopped at Mt. Washington after.  Sunday I managed to find a few hours to get out hiking at Ohiopyle again.  I stayed around the Ferncliff area and wanted to get some different angles of the main falls to see what I could come up with.  The water was a bit low so there were some more places to go.