I use LR for DAM and processing. It works well for images out of Nikon sensors. But Fuji raws and Sigma raws are another story. With Sigma, I am stuck using sigma's raw editor. Not really stuck since there is a photoshop plug in but I dont use photoshop. With Fuji, the raw conversion is really restricted. As most of you know, Adobe's raw converter likes to throw worms and other artifacts into the image. Although I can flatten the image to minimized these effects, any attempts at processing quickly brings up noise and other artifacts. I have looked at other raw converters and nothing comes close to the smoothness of fuji's converter based on silkypix(RFC3.0). However, RFC does not output dng files, only jpeg or TIFF. So, I save the conversion as a TIFF in aRGB space. Then I import into LR for post. However, I've noticed that tonal adjustments to the TIFF are more constrained than tonal adjustments made to a RAF file (even tho I do not like the actual raw conversion by Adobe RAW, the latitude of adjustment is much greater and the consequent delicacy of adjustment is greater as well). It seems that TIFFs (like jpegs) do not afford Adobe RAW sufficient information for its algorithms to make meaningful subtle adjustments.
So now I have to make multiple conversions of RAF files with RCE3 into underexposed and overexposed versions, merge them in photoshop using masks, etc, then import those into LR and then do global post processing (I really do not like the way I have to screw around in photoshop with selections, masks, ranges, numbers, etc.) I prefer the more 'analog' way LR allows me to adjust the image because it allows me to stay focused on what I am seeing rather than looking around in menus to find/figure out what tool to use, where it is, etc
Obviously it would be saner to learn silkypix. So I share my experience with perhaps a chance to learn another(better?) way to work with RAF files. And please do not say Raw digger, Iridient, Affinity or other application. I have looked at all those and the conversion is inferior to RCE in terms of smoothness, lack of noise and linearity. What I am hoping for is to hear from someone who uses RCE (or silkypix) and LR together. The information base for LR is huge and it is easier to keep learning in this regime rather than trying to scrape tidbits out of the internet about silkypix.
