(Fuji X-T1 – 10-24mm)
OK so I’ll start by saying that there are some instances where you have to make an HDR image, but I have been experimenting with HDR verses normal highlight/shadow processing with Lightroom’s HDR feature.
The results have left me a bit surprised (and pleased) with just how much detail is available in a Fuji X-Trans RAW file.
In the example below I took three images image of straw bales back-lit against the dusk sky. Each image was a stop apart, enough to capture the sky with no clipping and well lit foreground.
For one image I combined the three RAW images using Lightroom’s HDR function.
For the other image I took the RAW image which had no sky clipping (just happened to be the darkest images) and processed it using a combination of exposure control, shadow recovery, and graduated filter.
Here are some crops of both images.
To my eyes there is hardly any difference in sharpness or noise. You certainly have to look very very closely to see any.
I shall use HDR for when it’s absolutely necessary, but for most high contrast landscapes when I might have considered HDR, I’ll just be using the one image file in future.
Rick
http://richardbowdenphotography.co.uk/Galleries/LatestWork/