A RAW file is a RAW file — even if you apply fancy black and white film effects in-camera, you still get an unprocessed digital negative when you open one in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw. But, that could be changing for Fujifilm users. X-LR is a Lightroom plug-in currently in beta testing that automatically applies the film simulations from the X-T2 to the RAW file in post.
Since RAW files are digital negatives without any processing, the preset color calibrations aren’t automatically applied. They’ll be displayed in the electronic viewfinder as you shoot and pop up in the playback mode on the camera, but opened in a photo editor and you start with a fresh slate. The Camera Calibration penal allows users to find those settings and reapply them, but the new plug-in from Lightroom Solutions aims to handle that task almost automatically, and even if you forgot which film preset that you used.
The plug-in reads the film simulation data included in the EXIF information of that RAW file, applies a corresponding Camera Calibration profile and a Develop preset and records that film simulation as a keyword. The developers behind the plug-in say the tool is helpful for quickly reapplying those film presets or applying them even if you’re not exactly sure which ones you used to get that effect.
The plug-in doesn’t quite get an automatic application, but accessing the plug-in from the file menu brings up a new window with the film preset options.
Currently, the plug-in only works with the Fujifilm X-T2, but under beta testing the program could likely extend to more Fujifilm-branded cameras.
The plug-in is currently only in beta, but Fujifilm photographers with Lightroom 5 or later can try it out by downloading the file from Lightroom Solutions.