Sigma X3F Photoshop Plug-in

[Samouraï]

https://www.sigma-global.com/en/download/cameras/sigma-x3f-plug-in-for-photoshop/?fbclid=IwAR01owUsuJShYePxOSEezjn4S4FephQQKW9Vm3SQU1EYRLNJeLQiygyw-jQ

Merrill and Quattro X3F files are now able to be developed within Adobe Photoshop with the use of a new, official plug-in from Sigma.

 

[rhl-oregon]

Good news for those like me whose devotion to Foveon image-making is offset by attacks of berserkery bordering on computer destruction when having to open even the latest version of Sigma Pro Photo.

If it’s in Photoshop now, can a Lightroom plug in be far behind? (Apologies to PB Shelley, even though in the same great ode he also wrote the worst juvenile line in all of Romantic Lit—“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!”)

 

[Larry H-L]

I gave the Sigma X3F Photoshop CC plug-in a quick try, it seems to work well, however your adjustments are limited to the "Fill-Light" slider only, you do not get the benefit of using the full Adobe Camera Raw adjustments.

I opened an X3F as a TIFF, and compared it to the associated JPEG, and they looked very similar, but of course the TIFF file size was much larger.

This is a good option to post-process quickly if you shoot X3F only on the earlier Merrill cameras. But if I was going to use the Quattro camera without the Sigma PhotoPro software, I would instead choose the DNG file option to get the benefit of Adobe Camera Raw.

 

[Abbazz]

The plugin doesn't seem to be compatible with Photoshop CS6. Bummer!

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[rhl-oregon]

Thanks for sharing the results of your test drive, Larry.

 

[KEH]

This is really useful for those of us with the Merrill cameras. As noted, there is limited adjustment, but the 'fill light' slider is really useful for getting the basic tonality right. Then edit in Photoshop or save as a Tiff and import to Lightroom. This gives you lots of options for the final edits.

Another limitation is that if you have a file folder full of X3F files, you cannot get a thumbnail view of the files. So you are basically in the dark until you choose a file to process.

Another thing to note - the plugin seems to lose the EXIF data on the date and time the photo was taken, which is a pain. Maybe Sigma will release an update... (but I wouldn't count on it).

Kirk