Raw SmithBlog
How to edit Fujifilm RAF files on iPad and iPhone
You can edit Fujifilm RAF files directly on an iPad or iPhone. Copy them over with a card reader, check your camera is on Apple's supported list, and open them in an editor that reads camera RAW. Two things work differently from the camera: compressed RAFs have had patchy support in the past, so test your mode first, and your film simulation isn't applied to the RAW, so you rebuild the look or use a profile that imitates it.
Which Fujifilm cameras work?
On iPhone, iPad and Mac most editors use Apple's built-in RAW decoder, so support depends on Apple. On version 27 that covers 76 Fujifilm models on our supported cameras page, from early FinePix bodies to the X-T5, X-H2, X100VI, X-M5, X-E5, X-T30 III, GFX100 II and GFX100RF. Apple's own list is Digital camera RAW formats supported by version 27 of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, visionOS.
Compressed, lossless and uncompressed RAF
Recent X and GFX bodies record RAF in three ways: uncompressed, lossless compressed and compressed. The X-T5's specifications list all three. This is where Apple's support has had gaps.
| Apple list | Note on recent X and GFX bodies |
|---|---|
| Version 18 | Many models, including the X-T5, X-H2, X-S20, X100VI and the GFX range, marked "Uncompressed RAW format only" |
| Version 26 | No notes on any Fujifilm model |
| Version 27 | No notes on any Fujifilm model |
So on iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, a lossless compressed RAF from an X-T5 may not open at all. On current software Apple no longer restricts it. To check that for ourselves, we decoded public sample files from raw.pixls.us on macOS 27.0.1: compressed, lossless compressed and uncompressed RAFs from an X-H2, a compressed RAF from an X-T30 II and a lossless one from an X-E4 all decoded normally. We haven't tested version 26, or every model.
The quickest check is your own file. Shoot one frame in the compression you use, import it into Photos on the iPad and tap Edit, or open it in Preview on a Mac. If it won't open, or shows only a small embedded JPEG, update the device or switch the camera to uncompressed.
Getting RAFs onto the iPad or iPhone
A card reader is the fastest and most reliable route. Plug a USB-C SD reader into the iPad or iPhone, insert the card, and import with Photos, Files or straight into a RAW editor. How to import RAW files from an SD card to iPhone or iPad compares all three.
If you shoot RAW+JPEG, keep the camera's JPEG. It's the only copy of your film simulation as the camera rendered it, and it makes a useful reference while you edit the RAW.
What happens to film simulations?
This is the part that surprises Fujifilm shooters most. When you pick Classic Chrome or Acros in the camera, the camera applies it to its JPEG and records the choice in the RAF. The RAW data itself is unchanged. A third-party editor develops that data with its own colour science, so the RAF opens looking like the editor's default, not like your film simulation.
Your options:
- Fujifilm's own software. FUJIFILM X RAW STUDIO converts RAFs with the film simulations, using the processor in your camera connected to a Mac or PC by USB. It's a desktop tool; it doesn't run on iPad or iPhone.
- Editors with Fujifilm-matching profiles. Adobe Lightroom offers Camera Matching profiles named after the film simulations, though coverage varies by model; see Adobe's community thread on Fujifilm camera matching profiles.
- Build the look yourself. Any editor with a tone curve, colour controls and grain can get close. It won't be identical, but it can be yours.
X-Trans and rendering quality
Most Fujifilm X bodies use the X-Trans sensor, with a different colour filter pattern from the Bayer sensors in most cameras. Demosaicing it well is harder, and editors have differed in how they render fine detail. In a long-running Adobe Community thread from 2019, an X-T3 owner found RAFs looked soft with artefacts in Lightroom on iPad, and another user said Capture One rendered them more sharply. That thread is several years old and software has moved on, but it's a fair reminder to judge detail at 100% on your own files before you commit to any app.
Does Apple's Enhanced decoder help?
Version 27 adds RAW 9, Apple's machine-learning demosaic and noise reduction, for some cameras. In Raw Smith it's the Enhanced switch in Detail, shown only where Apple offers it. On macOS 27.0.1, Apple's decoder offered it for our two X-T5 sample files, but not for the X-H2, X-H2S, X100VI, X100V, X-T4, X-T3, X-S20, X-Pro3, X-E4 or X-T30 II files we tried. So it's not an X-Trans feature as such; it depends on the model, and Apple may add more. Open one of your files and look for the switch. Apple's RAW 9 Enhanced decoder explains what it does.
Editing a RAF in Raw Smith
- Import. Tap Import RAWs and choose the card or camera under Cameras and Cards, or From Files…. Raw Smith imports only the RAFs, skipping JPEGs, and copies them into its folder in Files.
- Pick a profile. In Edit › Profile, choose Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome or Apple. For a film look, start from Neutral, which leaves the most room.
- Set light and white balance in Light and Color.
- Shape the curve. In Tone Curve, a gentle S with lifted shadows, or Fade in Effects, gives the softer blacks many film looks share.
- Tune the colour. Use the Color Mixer to mute greens and blues or warm skin, and Color Grading to tint shadows and highlights.
- Add grain with Grain and Grain Size in Effects.
- Save it. In Presets, choose Save Preset…, and include Profile, Light and Color. Next time, pick it in the sheet after an import to lay it over the whole shoot.
The built-in Soft Matte, Warm Grain and Clean Monochrome presets are reasonable starting points too. They're Raw Smith's own looks, not Fujifilm emulations.
How Raw Smith fits
Raw Smith is a RAW editor and library for iPhone, iPad and Mac built on Apple's decoder, so it opens the Fujifilm models and modes your OS version supports, and can't add one Apple doesn't. It has no Fujifilm film simulation profiles. What it does offer is RAW editing that's the same on iPad, iPhone and Mac, presets that sync through your own iCloud, and no account. The editing guide covers every panel and the presets guide covers saving your own looks.
Raw Smith is a free download with a free tier and a 14-day trial; Pro is a one-time purchase or a yearly plan. It's in public beta on TestFlight, so you can try your own RAFs first.
Questions
Can you edit Fujifilm RAW files on an iPad?
Yes. Apple's RAW decoder on iPadOS 27 reads RAF files from the 76 Fujifilm models on our supported cameras list, so editors that use Apple's decoder can open them directly. Copy the files over with a card reader and import them into a RAW editor.
Do compressed RAF files work on iPhone and iPad?
On older software, many X Series bodies were supported for uncompressed RAF only. Apple's version 26 and 27 lists drop that note, and on macOS 27 we opened compressed and lossless compressed RAFs. Test one file from your camera on your own device to be sure.
Will my film simulation show when I edit the RAF?
Not in most third-party editors. The RAF records which film simulation you chose, but the look itself is applied by the camera to its JPEG. Editors develop the RAW with their own colour, so you rebuild the look or use a profile that imitates it.
Does Raw Smith have Fujifilm film simulation profiles?
No. Raw Smith's profiles are Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome and Apple. You can get close to a film look with the tone curve, Color Mixer, Color Grading and grain, and save it as a preset.
Does Apple's Enhanced decoder work with X-Trans files?
For some models. On macOS 27 Apple's decoder offered RAW 9 for our X-T5 sample files but not for the X-H2, X-H2S, X100VI, X-T4, X-S20 and several others we tried.