Software for Nikon

Richardflack

My apologies if these go over old ground but I haven't had much luck searching...
I'm trying to step up a notch from my previous practices (ad hoc backups (to put it politely), Picasa for processing & sharing) and now working more with RAW files (from P340 primarily, also D60) hitherto it was just JPEGs form S6300 and P1)... Im working my way through the DAMbook, so as to get better organised. Im finding,as I get to know it, the current View NX-2 is quite good for adjusting photos and has most of what I (currently) need in that regard.

My questions are these:
Am I right that Capture NX-2 is (a) expensive and (b) about to be dropped by Nikon?
What does Capture NX-D have that View-NX2 does not?
Is the future of Nikon Image-space assured? (Ive started looking at that as a sharing tool, but Im not sure how fast Ill fill up the free allocation)
Lightroom sounds appealing but there do seem to be some drawbacks (no face recognition - come on down Picasa!! - )
Is it better to stay within Nikon eco-system or is a hybrid approach Ok?

PB_PM

Here is what we know as of today.
1) Capture NX-2 is no longer supported. No new cameras will be supported by the software, that includes any cameras released after the official release of Capture NX-D.
2) Capture NX-D is missing a lot of the features Capture NX-2 had, due to licensing issues. There are plenty of sites out there that cover all the details, so I'm not going to dive into them all. Capture NX-D is based on the third party program called "Sillypix" and given some Nikon specific tools, like Picture control support and the ability to turn on and off in camera features like vignetting reduction and Active D-Lighting.
3) Lightroom is a better RAW editor than Capture NX-D, no questions asked.
4) There are very few, if any, advantages to sticking with Nikon branded software.

JJ_SO

@PB_PM between "Silkypix" and "sillypix", those two characters make a difference in meaning. There's one advantage to the better RAW-Converters: Those will not be the first supporting new cameras. So, early adopters or people with Non-Adobe systems at least should have it in the beginning on their hard drive. Although it's an ugly piece of interface and slow software.

PB_PM

@PB_PM between "Silkypix" and "sillypix", those two characters make a difference in meaning.

True, but the latter is a better description of the software...

JJ_SO

True again, was just working on an edit

Is it better to stay within Nikon eco-system or is a hybrid approach Ok?

You decide, @Richardflack Do you have Nikon bags, photo-vests, watches, ball-pens, caps… ? Then as a collector of a camera brand you have no choice. As a non-collector of this brand, you have tons of better choices.

Richardflack

LR is better RAW converter on NRW (NEF) files then NX-D? I think Ive seen comments to the contrary (specifically referencing skin tones).

I am attracted to the idea of LR as an all-in-one program (incl catalog), for a hobbyist such as myself probably a good idea.

I have to say that I find it all a bit confusing as I spelunk around various fora - I guess partly due to everyone having different priorities.
Im also unsure about the relative pros and cons of NX-D using side car files (which presumably will get out of synch etc in some cases) versus LR keeping everything in the catalog (ensuring everything stays sync'd but which probably makes it harder to move away from LR)... Im also quite nervous about Adobe subscription model; likewise Nikon's pulling back from the photography field.

Far too many pros and cons on either side!

Richardflack

@JJ-SO Nope, just a few cameras!

sevencrossing

I abandoned NX 6 years ago and switched to LR
no regrets at all

Richardflack

@sevencrossing - do you use LR to convert from RAW or do you create DNG file outside? Im realising that perhaps the issues Ive seen referred to with LR are on raw conversion as opposed to subsequent editing.

sevencrossing

I import the NEF files into LR and either print direct, using the LR print module or export a jpeg

but converting to DNG should not cause a problem

If YOU are having problems with skin tones:

Check that your monitor and printer are correctly calibrated, by using something like a spyder 3

Check the default settings in LR

Check your color balance, using a grey card

if someone else is reporting problems with LR, there are 100s of things they could be doing wrong

out of interest, what camera are you using ?

Richardflack

Yes its other peoples' comments Im reading, Im just getting started on all this (see below)
Also comments about noise reduction, although presumably the goal is to avoid the need for it!
I don't use D-lighting in-camera mainly because I don't really understand it (and also a photographer friend a while back advised me against it as it would mess up any other post processing Id want to do)
CURRENTLY I have no issues with skin tones but I'm using ViewNX2.

So basically LR can be set up to handle NRW files well? (Nice if that happened to be default settings but I guess its a one time deal to figure it out if not).

My main camera currently is a lowly P340 which Ive had a couple of months.
alternates are D60 which i like except for its size, S31 (fugeddabahtthatone!) and occasional S6300 (for its zoom).

Im strictly a hobbyist but do care what my images look like ... when I got the D60 I did shoot in RAW+JPEG but was mainly using Picasa out of ignorance & convenience (for distribution) and never really did much with RAW. For casual use was finding compact cameras gave acceptable results in good conditions and of course were, well, compact. Two things recently led to my upping my game a little ... getting the P340 for low light without flash (restuarants etc) for some major events & trips this year; and realising that I need better approach for organising my image library which is very haphazard. So Im back to RAW and I started using ViewNX-2 rather than Picasa (and liking the results if not the UI) and read the DAM book about getting myself organised.

sevencrossing

Yes LR appears to support NRW without converting to DNG

remember, at any time you can convert a DNG or NRW file to DNG. But once converted to DNG it cannot be undone

read the DAM book about getting myself organised.

If you are going to use LR, it is essential you understand how it works
Then build a workflow and backup system, you understand, like, and works for you

Richardflack

I guess my question is - what is the "best" way to import into LR?
Direct form NRW?
Or have View-NX2 do the raw conversion (to TIFF? Nikon doesnt support DNG, yes?)

sevencrossing

LR is the only software you need, unless you need to do complicated things with layers, in which case you may want to add PS at a later date