SHOOTING ONCE AGAIN AFTER A LONG LAPSE.

DJ_Nikon

Fellow Nikon shooters, Hello, my name is David and I've been shooting Nikons since high school in the mid-70s.

Not counting that little Kodak 126 square thingy, my first camera, and the one I miss the most, no thanks to the people who broke into my condo in Naples Italy back in the late 90s and stole it, along with many other F2s, F4 and way too many lenses that one person should own, was my first Nikon F2. From there it led to me buying and selling cameras to fund my new habit. I mean hobby.

That camera also led me to my first real career as I joined the U.S. Navy and became a Navy Military Photographer. I spent eight years documenting Navy life up to and including, shooting President George H. W. Bush. Not once, but I was honored to shoot him twice in my career.

Along with my first Nikon, ALL my equipment ended up stolen while doing my tour in Naples Italy and for that I gave up shooting for decades. Then one day I picked up a Nikon D80 and was excited to shoot once again.

A long-extended deployment, more than five years to Afghanistan, kept me away from shooting but didn't keep me away from acquiring more Nikon cameras, lenses, and toys.

To this date I have the D3x, D800e, Df, and my first digital, the D80, and again, way more lenses then one person should own. The D80 has been converted to shoot IR. Something I enjoyed shooting on film back in those days.

My interests are to get into landscapes from the sea to mountains. Also, to shoot in the Macro/Micro world. Plans for my future are to travel much more of the world shooting in those areas of interests and when I feel one is good enough, print it for my home. I also love cycling and look to combine those two interests into shooting as my cycling races or events I can.

Since I started in the age of film, my post-exposure experience is strictly in the darkroom. I've never post-processed any digital imagery and will be looking to figure that world out next. So, if anyone's got any tips/training material they can lead me to I'm a sponge.

Found this site not too long back as I began rekindling my desire to shoot once again while I am working overseas in South Korea. And nope, not as a photographer. Those days are long gone, now I'm into computer systems security.

Thanks for what looks to be a great place to hang around in here and meet new friends.

retread

I know where you are. I started at about 10 with a plastic brownie. Highschool and then army photographer. Quit to raise a family and pay for a farm. In 2011 I got a D5100 to see if I would like it again. I am hooked and taking grandkids along for the ride. Still DX cameras but most glass is FX. learning post processing on the computer.

spraynpray

Welcome to NR @DJ_Nikon. You are in the right place. Regarding post-processing your digital shots, most people here use the Adobe creative cloud. I am not saying you should, just that most here do. If you don't mind a pay monthly subscription model, you will find absolutely masses of on-line help to get you started with Lightroom and later on, Photoshop.

I, like some others am trying to get away from Adobe, but ir terms of ease of use and capability, they have got it pretty much sewn up.

Why not post some of your pictures on the PAD thread (Photo-A-Day) one photo any subject per 24hrs max. You will need a flickr account to host your pictures before you can share them here. Please read the sticky threads at the top of the home page for how to use the forum.

mhedges

Welcome I'm in the minority but I use the Nikon software for post. View NX-I and (occasionally) Capture NX-D. I don't do heavy edits and View does pretty much everything I need, and it's free. And it always has the latest NEF to JPG conversion stuff since it's made by Nikon.

GPDen

A quick 'chip in' from me (excuse the golf pun!) - I'm with mhedges on this one using Nikon View NX2 mostly and Capture NX-D occasionally. Often shoot 100's of shots at a time on the golf course so don't want (or really need to) spend hours editing pics - JPEG is fine for my purpose). By the way, welcome to NR DJ_Nikon.

DJ_Nikon

mhedges/GPDen, thanks for the welcoming posts. Much appreciated.

I've not used even Nikon's software so I don't know what can or cannot be accomplished. Not to say that all photos need that touch.

My experience in the darkroom back in the days was pretty extensive and I'd like "burn/dodge" and manipulate my photos mostly to experiment and to apply those new skills to this new medium.

mhedges

Sure no problem.

View NX-i does basic level adjustments (contrast, brightness, shadow/highlight recovery, color boost etc.), and when shooting in RAW you can adjust exposure and white balance. Also does crop and straighten. And does NEF (raw) conversion.

Capture can do a lot more. Change noise reduction, play with various curves, perspective correction, retouch, etc. I rarely use Capture but it's handy every once in a while.

spraynpray

@mhedges: Does Capture have any local adjustment possibilities?

retread

I am just learning capture one by using it. You can mask an area and adjust it if that is what you are asking about.

mhedges

@spraynpray I'm not sure. I haven't used it much.

@retread I'm talking about a different Capture - the Capture NX-i software that Nikon gives out. Which I think is somehow distantly related to the Phase One capture products but I'm not sure. Now that you mention it Capture One sounds like good alternative to the Adobe products (I haven't used it), and anecdotally it seems to be gaining popularity since folks aren't very happy with Adobe's subscription business model.

retread

@mhedges I got my capture one as I am among those who do not want adobe subscription. I am old enough that if I have to slow down or quit I will still have something to play with. With adobe I would not. You can download a fully functional 30 day trial.

The closest I came to adobe is photoshop elements.

Pistnbroke

To process the vast numbers of pics from 4 cameras at a wedding (time locked with GPS) I always used lightroom and photoshop but now I am forced to retire by corruption in the wedding venuses I use the NX software and it does all I need for free. Always shoot JPEG large basic and always have and find today you can do all the manipulation in colour/exposure etc you could ever want. I have no interest in the equipment provided its the right camera/lens for the job and is set right. I convert my D850 into a point and shoot. The camera is just a thing on the end of my arm .Its what I put in front of it that matters.
You will like it here the moderator is sensible and there is no clique to upset.

WestEndFoto

The most efficient way to get into PP is to subscribe to Lightroom Classic and learn it inside out. That is efficient because it is used by the most people, is a great organizer (think about how you approach this carefully before you get into it). With a reasonable learning curve you will be able to do a lot.

Is it the best? Hard to say. For example, Capture One and Nikon’s product are probably better raw converters. But, and this is where you need to be practical, Lightroom is good enough. Further, there are lots of things that Lightroom does, but the others are not good enough.

At some point, if you pursue this far enough, you will feel constrained by Lightroom. Again, Lightroom is a good choice because feeling constrained in this way will take longer with Lightroom than other products, which means you can focus on improving your photography skills undistracted by your PP software for longer. But at that point, you can add a more advanced photo editor to your arsenal. For me, that is Photoshop which very slickly integrates with Lightroom. But you will have learned a lot about your needs while learning Lightroom, so you will be in an excellent position to make a well informed choice.

Ton14

My 2 cents, I used LR for 10 years, but since black friday last year Capture one 20, where I can use catalogs or sessions. My learning curve was one week for the interface and the basics. Further about 2 month step by step learning curve for the rest I use and now I can do everything I need. Have to say I used the 30 days free first, where I build my plan, but that is Dutch, we plan everything.

I set the C1 interface about the same as I had LR.

My opinion is that Capture One 20 is better then LR at this moment for a couple of reasons. It is a better RAW convertor. You can work with "layers" !!, colour rendition is superiour to LR and very easy to use, luminosity and colour masks on it's own layer, but for me most important, NO cloud and NO subscription (3 computers), just installed it on my desktop and notebook, where I can take the sessions on an external SSD to work with, no synchronization needed, very easy.

For the Photoshop things I sometimes used I bought Affinity (€ 59.-), installed Gimp and have everything I need now installed on my computers, but hardly use these PS replacements, everything is in C1.

PS. Exposure 5 is also very good, the interface is identical to LR and on sale at the moment, no subscription (2 computers). Main advantage in this software is that you can delete or change photo's in your finder without mess up your catalog as LR do. This version 5 also has luminosity masks and you can work with layers !! These guys are also 30 years in photo editing business, it is a good RAW convertor. Email contact with there helpdesk is outstanding, very quick. Adobe does not even have this and C1 is very slow.

Ah, saw on Nikon rumors, the Exposure 5 deal (-25%) ends today.

mhedges

The point about organizing your images is a very good one. I don't think the Nikon software is very useful for that. Or, if it is I haven't taken advantage of it. My image organization at this point is limited to having good labels on the folders comprising each shoot. I should work on it but I don't really know where to start.

retread

I am using DXO's Photo Lab 3 for my raw converter and moving to C1 to finish. I have lenses that are not on the C1 list of supported lenses but Photo lab supports them.

I started with PSE then added Photo lab as the raw converter. Only use PSE now to add watermark. When I have time I will learn to do that with CI and then not have any use for PSE.

I also use the NIK collection which I can use as a plugin with PSE, Photo lab and C1.

Ton14

Long ago I used SILKYPIX Developer Studio, which Nikon used and called it Capture NX, then I switched to Capture NX for a while, because it was the same (with some problems) but when I bought the Lightroom software, which I could install on my desktop, I made the switch.

Nikon Capture NX-D is a great RAW convertor (maybe even the best for us), dedicated to Nikon camera's, the NIK U-point is great and free of charge, but for several points it is not user friendly and I miss some possibilities that I need, so I feel exactly what you mean, where to start.

mhedges

Ton14 said:

Long ago I used SILKYPIX Developer Studio, which Nikon used and called it Capture NX, then I switched to Capture NX for a while, because it was the same (with some problems) but when I bought the Lightroom software, which I could install on my desktop, I made the switch.

Nikon Capture NX-D is a great RAW convertor (maybe even the best for us), dedicated to Nikon camera's, the NIK U-point is great and free of charge, but for several points it is not user friendly and I miss some possibilities that I need, so I feel exactly what you mean, where to start.

I find Capture to be difficult to use also, especially for basic stuff like level adjustments, crop, etc. That's why I mostly use View, and I think it has the same RAW converter.