Appropriate program for converting NEF files

[timbo59]

I recently purchased a D7000 and everything seems to be working fine except for one thing. Every time I try to load a RAW file to Photoshop (I own CS4) I get an error message saying it's not the right kind of document. I did some research and discovered to my chagrin that Adobe only supports the D7000 from CS5 onwards - same again with Lightshop. I'm more than happy with CS4 and don't really like being pushed into an expensive upgrade to something I don't really want, so it boils down to converting the RAW files over to something CS4 can recognize without suffering in quality for the conversion. I've read of a few alternatives, but would be open to suggestions on here regarding the best way to approach the problem - short of buying the upgrade!

Thanks

 

[tirediron]

Did your camera not come with a copy of ViewNX or Capture NX2?

 

[Trever1t]

That^^ and you can use the free dng converter if need be

 

[timbo59]

That^^ and you can use the free dng converter if need be

No, I bought it used and it came minus the disks. Not that I'm complaining - it was a great deal!

 

[timbo59]

That^^ and you can use the free dng converter if need be

No, I bought it used and it came minus the disks. Not that I'm complaining - it was a great deal! Just went to Nikon's site and will download NX2. Is DNG a better option?

 

[PWhite214]

Go to Nikon and download the latest software: Current versions of Nikon software | Nikon Knowledgebase

Use Adobe "Camera Raw" to convert the Nikon RAW Files to DNG, then import to Lightroom or Photo Shop.

Consider using Adobe Creative Cloud so that Lightroom and Photoshop are always up to date with the latest version.

Phil

 

[KmH]

Each new Nikon model of camera has a unique and proprietary version of the NEF file type.

Adobe has to reverse engineer each new proprietary Raw file type, regardless the camera maker, and CS 4 (Photoshop 11) is old enough that D7100 NEF files are not supported by CS 4 Camera Raw 5.
You need CS 6 (Photoshop 13) and Camera Raw 7.4.
You can use CS 4 by converting the D7100 NEF files to DNG using Adobe's free DNG converter.

Camera Raw plug-in | Supported cameras

In addition, Adobe updated the Process Version of Camera Raw and CS 4 Camera Raw is no longer compatible with the Process Version introduced with Camera Raw 7.

Adobe Photoshop version history - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[wfooshee]

Keep in mind that Nikon's ViewNX will convert to JPEG or TIFF only. The software is a free download, and if you use the "scene" modes on your camera and shoot RAW, it's the only way to get the "scene" effect in the images. Any other RAW editor will only see the actual RAW data, without the scene modification processed.

 

[timbo59]

Yeah, I've already played around with both and spent some time reading up on the subject. Despite all the assertions that DNG doesn't remove any key data associated with the actual image information I'll keep the RAW files as well for any work that I keep for the foreseeable future. I could go the TIFF route as as an alternative I suppose.

Thanks for the feedback anyway.