Nikon Capture Software

[Commonman]

I'm wondering if Nikon Capture is a good program and how much it costs.
I don't plan on doing a lot of "digital darkroom" work but, if I need to, I want to be somewhat familiar with something other than iPhoto (which is all I'm using right now). Since I'm using a Nikon D200, the CaptureNX software came with it but it's only a 30 day trial. I suppose I should just do the trial, now? I'm just putting this on here to see what other Nikon users have to say about this program.

 

[Big Mike]

From what I've heard...it's not a great program. I don't think it's even meant to be an image editing program. I know that it can allow you to operate the camera via the computer and it probably allows you to open the RAW files.

If you want a program to edit your digital images. Photoshop is the first choice, although it's expensive. Photoshop Elements is a cheaper version but is still quite capable.

Adobe Lightroom is a 'workflow' program that makes it easier to work with a large number of digital images, in a quick and efficient way.

 

[ann]

if you want to do some basic work with raw files, or make your own curves for the camera try toneupS3. it is using the same "math" to convert as nikon and it is $14.95

i have just been playing around a bit with the software and they also have a free trial.
support is terrific.

check out the nikon forum for more feedback.

 

[dEARlEADER]

A couple of months ago Nikon released NX2.... I think they have a 60 trial kicking around....

They give 60 days instead of 30 hoping you will have forgotten how uselessly slow and time consuming this software is after using it for two months.

:thumbdown:

Nikon software blows....

 

[kundalini]

I got v.1.3 with my camera. While it has a few good features and I am trying new features every now and then, it is not a "powerful" editor. I usually run my images through CNX for a basic edit, but will us PS for final edits.

But then again, I am not a dedicated photo editor. I bring "up" the RAW images to pop more than SOOC, but I rarely do a great deal. I want to learn how, but I suppose it's not that important to me right now.

Bottom line....... spend the money on CS3 or something else. Or you could buy a D300 and get it free.

 

[Garbz]

Indeed the few good features they program had didn't outweigh the insane slow responsiveness compared to every other RAW editor out there. Plus there is no workflow management (not in NX anyway not sure about NX2). Editing 1 image was fine, but it was just an outright pain compared to using Lightroom or Adobe Bridge, or Aperture which are all very efficient and workflow oriented.

By the way from what I can remember the greatest feature of Capture 4 which was the ability to control the camera was removed in Capture NX and created as a separate program Camera Control Pro.

I highly suggest you don't take our word for it. The 60 day trials of Capture and Lightroom should be more than enough to get you in the same mindframe as the rest of us.

 

[tirediron]

I'm currently using CaptureNX 1.3 (and will be buying ver 2 when I'm back home in a couple of months). It's a clunky, unintuative program, and if they tried harder, they could have made it more difficult to use, but not much. That aside, it is the best application for editing .nef files. Full stop. As Garbz pointed out, it's slow, and not work-flow oriented, but if you have a tricky raw file, or need to do some "delicate" work, it's the tool for the job.

 

[Slaphead]

If you have an Apple it may be worth trying Apple's Aperture demo. Although I'm really a beginner at this, I find it does everything I need it to, very rarely do I need GIMP or anything else, and its only $200 - Cheaper than Adobe Lightroom. One caveat is that you'll need an Intel core 2 duo mac running at at least 2GHz or a G5 with twin 2GHz processors.

 

[Commonman]

Wow, this software is getting pretty bad reviews! Lots of negative. I installed it and just looked at it and it did not have a very pleasing interface.
I tried some simple tasks and they did not seem to easy but then again, I have next to no experience working with any photo "digital darkroom" programs.

Nevertheless, the fact that someone in this string said that it's the best thing for Nikon's raw image format (.nef), causes me to pause and think before trashing it. I mean, if it's the best thing for working with .nef, I'll keep it and use it because that is exactly what I'm doing: shooting only in .nef format.

And, I don't intend to do a lot of "digital darkroom" work - little if any.

 

[dl4449]

I use ACD Pro2 for capturing organizing and editing my raw pictures. Being VERY new to the editing process this program fills my need at this time only 49.95
Troy

 

[Garbz]

Nevertheless, the fact that someone in this string said that it's the best thing for Nikon's raw image format (.nef), causes me to pause and think before trashing it. I mean, if it's the best thing for working with .nef, I'll keep it and use it because that is exactly what I'm doing: shooting only in .nef format.

It's the most Nikon thing for Nikon. Nikon format, Nikon algorithms, and Nikon's god awful colour saturation (my opinion). Picking any other raw converter will do exactly the same. The whole point of working with RAW files is they stay original. Lightroom converts to DNG (another RAW standard but an open non-proprietary one) and even gives the option to embed the original nef into it. Other programs work on the nef and store any changes you make in a separate file.

There are some people who really like the way the pictures come off their camera in JPEG (colour sharpness etc wise) and to those people Nikon Capture would suit best because it perfectly mimics the camera settings (one would hope). Additionally changing the camera settings during shooting, something which is often ignored by raw processors will be carried across by Nikon Capture. I have yet to decide if this is a good thing.

All that being said trials are there for a reason and I would suggest you try a few others before settling for one program. Lightroom handle's NEFs just as well as Nikon Capture does, and with more neutral colour rendering IMO, and if you don't like it just edit the camera profile in Lightroom (something easy to do).

If you don't intend to do digital darkroom work why are you shooting in RAW?
That's exactly what it sounds like you intend doing. Taking the negatives (raw files) and tweaking them in software. Which also brings out the following point. If you import 100 raw files off the camera, and you want a minor tweak in one thing only such as white balance, I wonder if it's easier to open the raw file play with the settings, start a batch run with the settings, and doing it to all of them and having no idea what happened till after it's finished. Or if it's easier to import into lightroom, change the white balance, click copy settings, and watch the entire collection updated at the same time in the small preview window. (I admit I haven't used the new Nikon Capture yet but it's single edit approach to editing made it essentially useless)

 

[Bifurcator]

It's the most Nikon thing for Nikon. Nikon format, Nikon algorithms, and Nikon's god awful colour saturation (my opinion).

I have to agree too. For me the best tools "for Nikon" or any other really, are:

1. Capture One, <--Awesome!
2. The New version or LightRoom, <--Exceptional!
3. Aperture, <-- Good for light tasks
4. CameraRAW+Photoshop+Bridge. <-- The ultimate in robustness for fine tuning.

In that order. I own all four now and I'm using either 1 or 2 50% of the time and #4 the other 50%.

#4 is really the best solution for film, P&S, and Bridge camera users that really need to squeeze all the fidelity they can out of the process. I guess if you're on a modern high-end digital body it's 1, 2, or 3.