Which Editing Software?

[mammarazzi]

I have a Nikon and I was wondering if I should get the software that goes along with it, Capture NX 2, or a recent version of Photoshop?

 

[EleanorW]

I don't have Nikon, but I would go with Photoshop - Adobe has a pretty good package of programs.

 

[nickisonfire]

my vote goes to Photoshop

 

[Dao]

If cost is not an issue, Photoshop. Otherwise, GIMP.

 

[inTempus]

Photoshop if you have the money.

Elements if you are on a budget.

GIMP if you want something free but challenging to use.

 

[Dwig]

I have a Nikon and I was wondering if I should get the software that goes along with it, Capture NX 2, or a recent version of Photoshop?

You're comparing apples and oranges here. They are rather different types of software. Capture NX 2 is more comparable to Lightroom than Photoshop.

Photoshop is a very powerful image editor that happens to have a plugin that provides for excellent RAW conversion. Capture NX2 is a very powerful RAW converter that allows for some global and somewhat localized adjustment and corrections but no true image editing.

If you are a purely Nikon user and don't need to do major image manipulation, you may find Capture NX2 to be a good choice. If you have multiple brands of cameras for which you need RAW conversion it may not be as the only RAW format it handles are Nikons NEF files. Also, if you need to do significant image manipulation you need a true image editor.

On the other hand, Photoshop CS4 is much more expensive. Many find that most of the time Capture NX2's abilities are enough and that they only occasionally need modest manipulatioon ablitity. In those cases having Capture NX2 and Photoshop Elements is often the answer. They two total less than half the price of PS/CS4.

Personally, my primary shooting is purely for art and not documentation (weddings, news, sports, ...). For me, its the final image that matters and not how it relates to the scene that existed in front of the camera. I do a lot of generally modest manipulation that is way beyond Lightroom's or Capture's ability. None of the images in one of my current projects (guiet porches) seems at all altered, but a comparision with the original will show tens, if not hundreds, of small alterations (chipped paint repaired, dead leaves removed, stray highlight subdued, ...). I couldn't accomplish my work without a powerful editor like Photoshop. I use CS4, though most of the time I could get by with Elements, and rely on its Camera RAW plugin for RAW conversion.

 

[Derrel]

If you are a serious Nikon user who wants to truly maximize the potential of Nikon .NEF files, Nikon Capture probably has the best demosaicing capabilities of any RAW converter. It is geared toward working with Nikon files, and I have seen the capabilities Capture NX has.

Capture NX has a feature called Control Point Technology, which has also been called U-Point Technology, and which can be purchased from Nik Software as a free-standing application called Viveza. Viveza is also available as a plug-in module for Photoshop.

If you are not really well-versed in Photoshop, you will find that the Control Point Technology found in Capture NX will allow you to do editing you never dreamed possible, in a fashion that is probably easier to master than Photoshop's emulation of the Nik Software technology.

Capture NX has a confusing interface and is somewhat slow and is somewhat crash-prone for many people. I think of Capture as being a tool to wring the absolute maximum quality out of Nikon *select* NEF files. Capture has never been about speed---it's software that takes effort,and a book, to master. It has the best quality and color for Nikon NEFs, but it is not an application for fast,volume work--but the Viveza aka Control Point technology system Capture has is less expensive to get as part of Capture than it is from the Nik Software people directly, so Capture is actually a pretty good value. Control Point Technology alone is worth the price of a copy of Capture NX.