Beginner NEF File Editing

Kev G

Kev G

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Kevin
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Hi there,
Is there any software out there either shop or WWW purchase / download which will enable me to process the NEF files from my camera?

Although I've been taking snaps of various things with varying degrees of success, I've not had the capability to shoot raw files until I recently bought my first DSLR. (Nikon D5500). I would now like to explore the possibility applying a little more creativity to the landscape and sporting shots I take, mainly around the North Devon & Cornwall coastline.
I've been looking at things on line and it looks like I'm going to be paying quite a bit of cash getting something, so thought I'd post on here for some experienced advice.

I am an amateur so I think the basics of the software would have to be logical but with room to progress as I get more daring!

If anyone knows of anything which may be suitable please could you let me know.

Many thanks
Kev
 
Yup. Your camera should have come with a CD holding Nikon's own basic raw file editing software.

For something better, paid, try either adobe lightroom (my present fave) DXO Optics Pro (which I also use) and Capture One Pro.

Free software: Raw Therapee, DigiKam, Darktable.

There's others available too, but these are the ones I would recommend. I also use On-One's perfect photo suite, but it's not really a RAW editor, and more for post-process refinement.
 
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You could either use the Nikon software that comes with your camera or the most common editing software is Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop.
This is now a subscription service at around £8.60 per month it is a very reasonable cost if you're going to be using it properly.

Personally, I use Lightroom 4 which I purchased outright a few years ago.
 
If you get into it and start taking lots of photos, keeping them organised becomes an issue which is where Adobe Lightroom is a bit of a double whammy since it helps you develop the individual photos; apply that development to batches of photos; and helps keep all your images organised to suit the way you like to work. I think there's a free trial so you can give it a try.
 
Thanks for the info, it'll give me something to look into. I did download Photoshop CS3 but it didn't recognise NEF files when I tried to use it.
It's unfortunate that in the search for a great deal, I unknowingly bought it directly from a site in the states and it didn't come with any software and to buy a copy of their software is about £140.

Not sure how much I would use it and even £8.60 / month is still £100 a year, (although in small payments) so I think I'd prefer to buy something outright. I might have a look at the free ones in Ancient_mariner's post until I find my feet. I can then decide if I want to subscribe or buy outright.
 
Kev G said:
Thanks for the info, it'll give me something to look into. I did download Photoshop CS3 but it didn't recognise NEF files when I tried to use it.
It's unfortunate that in the search for a great deal, I unknowingly bought it directly from a site in the states and it didn't come with any software and to buy a copy of their software is about £140.

Not sure how much I would use it and even £8.60 / month is still £100 a year, (although in small payments) so I think I'd prefer to buy something outright. I might have a look at the free ones in Ancient_mariner's post until I find my feet. I can then decide if I want to subscribe or buy outright.
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Even if you bought it from the states and it didn't come with a disc, you can still download and use the Nikon software for free, I've been using it for years for basic editing, doing more in depth things in Photoshop. I'd definitely start with the Nikon to see how you get on. Both free but the basic one is 'view nx-i' and the more advanced 'capture nx-d'.

Unfortunately older versions of Photoshop don't support the newer raw files so you're stuck with subscription as that's the only thing adobe offer (at least on Photoshop and lightroom)

*edit* not sure where you're getting the £140 from as both are definitely free!
 
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The free Nikon software is quite good, try View NX2 http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/sw/20.html and the newer Capture NX-D http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/capturenxd/
View NX2 is a bit older but saves all your edits within the NEF file so when you move files around you do not have to worry. This does make it a bit slower however.
NX-D is similar to photoshop in that it creates a new sidecar file which contains all your edits and is assosciated with the particular NEF file you are editing.
View NXi is a browsing program which allows you to organise and sort photos
 
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Suvv said:
The Nikon software is quite good, try View NX2 http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/sw/20.html and the newer Capture NX-D http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/microsite/capturenxd/
View NX2 is a bit older but saves all your edits within the NEF file so when you move files around you do not have to worry. This does make it a bit slower however.
NX-D is similar to photoshop in that it creates a new sidecar file which contains all your edits and is assosciated with the particular NEF file you are editing.
Click to expand...

View nx2 is discontinued and doesn't work with the newer model cameras. It wouldn't with my d7200 at least.
 
I've just downloaded the Capture NX-D, so will be trying to work out how to use it later.

Thank you so much for replying...............I'll have to try to create something suitable to post on here soon, (or maybe even some really bad attempts for a laugh)!! Some of the images I've seen so far are amazing.
 
htid said:
View nx2 is discontinued and doesn't work with the newer model cameras. It wouldn't with my d7200 at least.
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It is still available to download though and does support the D5500, it also works on Vista :), I actually use Capture NX2 as I love the control points.
 
Suvv said:
It is still available to download though and does support the D5500, it also works on Vista :), I actually use Capture NX2 as I love the control points.
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Capture is SO slow on my PC! I have a very good one too as I'm a graphic designer, so I just use view now
 
If you're starting out then I'd stay away from Photoshop and similar applications, because they are designed for image editing (making detailed changes to the picture) rather than image development (controlling colour, contrast, dynamic range, cropping, distortion). Not that you can't necessarily do those things, but that's not what the software is designed to do.
 
Kev G said:
Thanks for the info, it'll give me something to look into. I did download Photoshop CS3 but it didn't recognise NEF files when I tried to use it.
.
Click to expand...

Wait. You bought a copy of CS3? I have bad news for you about the people who took your money ;) That hasn't been a current version since about 2008 so either they were unloading very old stock (odd with an electronic version) or you inadvertently bought a pirated copy :(

If you run your files through Adobe's DNG converter (https://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=6019) then pretty much any raw editor will be able to use them (including CS3). As others have mentioned, there should be a disk of s/w in the box with your camera but I've never liked any software that I've tried from Nikon.
 
Why not start with FSViewer .. That should be good enough for your purposes & costs nothing.
 
Nikons free software will give you an idea of processing RAW files and whether it's for you. Lightroom can also be purchased as standalone software so you dong have to go down the monthly subscription route. It can be purchase a free 30 trial so it's worth trying before buying.

These free tutorial videos are quite good to learn the basics of Lightroom. It may be Lightroom 4 but most of it is still relevant.

http://en.elephorm.com/tuto-lightroom-4-complete-training/lightroom-4-introduction.html?html5
 
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pretty sure you can do
JonathanRyan said:
Wait. You bought a copy of CS3? I have bad news for you about the people who took your money ;) That hasn't been a current version since about 2008 so either they were unloading very old stock (odd with an electronic version) or you inadvertently bought a pirated copy :(

If you run your files through Adobe's DNG converter (https://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=6019) then pretty much any raw editor will be able to use them (including CS3). As others have mentioned, there should be a disk of s/w in the box with your camera but I've never liked any software that I've tried from Nikon.
Click to expand...
pretty sure you can download cs3 for free been that way for some time as its soooooo old lol. to the op download/purchase the lightroom 6 standalone then if you don't get on with editing you won't have to cancel an agreement with adobe
 
dinorock said:
pretty sure you can download cs3 for free been that way for some time as its soooooo old lol.
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Oh yes - that was the version that Adobe "accidentally" released into the public domain wasn't it? I'd forgotten about that. In that case, it should be available somewhere on Adobe's site. I'd trust that more than a firm charging for a copy ;)
 
Suvv said:
It is still available to download though and does support the D5500, it also works on Vista :), I actually use Capture NX2 as I love the control points.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention Capture NX2. I've been using this for a little while now and have fully integrated it into my workflow when pp given the superior colour and details of the images compared to ACR and Lightroom.
I now open NEF files in CNX2, make some basic adjustments save as a TIFF, open in PS and use NIK software and/or ACR filters if required. Save as a TIFF and JPEG, job done.
 
For a long time, when i started shooting in raw, I used ViewNX and CaptureNX as they came free with the camera and they did everything I wanted - the contol points in Capture-NX2 are brilliant tools that Adobe would do well to adopt in PS and/or Lightroom.

I still use View-NXi for downloading image files from my camera's memory card to the PC - it has a module called transfer that does this and saves them to a secondary location too (1) - and then culling the duff images from the working directory before I import into Lightroom. I recently installed Capture-NXD just to see how it compares with CNX2 and find it to be quite a bit behind where the older program was but for someone just getting into raw editing it still gives a good insight into why you need to do it and what can be achieved vs a jpg straight out of the camera.

(1): Yes, I know Lightroom can do this too :)
 
I couldn't stand Nikon ViewNX, found it too slow and illogical. Aperture was my favourite but Apple discontinued it. Adobe Lightroom is ok, but find it clunky and cumbersome in image management. Darktable is nice for a free project, but copied the Lightroom clunky approach. Raw Therapee is a lot better in my opinion. But of the free one's Shotwell is in my opinion one of the easiest to get along with. Haven't tried running it on Windows though.
 
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