RAW editing

Digifrog

Digifrog

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Scott
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Hi there

Need some light on RAW editing please. Up to now I've edited my (Nikon D80) RAW files quite happily in CS3's ACR. Since becoming owner of my new camera though editing RAW files in CS3's is not possible.

It looks like I have several options.

1. Buy CS6 :bang:
2. Buy LR4 :thinking:
3. Use CaptureNX2 supplied with the new camera.
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4. Convert the D800E RAW files to DNG and carry on editing in CS3's ACR.
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My main questions are this...

1. Is the ACR in LR4 exactly the same as the ACR in CS6? Or are there some limitations?
2. Is LR4 better than CaptureNX2 for editing RAW? ACR is what I am used to and I prefer the controls to those in CaptureNX2.

:shrug:

Cheers
 
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Digifrog said:
1. Is the ACR in LR4 exactly the same as the ACR in CS6? Or are there some limitations?
2. Is LR4 better than CaptureNX2 for editing RAW? ACR is what I am used to and I prefer the controls to those in CaptureNX2.
Click to expand...

It should be is the ACR in CS6 the same as LR4, seeing as LR4 came out first. ;)

But seriously, yes, the RAW processing is the same, though presented in a different interface. LR4 and ACR v7.1 (the version with CS6) changed the the processing from previous versions, changing some of the controls.

In theory NX2 should give you the best processing as Nikon know their own RAW files the best, and know the best way to process them. You would also get the benefit of NX2 being able to translate all the settings the camera had set correctly, such as WB and Picture Control, which ACR or LR4 guesses.

That said, I found the NX2 not very intuitive to use. There are more processing options in ACR, and it gains features more often than NX2, and is updated more often. It also works with all manufacturers RAW files, which I'm not sure NX2 can.

When a new version of Photoshop CS is released, a new version of ACR is also released, and support for any new cameras is lost for the previous versions of ACR. But you probably know that. ;) The time between LR versions seems to be longer, and so you get more updates. If you're in the habit of getting the latest cameras, LR may be more cost effective.

I didn't like NX2, and didn't like the straightening options on LR3, and found ACR much better. So ACR for me. :D


Just noticed after writing all that above that you mention the D800E. NX2 is supposed to be optimised for the D800E and have the ability to fix any moire patterning that may occur.
 
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I use LR 4 and find it suits my workflow very well. It's nice not having to create extra files every time I edit an image.
Another possible alternative to consider may be PS Elements. It really depends on how complex your editing requirements are. I'm seriously considering the Elements route as I'm tired of paying a small fortune for CSx and with LR 4 taking on most of my editing work now I really only push pixels around for HDR and blending.
 
Or try the Adobe DNG converter. Details in the sticky at the top of this forum.
 
Personally I'm a big fan of Capture NX2 and seeing as you get a free copy of it (not a trial copy) with the D800E it would be churlish not to at least give it a go :D

As has already been said, CNX2 is the only editor that actually understands your camera settings and applies them correctly - ViewNX2 too applies the settings too but it's not a full-function editor. The version of CNX2 that comes with your camera is also optimised to reduce moire effects, which Adobe products certainly won't do as well, or automatically.

If you really want to use Adobe then select the NEF file in View NX2 and convert them to DNG - you can do this on multiple files. This file will then include all the camera settings and can be opened in Adobe as normal.
 
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