NC 4.3 or Just Photoshop CS?

Anyone know what the advantages would be to spending an extra $99 bucks for the Nikon Capture software over the Photoshop CS program in terms of RAW conversion and manipulation? I'm getting the D70 and am already aware of the PS plug in, which I downloaded already. Any other thoughts?

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http://www.hotshots.be

MAA

NC 4.3 respect the curve loaded on the camera while PS totally ignores it. I convert my RAW using NC 4.3 then do the PP on PS for effects. But if I don't want effects, the photo is ready right after converting it with NC 4.3.
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Gracefully wild . . .



Panorama by Olympus Camedia C-750UZ, more at http://rhavecilla.fotopic.net

... vacations, weddings, etc - it's much easier to correct multiple images in one go.

(1) Open the multi-image browser in Nikon Capture and point it to the directory containg your hundreds of pictures - you'll see the images as thumbnails in the top half of the window

(2) You notice that pictures no.7 to 45 would benefit from approximately the same amount of colour correction, namely setting the White Balance to Incandescent, same increase in contrast and a slight boost in saturation

(3) So you click on the thumbnail for image 7, make the adjustments that are accessible via various icons on toolbars, then multi-select images 8 to 45 and click on the icon to apply to these images the same setting you made in image 7. Just like that! (In Photoshop, one would need to create an action, probably save it as a droplet, and then drag and drop the relevant images onto the droplet.)

(4) When done, click to save adjustments to all unsaved images.

In summary, I would find it difficult to be without either tool - they both serve their purpose.

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Regards, David Chin
(D.7.0. & C.P.4.5.0.0.)
Archiving stuff for posterity :> http://nikond2x.info/ , http://nikond70s.info/
N i k o n D 7 0 Links :> http://www.pbase.com/dlcmh/dslr_links

NC 4.3 gives very good result,just slow.

i like NC 's D-lighting... i think it's better than shadow/highlight in CS/CS2 in many situation.

NC 4.3's CA removal is great! good result and simple to use.

however, CS/CS2 handle highlights better than NC.

I mostly use NC, but in some condition, CS is better.

cmvsm said:

Anyone know what the advantages would be to spending an extra $99
bucks for the Nikon Capture software over the Photoshop CS program
in terms of RAW conversion and manipulation? I'm getting the D70
and am already aware of the PS plug in, which I downloaded already.
Any other thoughts?

Click to expand...

--
WW

Congratulations on asking one of the 10 most frequently asked questions on this board. Congratulations to those of you who repeated the same answers as in the 100 other threads of the same subject.

Thanks everybody for your responses, especially to the last one from Al.

David Chin said:

(In Photoshop, one would need to create an action, probably save it as
a droplet, and then drag and drop the relevant images onto the
droplet.)

Click to expand...

Actually, the PS CS browser does this much more simply. Begin by adjusting the first image in a series using the PS RAW plugin. (You don't even have to "open" the image -- double click on the thumbnail in the browser to bring up the RW plugin dialogue and a preview image, then after adjusting the settings hold down the ALT key to "update" the settings, which are stored in a "sidecar" file, without opening the image.) Then SHIFT-click or CTRL click to select a series of consecutive or non-consecutive thumbnails in the browser, right click, choose the menu item to Apply the RAW settings, and the save dialog then pops up with the default set to apply the settings from the first selected image.

It takes longer to describe than to do...just a few seconds once the first image is adjusted. I think it would be much less efficient to create an individual action or droplet for every conceivable combination of RAW settings that one might use in a large series of shots, and it would be confusing to have to name them all and remember what they do.

I should add that I sometimes use NC but I prefer to see the effects of what I've done in the live simultaneous 3-color histogram in PS CS so I do most of my RAW conversions there.

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Jim Kaye
PBase supporter

To a post you could have just clicked past...

LOL.

: )

Roman
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http://www.pbase.com/romansphotos/

http://www.romanjohnston.com

Wow, congratulations on being such a superior board user. If we were all like you it would be so... quiet ... around here. After all, how many of these topics are brand new? D50 vs D70, backfocus, is the kit lens sharp, Canon users, noise at high ISOs, Raw vs. JPG etc, etc. Funny thing is, every now and then, some of us actually learn something from these old topics. That's why we look. I suggest if you're not interested in the topic, you might consider starting an original one. But kindly do a search first.

Al_Pasadena said:

Congratulations on asking one of the 10 most frequently asked questions on this board. > Congratulations to those of you who repeated the same answers as in the 100 other threads of the > same subject.

Click to expand...

... that was a great description of the process!

One question - and I suppose I should've just try it out myself, but if you already know the answer .... can the same process be done for JPEGs?

Thanks in advance!

--
Regards, David Chin
(D.7.0. & C.P.4.5.0.0.)
Archiving stuff for posterity :> http://nikond2x.info/ , http://nikond70s.info/
N i k o n D 7 0 Links :> http://www.pbase.com/dlcmh/dslr_links

The search feature has been down for a long time. I just checked it right now and it's working but it was down yesterday and it's been down for quite some time. You might have thought about that before making a rude comment.

I get tired of seeing all of the "My 17-55DX is the best lens EVER" threads but I don't make an @ss out of myself. I just skip them and move on to something else that I'd like to read. Afterall, that's what forums are about. You don't need to read every topic, including topics you're not interested in. Just read what sounds appealing to you and/or post your own topics. Just make sure it's an original one that has NEVER EVER been discussed before or someone may call you on it.

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-Mike
http://www.pbase.com/ghostrider25

'Cameras don't take pictures... people do.'

You can "syncronize" any selection of similar thumbs, and choose the elements in ACR you want to be the same.

Two clicks does it all.

Don H.

David Chin said:

One question - and I suppose I should've just try it out myself,
but if you already know the answer .... can the same process be
done for JPEGs?

Click to expand...

Not exactcly, if I understand your question correctly -- the procedure I described uses the PS RAW plugin, which of course only works (and is only needed) to develop NEF or other RAW files. What it does, as I understand it, is assigni a group of settings to each RAW file (as a "sidecar"' XMP file) without actually modifying the NEF file itself. (NC of course can save a group of settings directly within the NEF file.)

However, you can certainly access batch commands (actions) in the browser by selecting a set of JPEGs (or other kinds of files), right clicking, choosing the batch command, then selecting the action you want from the menu, but you need to have created the action already to accomplish a specific task this way. (For example, I use this method to batch convert my NEF "keepers" to 16-bit TIFFs for further editing after I've tweaked the exposure, white balance, etc., as necessary, then I also use this method to convert the TIFFs (after straightening, cropping, etc.) to certain "standard" JPEG formats such as for web display or for printing at certain sizes.)
--
Jim Kaye
PBase supporter

I haven't "graduated" to CS2 yet so I should have made it clear in my previous response that what I said applies to CS.
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Jim Kaye
PBase supporter

Congratulations to the five people who always reply defending people's right to repeat the same question and answer session over and over and over again.

To the rest of you who've graduated from this newbies-heavy board, join those of us who RTFM (Read the F'ing Manual) at

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/ , but please don't pollute it with the same 10 FAQs you see on this board.

Al_Pasadena said:

Congratulations on asking one of the 10 most frequently asked
questions on this board. Congratulations to those of you who
repeated the same answers as in the 100 other threads of the same
subject.

Click to expand...

cmvsm,

I just learned something that I never even thought about doing a search on. I read each post carefully, made some notes and now will try the process in CSPS2. Thank you for posting the question. I pass many posts and either read them or not but I would never critisize someone who is learning and has an honest question even if it had been asked before. Nor would I critisize the one who take the time to answer. The search feature has been down more than it has been working recently.

A little off topic here, but you mention that you convert to TIFF for more edits after the RAW conversion. Is there a reason for this? I am curious to find out if JPEGs suffer quality degradation each time they are saved. Is that why you go to TIFF first?

--Jason

When you go from NC to Photoshop, the file is saved in TIFF format. a TIFF file is basically similar to a JPEG except that it is not compressed, and thus no image quality is lost
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Hoooba
http://www.pbase.com/ihabh

Thanks, but what happens when I save a JPG multiple times? I haven't noticed any loss in quality. Does compression affect the image each time it is saved?

--Jason