How to Handling Nef's?

Alcineia said:

I realize the advantages of using NEF but i am not using it because
I don't not know how to use the processing steps.Like how to
save,which format?What is better to process in Capture and what in
PS,etc....
Where I can find a tutorial or tips how to save,print,correct these
files (NEF).Example :
I correct something in capture but when I open it in PS 6 i can
not use most of PS fuctions anymore (crop,layers)?What's wrong with
that?
Another question is for example if I want take a nef to a 100kb JPG
file to post in a photo forum how do i do that?

--
Alcineia Frank
http://www2.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=665
D100 Nikon 28-105 F3.5
Nikon AFS 80-200 F2.8
Olympus C3000Z

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

I realize the advantages of using NEF but i am not using it because
I don't not know how to use the processing steps.Like how to
save,which format?What is better to process in Capture and what in
PS,etc....
Where I can find a tutorial or tips how to save,print,correct these
files (NEF).Example :
I correct something in capture but when I open it in PS 6 i can
not use most of PS fuctions anymore (crop,layers)?What's wrong with
that?
Another question is for example if I want take a nef to a 100kb JPG
file to post in a photo forum how do i do that?

--
Alcineia Frank
http://www2.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=665
D100 Nikon 28-105 F3.5
Nikon AFS 80-200 F2.8
Olympus C3000Z

Click to expand...

Trent Mulkern said:

You can do most everything you need in NC, including print if you
wish. Applying USM should be the last step before you actually
print. Some folks go to PS because they are more
familiar/comfortable using PS.

You can try a search on "work flow" to see what others are doing,
but the actual steps will depend on the photo and what steps need
to be made to enhance it before printing.

Regards,
Trent

Alcineia said:

I realize the advantages of using NEF but i am not using it because
I don't not know how to use the processing steps.Like how to
save,which format?What is better to process in Capture and what in
PS,etc....
Where I can find a tutorial or tips how to save,print,correct these
files (NEF).Example :
I correct something in capture but when I open it in PS 6 i can
not use most of PS fuctions anymore (crop,layers)?What's wrong with
that?
Another question is for example if I want take a nef to a 100kb JPG
file to post in a photo forum how do i do that?

--
Alcineia Frank
http://www2.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=665
D100 Nikon 28-105 F3.5
Nikon AFS 80-200 F2.8
Olympus C3000Z

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Hi Trent,
But if I change to (8 bit),Let's say in a case that this was a
very nice picture and I want a bigger print possible do I lose
quality doing this?
thanks

Click to expand...

Clive Blair said:

Alcineia said:

Hi Trent,
But if I change to (8 bit),Let's say in a case that this was a
very nice picture and I want a bigger print possible do I lose
quality doing this?
thanks

Click to expand...

If I may step in
the difference between 8 bit and 16 bit makes little difference, if
any, when enlarging the print.

It makes a difference when you're adjusting the image heavily, it's
here that the 16 bit image will "hold the image together better".
So they recommend that when you need to do a lot of adjustments
(e.g. levels, curves, colour correction etc) try and keep the image
in 16 bit for as long as possible then you can simply adjust down
to 8 bit for printing, as 16 bit makes the image too large and
unnecessarily complex for printers (in fact some printers won't
accept 16 bit images)

Click to expand...

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Hi Craig,
What would be this forum without you,hum?

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

About if I can use PS to edit 16 bit files???who knows?...I have no
clue.I just went there, open this raw file and could do anything
because most of the things I usualy do was grey out,was not
working(layers,crop etc..).

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Wow!! you sharp at 65 in capture?I usually do more in PS.Problably
the software works not the same way.

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

I tryed to post a pic and this image could not get less than 500 kb
without losing quality.Now after reading here I think it is because
I left it in 16 bit.

Click to expand...

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia said:

Hi Craig,
What would be this forum without you,hum?

Click to expand...

How kind of you. All I'm here for is to learn and more importantly
help whenever I can.

Craig Robinson said:

About if I can use PS to edit 16 bit files???who knows?...I have no
clue.I just went there, open this raw file and could do anything
because most of the things I usualy do was grey out,was not
working(layers,crop etc..).

Click to expand...

If you change the mode to 8 bit(ie; Image> Mode> 8 bits/Channel) you
can use many of the layer functions, can't you? You should be able
to crop a 16 bit image.

Craig Robinson said:

Wow!! you sharp at 65 in capture?I usually do more in PS.Problably
the software works not the same way.

Click to expand...

Right. Here's the difference between the two.
Nikon Capture, Photoshop™
Intensity/Amount 0-100%, 0-500%
Halo Width / Radius 0-100%, 0-20 pixels
Threshold/Threshold 0-255, 0-255

I used to do all of my sharpening in PS too, but I found that for
original NEF's Capture does a better job than PS. I use PS USM for
resized photos, though.

Craig Robinson said:

I tryed to post a pic and this image could not get less than 500 kb
without losing quality.Now after reading here I think it is because
I left it in 16 bit.

Click to expand...

PS 7 won't allow me to "save as" a 16 bit image in JPG format. I
don't use the "Save for Web" function. I just convert to 8 bit and
"save as" a JPG. I shoot all images in Mode II(Adobe RGB) and I
convert them to sRGB when posting them on the web. A quality
setting of 9 usually holds the file size down and still preserves
the details in the image.

Glad to help get you started with NEF's, Alcineia. If it's your
style, they are the only way to go.

Craig

Click to expand...

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

Ron Reznick said:

Ron

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

--
Ron Reznick
http://digital-images.net
http://trapagon.com

Click to expand...

Ron Reznick said:

Ron

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

--
Ron Reznick
http://digital-images.net
http://trapagon.com

Click to expand...

NEFrodite said:

Ron Reznick said:

Ron

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

--
Ron Reznick
http://digital-images.net
http://trapagon.com

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

NEFrodite said:

Ron Reznick said:

Ron

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia, I know that Capture looks maybe intimidating at first,
but it's quite straight-forward once you process a few files. You
seem to have much experience with PS, so you'll adapt quickly.
After you open the NEF in Capture, first adjust the white balance
if needed. You can either adjust by setting the Color Temp. or by
setting the gray point on one or more neutral points.

Then use the EV adjustment in the Advanced RAW dialogue to change
the exposure if needed. Watch the histogram(Curves) and your image
while you adjust and you'll quickly see how much or little you need
to alter the image to get the best exposure. If you are familiar
with using Curves in PS, then you already know how to fine tune the
image with the superior curves dialogue in Capture.

After this I finally use Capture USM. For my D100 images(shot with
in-camera sharpening set at LOW, WB set at CLOUDY -3, AUTO
Contrast), I use settings of 65,5,8. Some images might require
different settings, but this usually does the job(just view the
image at 100% when sharpening and tweak to your own taste).

Then I go to Image> Open in Photoshop and finish up with the
resulting TIF file there. You can touch-up, adjust color balance
and crop like you want with the 16 bit file in PS 7. Can't you do
that in PS 6? If you want to size and save a copy for posting or
whatever, resize and then apply the needed USM, then make sure
you've changed the mode to 8 bit before saving and "save as" Jpg at
whatever quality you want.

The NEF is like a negative, so you'll want to save it plus the
full-size TIF in PS after you've made all of your edits.

Hope this helps some,
Craig

Click to expand...

--
Ron Reznick
http://digital-images.net
http://trapagon.com

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Illegal said:

Alcineia Hello,
first! you photos are all great and full of light and love!
anything you used until now gave you a very nice result!
congratulations.....

I shoht my photos all in RAW, then in NC3 changing WB, lightlevels,
sharpness, If I want to show the photos in the net, I save them
directly from NC3 in 800x531 to JPG, if its necesary I change color
saturation and kontrast in PH....... thats all....

regrads Stefan

http://www2.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=90399
http://www.pbase.com/magus

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Craig Robinson said:

Alcineia said:

I tryed to post a pic and this image could not get less than 500 kb
without losing quality.Now after reading here I think it is because
I left it in 16 bit.

Click to expand...

PS 7 won't allow me to "save as" a 16 bit image in JPG format. I
don't use the "Save for Web" function. I just convert to 8 bit and
"save as" a JPG. I shoot all images in Mode II(Adobe RGB) and I
convert them to sRGB when posting them on the web. A quality
setting of 9 usually holds the file size down and still preserves
the details in the image.

Glad to help get you started with NEF's, Alcineia. If it's your
style, they are the only way to go.

Craig

Click to expand...

--
Alcineia Frank
http://www2.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=665
D100 Nikon 28-105 F3.5
Nikon AFS 80-200 F2.8
Olympus C3000Z

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Illegal said:

Alcineia Hello,
first! you photos are all great and full of light and love!
anything you used until now gave you a very nice result!
congratulations.....

I shoht my photos all in RAW, then in NC3 changing WB, lightlevels,
sharpness, If I want to show the photos in the net, I save them
directly from NC3 in 800x531 to JPG, if its necesary I change color
saturation and kontrast in PH....... thats all....

regrads Stefan

http://www2.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=90399
http://www.pbase.com/magus

Click to expand...

--
Alcineia Frank
http://www2.photosig.com/userphotos.php?id=665
D100 Nikon 28-105 F3.5
Nikon AFS 80-200 F2.8
Olympus C3000Z

Click to expand...

Alcineia said:

Alcineia said:

http://www2.photosig.com/viewuser.php?id=90399
http://www.pbase.com/magus

Click to expand...

Click to expand...