viewing NEF files in Microsoft windows?

If I remember correctly, if you download and install the latest NXStudio it will also install the codec. You don't have to actually use the app to view your NEF files, but Win10 should be able recognize the RAW file. That was what I did on my PC a few years ago.

EDIT:
I was searching a while back and stumbled upon a Reddit thread that had a link. I had it bookmarked - glad i kept it!

Thanks, Randy. I downloaded it but it doesn't appear to work. When I try viewing the pics they close Photos down. The codec I downloaded from your link had no mb when I checked it in my control centre programs . It didn't fix the problem but thankyou so much for your help.

IrfanView (freeware) can be configured with the help of a plug-in so that it also displays RAW/NEF/DNG/.... files.

One of the best image viewers in my opinion.


The plug-in for viewing Raw files is discussed in the video at around 2min 50sec.

CamRAW - (version 4.71): allows IrfanView to to read Digital Camera RAW files
(formats: DNG, EEF, NEF, ORF, RAF, MRW, DCR, SRF/ARW, PEF)

Thanks, I will look at it. Wish I didn't need to download anything!

Pennyanne said:

HI everyone

Apologies if this has been asked before; I did a search and couldn't find a result. Anyway, obviously I am new to Nikon and despite rigorous research and long conversations with patient staff in camera shops, I did not know that Nikon's NEF files are a bit tricky to work with on other than NIkon software. TBH it may have been a deal breaker had I known. But I didn't and I am the happy owner of a Z6iii.

I would like to download the codec from Nikon official website , but was dismayed to find , and later read, that it no longer exists on their website (for no reason that I have been able to find). I

Currently my Microsoft Surface Studio 2 is running Windows 10.

Any help on fixing this would be much appreciated. I just like being able to go through my RAW files quickly on Photos to cull etc before opening in Photoshop.

Thanks in anticipation

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Any RAW converter can do this. You don't actually want to browse files through Windows Explorer or Mac's Finder.

If you're going to shoot raw, you best be organizing your photos into folders, and pointing the raw converter to those folders. You make you selects and major adjustments in the converter (like Lightroom, or Capture One), then put them into photoshop, then whatever output you choose.

I say this as a Windows and Mac user. The experience of Windows's Photos app and Microsofts decisions in color managment make using windows for work a real pain in the rear.

Use Bridge, Capture One, Lightroom, DxO, something to keep you from using windows to view your files.

If only for viewing, FastStone works fine. It's free.

Some photographers I know and respect use (and recommend) Photo Mechanic for viewing and culling, and I've also heard Bridge (?) can work nicely.

Myself, I simply use Capture One as an all-in-one solution for viewing, culling and then editing selected files.

Hi, I believe there is a set of codecs to download from Microsoft, as well as a plug-in from Microsoft that you can download to get your PC to recognize all kinds of raw formats and view them in Explorer. IIRC the plug-in comes with a small cost of 1 or 2$. I found it when I had a similar problem a few years back by searching on Google.

However, if your shooting in any of the HEIF raw modes then I believe that those are yet not covered by this. If you use lossy compressed raw you should be able to get windows to recognize and view your files.

Hope this helps.

--
The best photo is the one yet to take

Have you tried setting the Z6iii to uncompressed RAW? I no longer have Windows so cant check myself.

EDIT: Just checked with neighbour ... yes it works with my Z6iii uncompressed NEF files.

Sjak said:

If only for viewing, FastStone works fine. It's free.

Click to expand...

Can't edit my post for some reason, but forgot to add that it's also faster than Microsoft's image viewer.

Sjak said:

Sjak said:

If only for viewing, FastStone works fine. It's free.

Click to expand...

Can't edit my post for some reason, but forgot to add that it's also faster than Microsoft's image viewer.

Click to expand...

Very true. For culling especially, you'll be amazed at how fast and nice FastStone works, and it's free. A single stroke of the delete key sends the non-keeper straight to the recycle bin (where you can bring it back in case of an error).

Sjak, thanks, I am working with Bridge, that I already own. All good now.

Thanks, Bernhard, I have Bridge on the job and am loving my new camera. Phew! Buyers remorse averted!

Will try this again , thanks for your thought. My initial try at this failed, but Adobe Bridge may save the day.

--Thanks, I have Adobe Bridge behaving nicely.
Pennyanne

Pennyanne said:

Thanks, Bernhard, I have Bridge on the job and am loving my new camera. Phew! Buyers remorse averted!

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Hi glad that you found a solution you like. Only want to mention that Faststone doesn’t read tha HEIF raw formats. For that you have to get something like Fast raw whoever which isn’t free. It’s actually on sale, that ends today!

Pennyanne said:

Sjak, thanks, I am working with Bridge, that I already own. All good now.

Click to expand...

Happy it works!

Maybe, this will also become an opportunity to improve your workflow. Something similar happened to me some years ago, when my then current software (Lightzone) did not support my new main camera (the original M Monochrom.) After testing 4-5 raw-viewing/editing packages, I settled on Capture one, and I can't imagine going back now (besides the fact that LZ does not exist anymore)

The lossless compressed RAW files date back to 2007 or possibly earlier. Which means that this is a compressed RAW file that can be read by nearly all software you can find. I will also note that there are many VERY good RAW converters available, including Adobe. Frankly if you are going to editing with Microsoft apps you may as well be working with the JPG files because your software is so limited.

First up you can also use NX Studio to do RAW conversions of your RAW files. It is FREE to download and is kept up to date with all of Nikon Image files, including Video. It is also a fairly good basic image editor but you do have to dig around a bit to find the "hidden" features. Basically plan on spending the first week with NX Studio experimenting with every single editing option on the right side menu and do go into every sub menu. Because you will find adjustments for tuning the Whites, the Blacks, the Shadows, and the Highlights. I won't tell you where to look because if you do the digging you will remember it much better. One tip I will give you is that if you want to save a file as a JPG file go to the Files Tab at top left and scroll down to Export. This sort of the new "thing" and instead of SAVEAS you use EXPORT. Tip two, version 1.8 is available for download and does NOT require to log into your Nikon Account every 35 days. Note with 1.8 you will have to forego all future updates. If you get 1.9 you will have to setup a Nikon Account for NX Studio (which is NOT the same as the Nikon Camera account) then login. You will also want to make sure to fire it up about once a week or more because if you wait 35 days between sessions you will have to log in. If you do set up an account make sure you save that password where you can find it, I thought the accounts were the same and tried using my Nikon Camera account password and that didn't fly at all. I ended up calling Nikon USA and found that I had to create an account just for NX Studio.

If you want a Decent Image Editor that will work with a relatively low power computer there is Corel Paintshop Pro. This can do Raw conversion with Lossless Compressed RAW files and it has a decent selection of editing features. Some which are actually rather good. It allowed me to build a routine to convert color Negative scans from my Z7 II to good looking positive digital files just by clicking on the "program" I had written within Paintshop Pro. Note, do NOT use the Resize Image feature to increase the pixel count in your image file, doing that it's very slow and really increases the noise in the image. If you want to uprez an image file you really need AI software for this and a fairly powerful computer to do this. However if you are downsizing an image for Electronic display it is quick and does a very nice job.

One bit of software I use that can top Adobe in some respects is DXO PhotoLab. While it's a bit spendy at 239 USD it is for a lifetime license. DXO PhotoLab features the finest Noise Reduction on the market and some wonderful AI Masking tools. Note, I would suggest a computer upgrade for this version because those AI features do require a moderately powerful computer. Plan on a late model motherboard/CPU with support for NVME M2 SSD and SATA SSD Hard Drives. In addition 64gb of Ram and a 250-350 dollar GPU with 6-8mb of video RAM will suit you well. I will also suggest you purchase a new 4K Monitor to provide you with a sharper display.

So, there you have it. Three different means of opening your RAW files and price levels from Free to Spendy. BTW only the Corel options requires using Lossless Compressed RAW, however most lower cost image editors take the same approach if they offer a function for opening Nikon RAW. Reverse engineering the protocols every time NIkon, or any other camera makers update their RAW file protocols has become too expensive.

Pennyanne said:

HI everyone

Apologies if this has been asked before; I did a search and couldn't find a result. Anyway, obviously I am new to Nikon and despite rigorous research and long conversations with patient staff in camera shops, I did not know that Nikon's NEF files are a bit tricky to work with on other than NIkon software. TBH it may have been a deal breaker had I known. But I didn't and I am the happy owner of a Z6iii.

Click to expand...

It's unfortunate that you were so dreadfully misinformed by the sales staff at the camera shop. Microsoft Windows Explorer has no problem displaying Nikon raw, high efficiency raw and JPEG files. Also, apps such as Lightroom are great for processing and editing Nikon image files. The advantage of Nikon's in-house NX Studio software is that it's free - last time I checked - with the purchase of a Nikon camera.

Pennyanne said:

I would like to download the codec from Nikon official website , but was dismayed to find , and later read, that it no longer exists on their website (for no reason that I have been able to find). I

Currently my Microsoft Surface Studio 2 is running Windows 10.

Any help on fixing this would be much appreciated. I just like being able to go through my RAW files quickly on Photos to cull etc before opening in Photoshop.

Thanks in anticipation

Click to expand...

If you have Photoshop, do you also have Lightroom Classic or Lightroom? If so, the LrC "Library" module is great for reviewing and marking images either to be saved or deleted.

Never had a problem with it for Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji or Sony RAW files.