Do you need Nikon Capture if you use Photoshop?

Nikonmaniac · Feb 5, 2004

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Yves P. · Feb 5, 2004

I use both with great success.

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

--
Yves P.
PBASE Supporter

Some pictures I like:
http://www.pbase.com/yp8/root

Greg Gebhardt · Feb 5, 2004

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

--
Greg Gebhardt in
Jacksonville, Florida
D1, D1x and D100

Mike in Fla. · Feb 5, 2004

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Yes. Ability to change WB, exposure, and other in-camera settings after the fact is what makes NC an invaluable program.

Nikonmaniac said:
Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

To be honest, I find auto levels does not always work well with my photos, and I selectively use it...Mike

Nikonmaniac said:
Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Patrick Love · Feb 5, 2004

You can make all the manipulations that you need in terms of WB, exposure etc. in PS CS (RAW Conversion). Some people suggest that you get better results converting RAW images in NC first then transfering to PS. I really don't think it makes a huge difference, so I just use PS CS.

Patrick

Mike in Fla. said:
Nikonmaniac said:

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Click to expand...

Yes. Ability to change WB, exposure, and other in-camera settings
after the fact is what makes NC an invaluable program.

Mike in Fla. said:

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Click to expand...

To be honest, I find auto levels does not always work well with my
photos, and I selectively use it...Mike

Mike in Fla. said:

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Click to expand...

Louis82325 · Feb 5, 2004

Photoshop CS is all you need...

Louis

Joon Lee106823 · Feb 5, 2004

The whole point of using RAW (NEF) in the first place is that it acts literally as a digital negative. This means that no matter what or how many changes you make on a RAW file in Capture, the original file is still there and you can always go back to it. I don't believe you can do that in Photoshop (of course I don't have PS 8/CS but I do use PS7).

Also, with Capture 4.0 you have things like DEE, conversion of 10.5mm fisheye to rectilinear, and other functions that you can't get with PS. I also find that adjusting the WB and Exposure Comp on Capture is more accurate than PS. I only PS to crop and print.

My two cents...

Patrick Love said:
Patrick

Mike in Fla. said:

Nikonmaniac said:

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Click to expand...

Yes. Ability to change WB, exposure, and other in-camera settings
after the fact is what makes NC an invaluable program.

Patrick Love said:

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Click to expand...

To be honest, I find auto levels does not always work well with my
photos, and I selectively use it...Mike

Patrick Love said:

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

manzico · Feb 5, 2004

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

There is one primary reason I dropped $99 on NC4, and that is the ability to adjust WB. Yes, PS CS can adjust WB when opening a file, but, and there is a thread here discussing this, for some reason, the NEF plugin for photoshop creates artifacts when opening a NEF file. These can be mitigated somewhat by dialing down the sharpen command in the details tab in the opening NEF window, but you can't totally get rid of them. This means that you have to import images into PS as TIFF files, forcing you to do your WB adjustments before PS. Since NV6 only has rudimentary WB control, you will need NC4 for this.

Dave

Somara · Feb 5, 2004

One of the biggest reasons I use NC4 is because I can save edits to the original NEF files and still revert back to the original anytime in the future. Say you add USM, change White Balance, exposure, curves, color balance, etc.. then one day you want to revert back to the original, it's as easy as unchecking all those options. It has most of the tools I use in Photoshop for photos already so I never really have to launch PS.

In Photoshop you have to create a duplicate layer and save as a PSD file, increasing file size while doing it if you want to keep the original to revert back to. So now you have a larger file and two copies.

The batch options in NC4 and DEE is also nice.

Don't forget that NC4 isn't just a RAW program, it's also for tethered capture, custom curves and setting your camera options.

I prefer the results I get with NC4 RAW conversion over PS RAW conversion anyway.

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Nikonmaniac · Feb 5, 2004

Thanks for the comments. Sounds like Nikon Capture has some good qualities and is worth the money. But can Capture also do batch processing of color balancing of a bunch of .jpgs or can only do batch processing of white balance of RAW images?

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Travis198992 · Feb 5, 2004

I use NC4 for raw file adjustment and PS CS for other stuff. I have definitely noticed that artifacts you speak of when trying to open nef's directly in PS CS. Also, PS CS doens't know how to properly read the white balance from the Nef's so you'll fine yourself having to adjust every nef for white balance individually... NC4 is by far the better raw conversion option...imho.

It's definitely worth the extra $100. If you want, go to nikon's site and download the trial. It lets you play with all of the features without any restrictions for an entire month... pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

manzico said:
Nikonmaniac said:

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Click to expand...

There is one primary reason I dropped $99 on NC4, and that is the
ability to adjust WB. Yes, PS CS can adjust WB when opening a
file, but, and there is a thread here discussing this, for some
reason, the NEF plugin for photoshop creates artifacts when opening
a NEF file. These can be mitigated somewhat by dialing down the
sharpen command in the details tab in the opening NEF window, but
you can't totally get rid of them. This means that you have to
import images into PS as TIFF files, forcing you to do your WB
adjustments before PS. Since NV6 only has rudimentary WB control,
you will need NC4 for this.

Dave

Negative287 · Feb 5, 2004

hmm...

Mike in Fla. said:
Nikonmaniac said:

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Click to expand...

Yes. Ability to change WB, exposure, and other in-camera settings
after the fact is what makes NC an invaluable program.

Photoshop CS has this ability as well and it is quite good at what it does!

Mike in Fla. said:
Mike in Fla. said:

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Click to expand...

To be honest, I find auto levels does not always work well with my
photos, and I selectively use it...Mike

The question was if you can do batch corrections and yes you can.

Mike in Fla. said:
Mike in Fla. said:

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Click to expand...

--

'The only real currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with each other when we're being uncool.' -- Cameron Crowe

Negative287 · Feb 5, 2004

Nikonmaniac said:
If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

You only need it NC if you want to upload custom curves to your camera but since Photoshop ignores these curves for NEF files anyway I suppose the answer could be not it isn't needed.

As for converting NEF images, you can do this in Photoshop CS with as much power as NC offers (although in different areas). PS CS is one of the best (if not the best) image editing products on the market!

Nikonmaniac said:
Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Yes Nikon Capture allows for batch editing but it doesn't work exactly like Photoshop Actions.

Nikonmaniac said:
Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

--

'The only real currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with each other when we're being uncool.' -- Cameron Crowe

chester bigs · Feb 5, 2004

I currently use NC3.5. I just ordered the CS upgrade from 7.0. I use the D100. Would it be worth the upgrade from 3.5 to 4.0? Thanks.

Mike H · Feb 5, 2004

But can Capture also do batch

Nikonmaniac said:
processing of color balancing of a bunch of .jpgs or can only do
batch processing of white balance of RAW images?

Anything that Capture can do can be batched, just set it up on 1 photo and let it fly, so much simpler than PS.

Negative287 · Feb 5, 2004

That is something that you're going to have to see for yourself... Some people feel it is but me personally, I think the PS CS is doing an excellent job and I don't have any issues with artifacts (I've seen them on 10D files but never on my D100 NEF conversions).

The one thing to consider though is that you might need to upgrade if you're going to upgrade the camera because I'm not sure the drivers are present to get the newer cameras working with the custom curves of the older software.

chester bigs said:
I currently use NC3.5. I just ordered the CS upgrade from 7.0. I
use the D100. Would it be worth the upgrade from 3.5 to 4.0? Thanks.

--

'The only real currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with each other when we're being uncool.' -- Cameron Crowe

chester bigs · Feb 6, 2004

Thanks Pete. Since I will probably delete PS 7 off before I install CS I will probably also delete NC 3.5 and try the free demo of NC4 before I decide to upgrade. Thanks for your comments as well. The main reason I delayed in getting CS was I liked being able to link from NC 3.5 directly to PS7. Now if I understand what others have said I will need to first save as TIFF before opening up in CS. Is this still correct?

Nikonmaniac · Feb 6, 2004

Chester:

I thought I saw a rumor that NC4 is going to be updated soon with the release of the D70. I may be wrong, but I think I read that somewhere on the forum. You might want to wait a while before buying NC4. That's what I'm going to do. If the release comes out around the time the D70 hits the streets, it may only be a short wait.

chester bigs said:
Thanks Pete. Since I will probably delete PS 7 off before I install
CS I will probably also delete NC 3.5 and try the free demo of NC4
before I decide to upgrade. Thanks for your comments as well. The
main reason I delayed in getting CS was I liked being able to link
from NC 3.5 directly to PS7. Now if I understand what others have
said I will need to first save as TIFF before opening up in CS. Is
this still correct?

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

chester bigs · Feb 6, 2004

Nikonmaniac said:
Chester:

I thought I saw a rumor that NC4 is going to be updated soon with
the release of the D70. I may be wrong, but I think I read that
somewhere on the forum. You might want to wait a while before
buying NC4. That's what I'm going to do. If the release comes out
around the time the D70 hits the streets, it may only be a short
wait.

That is a good idea. When I purchased NC 3 I was able to get a free upgrade to 4. I would hope as was mentioned in an earlier post that Nikon would do this again.

KCConnection · Feb 6, 2004

I have followed this thread and noticed the references to artifact opening NEF in PS. Where can I find more info on this issue? Thanks
Bruce

travis_terwilligar said:
It's definitely worth the extra $100. If you want, go to nikon's
site and download the trial. It lets you play with all of the
features without any restrictions for an entire month... pretty
sweet deal if you ask me.

manzico said:

Nikonmaniac said:

If you can convert your RAW images in Nikon View to TIFF and then
work on images in Photoshop, is there any good reason to buy a copy
of Nikon Capture?

Also, can you do batch corrections like auto levels with Photoshop
to fix a bunch of pics at one time? How do you do that?

Thanks!

--
Nikon D100, Nikon 24-85mm 2.8/4 D, Nikon ED 70-300mm 4-5.6 D

Click to expand...

There is one primary reason I dropped $99 on NC4, and that is the
ability to adjust WB. Yes, PS CS can adjust WB when opening a
file, but, and there is a thread here discussing this, for some
reason, the NEF plugin for photoshop creates artifacts when opening
a NEF file. These can be mitigated somewhat by dialing down the
sharpen command in the details tab in the opening NEF window, but
you can't totally get rid of them. This means that you have to
import images into PS as TIFF files, forcing you to do your WB
adjustments before PS. Since NV6 only has rudimentary WB control,
you will need NC4 for this.

Dave

Click to expand...

Do you need Nikon Capture if you use Photoshop?

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