Nitro Photo app developer interview

[knyhus]

https://thedigitalstory.com/2025/06/interview-with-Nik-Bhatt-photography-podcast.html

Derrick Story - Jun 19 2025 - interviews the developer behind Nitro and Raw Power: Interview with Nik Bhatt, The Brains Behind Nitro - TDS Photography Podcast - The Digital Story

 

[knyhus]

Every time I look at the Nitro Photo app, it has gotten better. Every time I re-read the updated Nitro manual, I learn new and better ways to use Nik Bhatt's software. It is quirky, but then so is DxO PhotoLab, the other software I currently use.

 

[Night Pixel]

Also note that Nitro is produced by Gentleman Coders :

Gentlemen Coders "was founded in 2016 by Nik Bhatt, an 18 year veteran of Apple. His roles in the Photo Apps group included Senior Director of Engineering and Chief Technical Officer. Among other roles, he led the Aperture, iPhoto, RAW Camera and Core Image engineering teams, as well as the imaging team for the Mac version of Photos.
Mr. Bhatt holds over 55 patents in a wide range of disciplines including image processing, audio processing, geotagging, wireless networking, and user interface design."

I have Pixelmator Pro and Photomator, but might give the latest version a look. I have RAW POWER, Nik's first app, and it is a great tool.

Also, he has developed technology to support more new RAW formats faster than Apple. From Nik's blog:

"As you know RAW Power and Nitro have exceptional camera support. Far better than other apps that use Apple’s RAW, including (and especially) Apple Photos.

It’s about to get even better.

The main downside of the additional camera support is the lack of automatic lens correction, which requires you to use the apps’ manual lens corrector (though the apps learn from your corrections).

In the near future, both RAW Power and Nitro will gain automatic, profiled lens correction for compressed Fujifilm and compressed Nikon HE/HE* images. I’m still working on the details, and also on how to deal with existing images from these cameras that have manual correction.

Do you use compressed Fujifilm or Nikon and have manual lens corrections? If so, I would like to hear from you so that I can get the migration just right. Email [email protected] "

 

[teph]

I bought a licence and are generally happy with the programme. Colour requires little effort, but getting good results with BW conversion still takes some trying out. When posting I make some adjustments in Preview, so at the moment it is a two step process.

 

[graybalanced]

Thanks for posting that link. I like using Nitro Photo because there is not much like it on the iPad.

 

[Dave_J_E]

Yes very interesting podcast. Does anyone know whether Nitro does HDR output?

Dave

 

[CAcreeks]

Yes very interesting podcast. Does anyone know whether Nitro does HDR output?

Do you mean the gainmap type of HDR, with strong highlights in the HDR image and less so in the SDR image? Chromium based browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge can display either HDR or SDR depending on display.

Photomator is said to support this, but I have seen no verification of that on DPreview.

 

[Night Pixel]

Yes very interesting podcast. Does anyone know whether Nitro does HDR output?

Do you mean the gainmap type of HDR, with strong highlights in the HDR image and less so in the SDR image? Chromium based browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge can display either HDR or SDR depending on display.

Photomator is said to support this, but I have seen no verification of that on DPreview.

According to Greg Benz "Photomator also supports gain map exports, but offers no artistic control over the base SDR (and is therefore the same as letting MacOS tone map the image)." He has an article on gain maps here .

Here is the help page for working with HDR images in Photomator but there is no mention of gain maps.

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"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know." - Diane Arbus

 

[CAcreeks]

Yes very interesting podcast. Does anyone know whether Nitro does HDR output?

Do you mean the gainmap type of HDR, with strong highlights in the HDR image and less so in the SDR image?

I'm surprised that Nitro Pro, the PDF viewer and editor that competes with Adobe Acrobat, hasn't sued for re-using the name Nitro. https://www.gonitro.com/

Photomator is said to support this, but I have seen no verification of that on DPreview.

According to Greg Benz "Photomator also supports gain map exports, but offers no artistic control over the base SDR (and is therefore the same as letting MacOS tone map the image)." He has an article on gain maps here .

Thanks, N.P. That sentence previously escaped my notice.

Here is the help page for working with HDR images in Photomator but there is no mention of gain maps.

I posted that link before in another thread somewhere. I'll find it and Xref the above sentence.

 

[Dave_J_E]

Yes very interesting podcast. Does anyone know whether Nitro does HDR output?

Do you mean the gainmap type of HDR, with strong highlights in the HDR image and less so in the SDR image? Chromium based browsers such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge can display either HDR or SDR depending on display.

Photomator is said to support this, but I have seen no verification of that on DPreview.

Yes I mean where the highlights of an image are extended by 2 to 4 stops according to the extended brightness range of the display. There’s usually a button labelled HDR which enables it. I use it with ACR/LR and Photomator. Exports can, but don’t have to include a gain map which facilitates good viewing on an SDR display.

Dave

 

[Night Pixel]

I'm surprised that Nitro Pro, the PDF viewer and editor that competes with Adobe Acrobat, hasn't sued for re-using the name Nitro. https://www.gonitro.com/

Whether this would result in a USPTO Section 2(d) refusal is debatable.

Section 2(d) of the Lanham Act —the federal trademark statute—codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1052(d ). That subsection bars registration of a mark that “so resembles” an earlier mark that it is “likely … to cause confusion.”

NITRO PRO™ registrations – e.g. Nitro Software Ltd.’s filing for PDF software, Ser. No. 79351278 (USPTO) . Existence of this registration means “NITRO” alone for the same class of software would almost certainly draw a §2(d) refusal.

But Gentleman Coders would certainly claim that Nitro the RAW editor is in no way the same class of software as Nitro Pro the PDF editor. No one wanting to edit RAW photos would be inclined to buy Nitro Pro under any circumstances. And, no-one wanting to work with PDF files would buy Nitro Pro. They do not compete in the same market space.

In re E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., 476 F.2d 1357 (C.C.P.A. 1973)the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and courts apply the 13 DuPont factors to determine if there is a likelihood of confusion in deciding to reject a trademake application. The Niro vs Nitro Pro case would be interesting but I think Gentleman Coders would prevail.

If there are any IP attorneys on this forum it would be be cool if they chime in.

NOTE: I went to law school but am no way an expert in IP law.

--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know." - Diane Arbus

 

[knyhus]

Just returned home from the annual State Fair with lots of photos. The Nitro Photo app did a great job editing them and exporting JPEGs. As I continue to become familiar with how Nitro works, I find that I enjoy using it more than any of the other raw processing apps to which I currently subscribe or own. Nitro has become my go-to raw processor for my FUJIFILM X-T4 photos!