problem with raw files (with Zf)

[achakladar]

so, i finally had some time today to take some photos with my new zf camera and upload them to my computer to retouch in nx studio. i immediately ran into weird issues.

the camera is set to take photos in raw. i am able to view the photos in camera with no issue. but when i upload them to my laptop (macbook) i am not able to preview them (by selecting and hitting the space bar) as i can all the older nef files that are in the same folder. nor do any of the new nef files have mini-thumbnails in the folder view the way the older files do.

then i dragged the new files into nx studio, which is what i've been using for a couple of years with my z50 to edit raw files and export them as jpgs. the files were all visible in nx studio but not all the controls are usable: the white balance and exposure compensation controls are greyed out. and when i tried to apply some other changes to a file (adjusting brightness) the image disappeared from the main display pane which now displays the message "failed to load images" and the thumbnail disappeared as well. this happened to a bunch of pics. so then i tried to see what would happen if i exported a pic as a jpeg without making any changes to it. yes, you guessed it: another error. this time it says "you cannot apply this operation to unsupported files".

nx studio is still working normally with my older nef files (taken on the z50). so this would appear to be a problem with the nef files created on the zf. any ideas as to what could be causing this? i have switched the camera now to save pics in both raw and jpeg formats. it's a good thing these were just test pics and nothing i actually need (i have a cooking project ongoing for which i do need to take pics i can retouch).

 

[allanimal]

What RAW compression are you using? MacOS does not support the HE compression methods of the expeed 7 cameras, only lossless compressed is supported (and on relatively recent versions of the OS. I don’t think the z6iii is supported at all yet, not sure if the ZF status.)

strange that NX studio does not work. Do you have the latest version installed?

 

[achakladar]

just the regular raw.

the weird thing is nx studio still displays the file information while not displaying the image itself. but i'm realizing i'm on an old version of the program (1.2.1). will update to the latest in a bit and see if that fixes the issue.

 

[achakladar]

yup--updating to the latest version of nx studio (1.7) fixed it. still don't understand why the previous could read and work on .nef files created by the z50 but not on .nef files created by the zf. but whatever.

still can't see previews of these .nef files in the folder display on my macbook, however. guessing that's a mac os thing--though it's not an issue with the .nef files taken on the z50.

 

[ghostfox_1]

yup--updating to the latest version of nx studio (1.7) fixed it. still don't understand why the previous could read and work on .nef files created by the z50 but not on .nef files created by the zf. but whatever.

new sensor, new stuff on the backend that you have to update for it to read correctly

still can't see previews of these .nef files in the folder display on my macbook, however. guessing that's a mac os thing--though it's not an issue with the .nef files taken on the z50.

correct. That's a mac issue. Apple doesn't seem to be in a rush to fix it, from the many other topics about the same thing

 

[jthomas39]

just the regular raw.

the weird thing is nx studio still displays the file information while not displaying the image itself. but i'm realizing i'm on an old version of the program (1.2.1). will update to the latest in a bit and see if that fixes the issue.

"regular raw" isn't a choice.

The Zf has 3 raw formats: lossless compressed. high efficiency *. and high efficiency.

Not all software can use the two high efficiency formats, since these have proprietary compression methods.

Here's the online manual page: https://onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/zf/en/psm_raw_recording_117.html

Try the lossless compressed format.

 

[achakladar]

just the regular raw.

the weird thing is nx studio still displays the file information while not displaying the image itself. but i'm realizing i'm on an old version of the program (1.2.1). will update to the latest in a bit and see if that fixes the issue.

"regular raw" isn't a choice.

The Zf has 3 raw formats: lossless compressed. high efficiency *. and high efficiency.

well, i hate to contradict someone who seems to know what they're talking about but here are the choices in my zf's menu. by "regular raw" i mean the one that's listed as just "raw".

 

[Ninpou_Bunshinnojutsu]

just the regular raw.

the weird thing is nx studio still displays the file information while not displaying the image itself. but i'm realizing i'm on an old version of the program (1.2.1). will update to the latest in a bit and see if that fixes the issue.

"regular raw" isn't a choice.

The Zf has 3 raw formats: lossless compressed. high efficiency *. and high efficiency.

well, i hate to contradict someone who seems to know what they're talking about but here are the choices in my zf's menu. by "regular raw" i mean the one that's listed as just "raw".

The RAW choice is a different menu item. The other person is still correct.

https://onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/zf/en/psm_raw_recording_117.html

--
IG: @ninpou_bunshinnojutsu
https://www.instagram.com/ninpou_bunshinnojutsu

 

[SoCalAngler]

yup--updating to the latest version of nx studio (1.7) fixed it. still don't understand why the previous could read and work on .nef files created by the z50 but not on .nef files created by the zf. but whatever.

still can't see previews of these .nef files in the folder display on my macbook, however. guessing that's a mac os thing--though it's not an issue with the .nef files taken on the z50.

Mac OS Sonoma is the oldest version of MacOS with support for displaying Nikon .NEF files.

Apple tends to only update the most currrent version of Mac OS, iPadOS, and iOS for new cameras, although sometimes they may add support in one or two older version.

Sometimes it may take over a year for Apple to add support, as was the case with the Z8.

Ventura Compatibility

https://support.apple.com/en-us/101... enhanced support,party apps that support RAW.

Sonoma Compatibility

https://support.apple.com/en-us/105094

--
If cameras and lenses can have autofocus then why can't I?

 

[jthomas39]

just the regular raw.

the weird thing is nx studio still displays the file information while not displaying the image itself. but i'm realizing i'm on an old version of the program (1.2.1). will update to the latest in a bit and see if that fixes the issue.

"regular raw" isn't a choice.

The Zf has 3 raw formats: lossless compressed. high efficiency *. and high efficiency.

well, i hate to contradict someone who seems to know what they're talking about but here are the choices in my zf's menu. by "regular raw" i mean the one that's listed as just "raw".

The RAW choice is a different menu item. The other person is still correct.

Yeah, it is confusing. This Image Quality list would be really huge if the raw choice of 3 different formats were separate lines in this list. But it does make it non-obvious that there are 3 choices elsewhere.

 

[achakladar]

ahhhhh...

well, i'm very glad to have started this thread as otherwise it would have probably taken months for me to realize that selecting "raw" in "image quality" was not enough. i'd passed over the "raw recording" menu option assuming it was related to video, which i have no interest in. have now set that to "lossless compression".

thanks (and apologies)!

 

[Ninpou_Bunshinnojutsu]

ahhhhh...

well, i'm very glad to have started this thread as otherwise it would have probably taken months for me to realize that selecting "raw" in "image quality" was not enough. i'd passed over the "raw recording" menu option assuming it was related to video, which i have no interest in. have now set that to "lossless compression".

thanks (and apologies)!

No apologies needed! Glad you found it!