Nikon Capture NX 2......
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Hi Steve,
I use Capture NX2 ... as well as Lightroom, Elements and CS5
... depending on what I'm doing and how I feel at the time. in fact, I'm about half way through a set of photos I took at a wedding last Friday using CNX2.
It's quite a bit different to use than the Adobe products and if you're familiar with those it will be a bit of a learning curve. There are features that I like about CNX2 like colour control points and U control points for making changes to specific areas without having to create a mask first. Like the Adobe editors it is non-destructive and you can ignore specific adjustments but the killer advantage for me is that the software reads the "makers information" area of the exif data and interprets that data correctly (all other editing programs have to make an educated guess at this). This is only really valid for .NEF files but as that's about 95% of what I shoot it's important to me.
Even if I plan to use Adobe to edit an image I CNX2 (or View NX2) to convert the RAW image into a TIFF before importing into Adobe as this embeds the exif data into the file in a way that Adobe can read.
If you want some specific info then I'll be pleased to provide my views
Nikon let you try for 60 days before buying, BTW, and that's more than enough time to become pretty skilled with the program.
I use Capture NX2 ... as well as Lightroom, Elements and CS5
... depending on what I'm doing and how I feel at the time. in fact, I'm about half way through a set of photos I took at a wedding last Friday using CNX2.It's quite a bit different to use than the Adobe products and if you're familiar with those it will be a bit of a learning curve. There are features that I like about CNX2 like colour control points and U control points for making changes to specific areas without having to create a mask first. Like the Adobe editors it is non-destructive and you can ignore specific adjustments but the killer advantage for me is that the software reads the "makers information" area of the exif data and interprets that data correctly (all other editing programs have to make an educated guess at this). This is only really valid for .NEF files but as that's about 95% of what I shoot it's important to me.
Even if I plan to use Adobe to edit an image I CNX2 (or View NX2) to convert the RAW image into a TIFF before importing into Adobe as this embeds the exif data into the file in a way that Adobe can read.
If you want some specific info then I'll be pleased to provide my views
Nikon let you try for 60 days before buying, BTW, and that's more than enough time to become pretty skilled with the program.
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- Jez
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Capture NX2 is my primary editing tool. I find that it has all the features I need (so far!) with the exception of (1) a versatile clone tool and (2) layers. If I need either of these I use PSE.
The dust off tool in CNX2 is pretty amazing when it works - I have removed some quite large images elements instantly (eg a fire extinguisher stood against a stone wall), but it sometimes gets confused and when it does there seems to be no way of changing its mind...
I really like the fact that it's non-destructive, allows multiple versions of the same file to be saved and yet adds very little to the original file size. And more importantly (to me) it doesn't generate any other files.
It's also supposed to have the best NEF converter, but I haven't put this to the test myself.
HTH!
The dust off tool in CNX2 is pretty amazing when it works - I have removed some quite large images elements instantly (eg a fire extinguisher stood against a stone wall), but it sometimes gets confused and when it does there seems to be no way of changing its mind...
I really like the fact that it's non-destructive, allows multiple versions of the same file to be saved and yet adds very little to the original file size. And more importantly (to me) it doesn't generate any other files.
It's also supposed to have the best NEF converter, but I haven't put this to the test myself.
HTH!
Hi Steve,
I use Capture NX2 ... as well as Lightroom, Elements and CS5
It's quite a bit different to use than the Adobe products and if you're familiar with those it will be a bit of a learning curve. There are features that I like about CNX2 like colour control points and U control points for making changes to specific areas without having to create a mask first. Like the Adobe editors it is non-destructive and you can ignore specific adjustments but the killer advantage for me is that the software reads the "makers information" area of the exif data and interprets that data correctly (all other editing programs have to make an educated guess at this). This is only really valid for .NEF files but as that's about 95% of what I shoot it's important to me.
Even if I plan to use Adobe to edit an image I CNX2 (or View NX2) to convert the RAW image into a TIFF before importing into Adobe as this embeds the exif data into the file in a way that Adobe can read.
If you want some specific info then I'll be pleased to provide my views
Nikon let you try for 60 days before buying, BTW, and that's more than enough time to become pretty skilled with the program.
Steve....thanks for the advice and offer of support. I have actually just loaded up the trial version and intend giving it a try this weekend to see how I get on.
Will post back here with an update.
Steve
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Oooh - that's a tough one... CNX2 seems to suit my style of working and thought process in a way that Adobe products just don't. Maybe it's just what I'm used to.
As Steve said, you can try it out for 60 days and I would recommend that you do that and make your own mind up. Different people work in different ways!
Sorry for the non-answer...
Nikon_Nick
Shirley
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Its my primary editing tool also, but I do also use Elements occasionally. If you have the trial version, I really recommend you use it as much as possible in the trial period. I say that because, it took me a lot longer than 60 days to get to a point where I felt that I was using it correctly. Youtube has some fantastic tutorials which have helped me no end when ive been stuck, or needed some editing inspiration.
Let us know what you think of it
Let us know what you think of it
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Another one with Capture NX2 and PSE9 and I agree with what has been said so far.
I find that NX2 does almost all that I want to do to a photo, the main things I go to PSE9 for are the Healing Brush, the new content aware brush is very good and I find the NX2 Heal tool Ok for small objects but not so good for larger ones, the other thing is the clone tool which NX2 does not have.
PSE9 does allow you to combine 2 images and cut bits out of one image to paste in another image and allows you to play with different effects, add text, add borders etc etc whereas NX2 is a bit more "serious".
Download trials of both and have a good play to see what suits your needs.
I don't know if you have tried View NX2 which is a type of limited function edition of Capture NX2 and also reads the raw file camera data.
It uses the same algorithms as Capture NX2 but does not have all the extra adjustments so it is more efficient and therefore faster. It is also a free download from Nikon
It has
Exp comp
WB
Picture Control
Sharpness
Contrast
Brightness
Highlight Protection
Shadow Protection
D Lighting
Colour booster
Crop
Straighten
Auto Red Eye
Axial CA
Auto Lateral CA
You can also edit metadata, batch process etc.
Capture NX2 has all the above plus Control Points, Selection Tools, Heal tool etc etc and once you have used Control Points you wonder what you did without them
I find that NX2 does almost all that I want to do to a photo, the main things I go to PSE9 for are the Healing Brush, the new content aware brush is very good and I find the NX2 Heal tool Ok for small objects but not so good for larger ones, the other thing is the clone tool which NX2 does not have.
PSE9 does allow you to combine 2 images and cut bits out of one image to paste in another image and allows you to play with different effects, add text, add borders etc etc whereas NX2 is a bit more "serious".
Download trials of both and have a good play to see what suits your needs.
I don't know if you have tried View NX2 which is a type of limited function edition of Capture NX2 and also reads the raw file camera data.
It uses the same algorithms as Capture NX2 but does not have all the extra adjustments so it is more efficient and therefore faster. It is also a free download from Nikon
It has
Exp comp
WB
Picture Control
Sharpness
Contrast
Brightness
Highlight Protection
Shadow Protection
D Lighting
Colour booster
Crop
Straighten
Auto Red Eye
Axial CA
Auto Lateral CA
You can also edit metadata, batch process etc.
Capture NX2 has all the above plus Control Points, Selection Tools, Heal tool etc etc and once you have used Control Points you wonder what you did without them
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Jez, I agree with all you say. It's good to know I'm not the only one using CNX2 ... there are times when it feels like it
It may not have layers per se but adjustment steps is conceptually the same thing and provides virtually the same functionality as layers, don't you think?
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And the new update 2.3 of NX2 makes it a bit of a flying machine and in my opinion totally transforms the program. It's a must to update this patch.
I also love NX2 for its unrivalled output of NEF's but have to say I do find Lightrooms work flow more intuitive.
An important point that should be mentioned, is that NX2 is the only program that can understand active D-Lighting, so if you use this on your photos, you will find that LR can't read these and your photos will appear slightly under exposed. The general rule is if you are using NX2 to process your NEF's, then by all means use ADL, if you are using LR, PS or any other image editing software, turn ADL off in camera to prevent under exposure.
I also love NX2 for its unrivalled output of NEF's but have to say I do find Lightrooms work flow more intuitive.
An important point that should be mentioned, is that NX2 is the only program that can understand active D-Lighting, so if you use this on your photos, you will find that LR can't read these and your photos will appear slightly under exposed. The general rule is if you are using NX2 to process your NEF's, then by all means use ADL, if you are using LR, PS or any other image editing software, turn ADL off in camera to prevent under exposure.
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Jez, I agree with all you say. It's good to know I'm not the only one using CNX2 ... there are times when it feels like it
It may not have layers per se but adjustment steps is conceptually the same thing and provides virtually the same functionality as layers, don't you think?
Hi Steve,
I think you're probably right, but I reckon you'd have to put much more thought and effort into performing certain tasks which are relatively straightforward using layers...
To be honest I'm constantly surprised by the apparent lack of people using CNX2. To my mind it's an excellent package, although as we've pointed out in this thread it's let down by the lack of a few features.
Cheers,
Jez.
EDIT: Forgot to mention - I got a different book - found it pretty good.
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Noticed elsewhere that NX2 had been updated and was going to give a heads-up for those few using it (and like me had missed the update), but found that it had already been done (how did I miss this thread?).
However, a bit of additional info for those who also use Color Efex 3 in NX2 - there is an update at Niksoftware to make it work with the latest version of NX2.
However, a bit of additional info for those who also use Color Efex 3 in NX2 - there is an update at Niksoftware to make it work with the latest version of NX2.