Raw shooting

taff63

taff63

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mark
Edit My Images
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Ok have decided to try shooting in raw I'm ok with that BUT how would I go about converting them I'm using a d300 and elements 9 and also the software that came with the d300 so which one would be best to convert (hope this makes sense ) .
Mark
 
Try both on the same image, and see which gives you a look that you prefer. No point using Elements 9 (if that is what everyone on here suggests) if you personally prefer the output from the Nikon software, and vice versa. I had the same issue with Photoshop and the Canon software, but tend to use Photoshop simply beccause I find the software easier to use.
 
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The software you're using doesn't really make a huge difference; raw conversion is raw conversion. Having said that, I'd say that Adobe Camera Raw is usually a bit more user friendly and faster than many of the proprietary apps that come with cameras. It's quick and easy to set up a batch process in ACR.
 
Hi Mark,

I've just started playing around with Adobe Lightroom today, not had no experiance with it before but first first impressions are really good.

You go onto the develop tab and there you can adjust tones, colours etc etc

also organises very well in the library

You can trial it free for 30 days
https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=photoshop_lightroom&promoid&promoid=DTEML

Also some good tutorials
http://tv.adobe.com/show/getting-started-with-adobe-photoshop-lightroom-4/
 
I assume that the software that came with the camera is View NX2. If so then I would use that for raw conversion as it does a better job, IMO, than Elements.
View NX2 is actually a stripped down version of Capture NX2, it uses the same algorithms but has fewer tools.
It will preserve all of the camera settings so if you have increased the contrast, saturation etc. View NX2 will apply those settings to the raw file and can therefore be a better place to start should you wish to change anything.
 
onona said:
... raw conversion is raw conversion ...
Click to expand...

If only that were true :shake:

Nikon hides much of the camera setting information in the user area of the exif data which means that third party RAW converters can't access it. The likes of Adobe, et al, are forced to make an "educated guess" based on the information they can see. Some guesses are better than others :clap:
 
Suvv said:
I assume that the software that came with the camera is View NX2. If so then I would use that for raw conversion as it does a better job, IMO, than Elements.
View NX2 is actually a stripped down version of Capture NX2, it uses the same algorithms but has fewer tools.
It will preserve all of the camera settings so if you have increased the contrast, saturation etc. View NX2 will apply those settings to the raw file and can therefore be a better place to start should you wish to change anything.
Click to expand...

:plusone: I totally agree with this comment.

Not only does ViewNX2 do a great job of converting RAW files but it is quicker than Adobe Camera RAW too.
 
The latest version of ViewNX2 (2.3 ) supports 64 bit, after i managed to get it to install :bang::bang:, it was super fast compared to the previous release(2.2.5), now when I move sliders the preview updates almost immediatly:clap:.
 
View NX2 is very good - I have gone back to it after using Lightroom 3 for a few months. I also use Capture NX2, but View NX2 does a lot of the same things very well.
 
Bristolian said:
If only that were true :shake:

Nikon hides much of the camera setting information in the user area of the exif data which means that third party RAW converters can't access it. The likes of Adobe, et al, are forced to make an "educated guess" based on the information they can see. Some guesses are better than others :clap:
Click to expand...

Really? That's interesting. Having never been a Nikon user, I had no idea. Thanks for the info.
 
taff63 said:
Also can raw shots be converted to jpeg then after
Click to expand...

Mark,

Depending on which editing software you use RAW files can be converted into anything you want - jpg, tiff, psd, whatever.

I would recommend downloading the latest version of Capture NX2 from the Nikon web site (it's free) and have a play with the editing and converting features.
 
viewnx also does geo tagging using google maps and has done so well before LR,
but capture NX is not free, you have a time limited trial then its £140 ish, which in my option is not worth it, the latest ViewNX 2 is fast and quite good, and you can adjust WB using a pick tool to select what you think is the "grey" point.
 
I usualy open Raw files in ACR 6.3 when starting Photoshop Elements 9, Here you can make ajustments then you can open it to elements to finnish off any other tweeking or effects. As long as you use 8bit/channel colour depth you can easily save them as jpeg in Photoshop Elements.
 
Bristolian said:
Mark,
I would recommend downloading the latest version of Capture NX2 from the Nikon web site (it's free) and have a play with the editing and converting features.
Click to expand...

OOPS! Sorry, I meant VIEWNX 2 ... that's free but CNX2 isn't :bang:
 
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