Going Raw

I'm ready to try my hand at raw, I have been using my new D70S for a

while and I'm very happy with jpeg large. I would like to try some

raw image transfers to poster size to see for myself the difference.

I have the picture project 1.5 that came with it and a old Nikon

view 5 that I had with my D1. Can I use any of these to update from

Nikon or is there something else that I can use in conjuction with

Windows XP and Photoshop 7.

Thanks

The use of RAW images has nothing to do with resolution. RAW files are the only way to get the full, 12 bit color depth from D70 images. Each channel has 4096 possible levels instead of 256 levels for an 8 bit file. You can also edit the color space and white balance subsequent to the exposure, without loss. You can also recover up to 4 stops of overexposure - which is impossible with a JPEG original.

 

Photoshop 7 has very limited resources for 16 bit files (12 bit rounded up). You can upgrade to CS2 for $150, provided you have a legal copy of version 7. You can download the latest version of NikonView from http://www.nikonusa.com for free by providing the serial number of your D70.

If you want a free alternative try Gimp and Ufraw. They work quite well.

You can get the newest version of nikon view free online. You can also get a trial version of Nikon capture which I like for processing raw files. Their are other free raw converters such as raw shooter essentials that you can use (I didn't like it).

The D200 comes w/ a raw plugin included with nikonview, I'm pretty sure it's available for

the D70 also. This plugin works w/ PS6 and later.

 

This gives you a limited subset of what nikon capture has available. But most importantly

it opens in 16 bit and lets you set the WP from a limited selection of presets, and also

adjust the exposure, all before opening in PS. You should be able to download nikonview

and get this plugin.

In general, there is little noticable difference in image quality from jpg basic to raw (with regard to resolution). The real difference is in your ability to make adjustments to the image if the camera messes up it what it thinks the picture should look like with regard to white balance and exposure.

 

The white balance of a raw image can be changed very easily with Nikon View. The exposure can also be changed very easily if the picture is too dark or a little too bright.

 

I used to shoot raw/basic and then only use the raw images for photos that were not exposed correctly or had incorrect white balance. I found just the odd one needed 'help' because the camera works so well.

 

You will have to try it for yourself to see what works best for you. Good luck!

Both Nikon View and Picture Project include Photoshop plugins compatible with PS7, as mentioned above. For reasons best known to Nikon, the plugin included with NV works in 16-bit mode, whereas the plugin included with PP works only in 8-bit mode. It's worth getting the NV version, as PS7 can do all the basic stuff (cropping, curves, levels, unsharp mask, image resizing, etc.) in 16-bit mode.

 

The Nikon Editor component of Nikon View has the same basic raw adjustments (white balance presets and exposure compensation) as the Photoshop plugins. The main Picture Project program doesn't have any way of setting white balance directly (AFAIR), but PP does have a useful batch converter (which NV lacks) that can output to 16-bit tiff. The latest versions of both PP and NV are available for free download from your national Nikon tech support website (you'll need to register a camera serial number first). If you want to have both programs installed at the same time, install PP (and any updates) before NV (the last time I tried, PP refused to install if NV was already installed). Note that if both are installed, the 16-bit PS plugin from NV will override the 8-bit plugin from PP.

 

As well as UFRaw, you might also want to give Pixmantec RawShooter Essentials (free download) a try. Note however that both these converters (and even Adobe Camera Raw) ignore most of your in-camera settings and won't give quite the same results as Nikon's converters (RSE in particular gives significantly different colours by default).

The key to your image quality is how the RAW to JPEG conversion is processed (assuming you have good exposure to begin with). There are quite a few software packages available, and all of them will produce slightly different results. There is PS CS2, Bibble, Capture 1, Nikon Capture, Raw Shooter Premium, etc.

 

For my needs, I've found that Nikon Capture produces the cleanest file conversions for my Nikon cameras. The only downside to Nikon Capture is that it can be a relatively slow program compared to others, BUT, if you are not processing hundreds of images at one sitting, it works very well. I process several hundred to well over a thousand images per wedding, and sometimes I shoot two weddings per week, so it can still be used for larger jobs and batch processing is an option.

 

Nikon Capture is available off the Nikon website as a free download. Your trial version will expire after 30 days and it's $99 to purchase it. It's a much more robust program than Nikon View.

Thanks Guys!