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Nikon NX Studio


ilkka_nissila

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There is a new browsing and editing software available for download from Nikon called the Nikon NX Studio. It seems to combine elements from ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D into one program, and upon installation it removes the earlier versions of ViewNX-i. I downloaded it and tested it briefly and it seemed to work well. It seems that once edits are done, one needs to export them to make jpg or tiff files to read in other applications. One can open Photoshop as from ViewNX-i (it goes through ACR) in which case the edits are not applied or export and then open the jpg or tiff file with Photoshop in which case the edited file is opened. I found this to be easier to work with than Capture NX-D where you had to specify explicitly which directory the edited and exported file is stored in. In NX Studio, you can choose it to be stored in a specific directory or the same directory as the original image. I prefer the latter so that the different versions stay together.

 

I'll be testing this software more in the coming weeks. I've always favored Nikon software for browsing as it respects the in-camera edits even in the case of NEF files, and it also can show the camera settings (autofocus points used etc.) in more detail than third-party software. However, while I was a regular user of the early Capture NX2, I never got along very well with its successor NX-D (mainly because it required storing edited and exported files in a separately named directory and it could get confused if I specified the same directory as the original). These issues seem to have been fixed now. I look forward to using NX Studio.

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I'm planning on getting a Z6ii in the near future, mainly for (E)VF video.

 

I've never done much video editing, so will look into this.

 

Nikon. Software. Free.

 

Scary combo when all I've ever really used is Camera Control Pro which is/was crazy expensive and with an awful UI.

 

Just curious but under System Requirements to use software....

 

Video

  • 4K video playback: Core i7 3.5GHz or better recommended
  • Editing: Core i7 3.5GHz or better recommended
  • Full-HD video playback: Core i5-series or better recommended
  • Editing: Core i5-series or better recommended

There's no Graphics Card mentioned. Is this software CPU driven only?

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I don't think whether the software is given for free or if a payment is required should affect the quality of the software much here. The functionality provided by the software is part of the infrastructure needed to support the cameras, and the cameras are not given for free. However, Nikon have traditionally not excelled in software quality. On the other hand, since Adobe got into a subscription service, they too have launched buggy software in some instances. One of the things I find the most annoying about Photoshop is that when cropping and rotating the image, the software initially remembers where the boundaries of the original image are and restricts the rotated crop box to that area, but in subsequent refinements to the crop, it seems to forget the original boundaries were, so it's harder to use and get the corners to stay on the original boundary. Nikon software never had this problem and the cropping tool was much easier to use. Another area where I find problems is in how the Adobe software chooses the camera profile; since a recent update, Adobe's software makes a half-hearted effort at finding out which picture control was used in the camera, but if one uses photo shooting banks, it seems to pick the profile in Bank A rather than the one in the active photo shooting bank. I wouldn't make strong generalizations about software and user interface quality based on who makes it. My perception is that Nikon software has been improving in quality in recent years.

 

Anyway, so far the new program seems to work nicely.

Edited by ilkka_nissila
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Thanks for that Ilkka. I'll give it a try.

I wonder if it works in 'Sandboxie'?

However, since Adobe got into a subscription service, they too have launched buggy software.

And long before that. At one time it was unwise to buy a new (standalone) version of Photoshop until at least 6 months after release - giving them time to provide patches that prevented the freezes and crashes caused by some combination of edits.

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FWIW, I've always found the Nikon software to handle RAW files better in terms of noise reduction, than other choices. They know their sensors better than anybody and can optimize the "secret sauce" based on that knowledge. If I'm going to mess with RAW, I start there and only then, move on to other programs.
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I just download and install it too and give it a try. I noticed that its overall file size is smaller than View NX-i and Capture NX-D that I have on my desktop.

 

I am surprised that it will uninstall View NX-i but not capture NX-D.

 

While I do not use Nikon Transfer, if you use Studio you may have to download Transfer separately. TYransfer is part of Nikon View NX-i.

 

I want to make sure that Studio allows for culling images as fast as Nikon View NX-i does. One of the things I use View for is for initial culling as it is fast and deleting just requires hitting the Del key.

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I'm planning on getting a Z6ii in the near future, mainly for (E)VF video.

 

I've never done much video editing,

 

If you want software for video editing, you might look at DiVinci Resolve (the free version)

 

LINK: DaVinci Resolve 17 | Blackmagic Design

 

It should do anything you want...and more. It does have a steep learning curve (think of it as the Photoshop of Video), but Black Magic provides free training modules that are, to say the least, extensive (and free). It is quite usable with just a mouse and keyboard; you do not need the extra control boards Black Magic sells - unless you are opening a production company. :-)

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It seems that once edits are done, one needs to export them to make jpg or tiff files to read in other applications. One can open Photoshop as from ViewNX-i (it goes through ACR) in which case the edits are not applied or export and then open the jpg or tiff file with Photoshop in which case the edited file is opened. I found this to be easier to work with than Capture NX-D where you had to specify explicitly which directory the edited and exported file is stored in. In NX Studio, you can choose it to be stored in a specific directory or the same directory as the original image. I prefer the latter so that the different versions stay together.

I'm not entirely clear what your issue is here. I have a folder titled TIFFs where all my NX-D conversions go. When I want to work on the NX-D edited files in Photoshop directly I press Control+F1, and when I want to do a Photomerge in Photoshop I press "Convert file" and they are also sent to the TIFFs folder where I go from Photoshop to get them to be merged.

I was a regular user of the early Capture NX2, I never got along very well with its successor NX-D (mainly because it required storing edited and exported files in a separately named directory and it could get confused if I specified the same directory as the original)

How is NX-D confused?

Edited by tonybeach_1961
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I am surprised that it will uninstall View NX-i but not capture NX-D.

Some will use a different ingest app and want to edit using NX-D. If Nikon removed NX-D then those users would have that workflow broken just because they wanted to explore the possibility of using NX Studio.

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Tony, I keep my files in separate directories based on project and date. I prefer an organization where the TIFFs are in the same directory as the NEFs, and I would like this to happen automatically (as it was with NX2, Lightroom and now NX Studio gives that option as well). When I have used NX-D, I often end up accidentally with TIFFs in another project's directory as I often work across multiple projects when I make a set of prints, and so the edited and original images are separated from each other unless I remember to manually change the TIFF directory every time I go to another project's directory. If I set NX-D to write the TIFFs in the same directory as the NEFs, the thumbnails do not always show the created files correctly. NX Studio appears to have fixed both issues. Edited by ilkka_nissila
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Nikon Transfer is bundled with NX Studio so although the installer removes Nikon ViewNX-i, it does install Nikon Transfer "back".

 

On my desktop computer, zooming in to check focus and selecting images for deletion is quick.

Edited by ilkka_nissila
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Tony, I keep my files in separate directories based on project and date. I prefer an organization where the TIFFs are in the same directory as the NEFs, and I would like this to happen automatically (as it was with NX2, Lightroom and now NX Studio gives that option as well). When I have used NX-D, I often end up accidentally with TIFFs in another project's directory as I often work across multiple projects when I make a set of prints, and so the edited and original images are separated from each other unless I remember to manually change the TIFF directory every time I go to another project's directory. If I set NX-D to write the TIFFs in the same directory as the NEFs, the thumbnails do not always show the created files correctly. NX Studio appears to have fixed both issues.

I'm glad to hear that Nikon's new software is working for you Ilkka. That makes this a moot point, but nonetheless I am surprised that selecting "Use source folder" in NX-D doesn't work:

 

Untitled-1_25.jpg

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Nikon Transfer is bundled with NX Studio so although the installer removes Nikon ViewNX-i, it does install Nikon Transfer "back".

 

On my desktop computer, zooming in to check focus and selecting images for deletion is quick.

That's fine, but the reason not to remove NX-D is still relevant if you use a different ingest app. For instance, I have FastRawViewer (FRV) installed on my computer and I have it set up to open the files in NX-D, so if I installed NX Studio and it automatically removed NX-D that would break the workflow I set up for FRV.

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Tried it and it worked nicely. The only thing I miss so far is it doesn't have those small icons for individual adjustments. I had to keep scrolling up and down with the sidebar. I found those icons on NX-D to be very convenient: one click and I was there. Nikon should bring them over to the Studio in a update, and there is space for them already.
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I'm glad to hear that Nikon's new software is working for you Ilkka. That makes this a moot point, but nonetheless I am surprised that selecting "Use source folder" in NX-D doesn't work:

 

Right, but the Preferences / Open With Application dialog only offers "Folder to Place Open With File" and in that directory there is no "Use source folder" option (so it has to be changed between projects, if one wants to keep source and edited images together). Now from your suggestion I tried "Convert" with "Use source folder" checked in NX-D, but the TIFF doesn't show in the thumbnails after the conversion is done. It does show in Explorer. I tried Refresh and it still didn't appear. After I closed NX-D and reopened it, the TIFF file did appear in the thumbnails. This is the kind of problem that led me not to use NX-D in my daily editing; I only used it when I had a file where I had specific use for its algorithms or editing functions. By not exporting to the current directory, I could bypass the problems with the thumbnails but then I had to remember to change the directory frequently.

 

NX Studio shows the exported TIFFs quickly in the list of thumbnails, and this makes the application something I can use, and in fact I really like it.

Edited by ilkka_nissila
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Looks nice, but my problem is that it doesn't read metadata from the sidecar files created by Lightroom or Capture one. Would I have to enter all keywords, ratings/color tags and IPTC metadata all over again for my whole collection in order to be able to filter and search by those in NX Studio? Those data transfer just fine between Lightroom and Capture one for the most part.
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BTW, it looks like the new NX Studio has some basic video editing features, nothing fancy. I haven't tried it yet. In these days I capture some video with the Z6. Currently I use Apple iMovie, which is also on the basic side. I'll give NX's video features a try some day.
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Nikon uses something different than XMP files for keywords, ratings, etc. --found in NKSC folder. And DXO-PL4 used dop files. Studio probably uses the same system now in View NX-i and NX-D (which I hate) for the same reasons you have mentioned.

 

Since I am using DXO-PL4 as my main RAW processor, I have stopped keywording and rating images in Nikon View-NXi and I have turned off XMP files when I download files using Downloader Pro.

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