NX2

I got a Nikon D40x and am confused about software. Would NX2 or Aperture be the best choice? (I

won't buy both). Or is it sufficient to make sure I make good shots and use iPhoto?

So far I found my Aperture 2 trial version do be more sophisticated, but nothing - neither Aperture

nor iPhoto - make much difference if the shot is just right, and post production can't really make so

much difference if it isn't. (Or can it?)

Since NX2 is supposed to make the best RAW conversions, that might be the best choice.

But is it worth the price?

Any opinions?

Thanx, Chris

Chris: I'm experienced with iPhoto and Aperture 2.1. I use a D70 and convert RAW

about 50% of the time. I haven't bought NX or NX2 for a few reasons: after the 30 day

trial it's going to cost $179.00 for NX2. I like the controls in Aperture. Nikon apparently

still hasn't fixed the NX slowness and bugs. But on the other side of the question, I

would like to have my custom camera settings appear in the RAW conversion, which,

beyond the white balance in-camera setting, neither Apple product can do. I'm getting

better with experience, using Aperture. iPhoto is now only used for family snapshots in

jpeg.

Thanks for the answer. Sounds like PP in Aperture weighs heavier than RAW

conversion in Nikon NX2, esp. considering Nikons high price (or Apples low price).

I have to admit I'm quite contend with the controlls in iPhoto, as far as good shots are

concerned. If a photo is important, Aperture seems to be the better choice, or if there

are specific problems.

I know, iPhoto is a consumer app, and it's slow, but it's familiar to me + I need my pics

as JPEGs anyways.

I hope you have a really, really beefy Mac. Otherwise, you'll find Aperture to be slow.

Anyways, try the forum search - this question or some variation of it has been answered in a variety of ways already, comparing what these programs all do. Bottom line is usually that they overlap in some areas, but not all.

Aperture is a much better program for cataloging and working with collections than NX2. And Lightroom is comparable to Aperture. NX has the edge, sometimes on better images but is a big awkward as a piece of software. NX and LR are available for a PC, Aperture is not.

<p>It depends on what you primarily need: a tool for archiving and managing your

data - then Aperture, iPhoto or Lightroom is the right choice.</p>

<p>If you want a powerful raw-converter and image editing-tool, then a tool like

NX2 is the right choice.</p>

<p>I'm using iPhoto for archiving & managing my image data and NX2 (or LightZone)

for raw-conversion and as 'digital-darkroom'. I've tried Aperture, but it failed in

two important areas: first, it couldn't import my iPhoto-Library (about 18000

images) and second, it converted NEF directly to TIFF, so when opening a photo

for editing with NX I had the TIFF - without any means to tune camera settings.</p>

<p>Last but not least a comment on NX: it has good features but usability is

somewhere between awkward and awful. NX2 has a few improvements but also some

new drawbacks.</p>