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Old digital camera question


Rick Helmke

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Evening all.

 

I know 'old' is a relative question but in digital terms this is old. Concerning the D1-X and D100, both of which I still have and use at times. Can RAW files from these cameras be accessed through CS-6? Same question for the D200 now that I think of it. I think I have a few versions of Nikon View sitting around here but found out that what works for files from one camera may well not work for another. I just thought it would be fun to shoot RAW in these older bodies and see what kind of trouble I can get into. Thanks.

 

Rick H.

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I have zero trouble with D1X RAW files in Lightroom 6.

 

I've noticed that Adobe tends to not deprecate older cameras. Lightroom also handles the RAW files from Fuji DSLRs gracefully, while programs like Apple Preview and Apple Photos don't have the first idea what to do with them(both programs are fine with .NEF and .CR2 although there's no editing in Preview and only limited in Photos). With that said(not that you asked) the Fuji cameras are best shot in JPEG or converted with the Fuji software since Lightroom doesn't know what to do with the extra data and can't recover highlights like the Fuji software(or extend the dynamic range like the JPEGs do).

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BTW, here's a handy chart from Adobe of supported camera models. As best as I can tell, they support files from some pretty obscure cameras including what looks to me like the entire range of Kodak DSLRs

 

Cameras supported by Camera Raw

 

Also as a side note, they don't list the D850 as being supported in the perpetual license version. I wonder if it's a matter of just not having written the update yet-even cameras released since CC became the product the main product have been added to the perpetual license version.

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have been added to the perpetual license version

Unless I totally misunderstand what you wrote: RAW 9.1.1 was the last ACR version compatible with the perpetual license version of CS6. Pretty much the only reason I am now on the subscription model is that CS6 does not support the D500 (and most certainly will not support the D850): https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html

I had already looked for alternatives to CS6 (one was LR6 that now will also be phased out) and would have likely switched away from photoshop. But since my wife took an interest in post-processing and doesn't want to abandon photoshop, we had to bite the bullet and subscribe. It's not the cost that bothers me but the need to pay in perpetuity.

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I had already looked for alternatives to CS6 (one was LR6 that now will also be phased out) and would have likely switched away from photoshop. But since my wife took an interest in post-processing and doesn't want to abandon photoshop, we had to bite the bullet and subscribe. It's not the cost that bothers me but the need to pay in perpetuity.

 

I've been happy with DxO Optics Pro for raw conversion and global edits, for what it's worth. I use Photoshop much less than I used to, although I still use it for local edits. DxO will dump to a 16-bit TIFF for export to Photoshop. Just in case that helps; I have a rolling update with them, but I don't think the program stops working if I stop paying (though I probably need to confirm that on the licence).

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DxO Optics Pro

Own it for many years, keep updating it but in the end rarely use it. Was slated to become my primary raw converison tool had I abandoned photoshop (certainly now that the standalone LR's days are also numbered). Having to use intermediate files and the inability of the program to work with plugins like Nik or ON1 makes the workflow a lot harder for me. I also paid for the new ON1 RAW converter but haven't had much of a chance yet to do anything with it or even test it. The initial version I looked at has lacked many features, but that may well have changed by now. I have Capture One for Sony - but again, not worked much with it yet.

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Unless I totally misunderstand what you wrote: RAW 9.1.1 was the last ACR version compatible with the perpetual license version of CS6. Pretty much the only reason I am now on the subscription model is that CS6 does not support the D500 (and most certainly will not support the D850): Cameras supported by Camera Raw

I had already looked for alternatives to CS6 (one was LR6 that now will also be phased out) and would have likely switched away from photoshop. But since my wife took an interest in post-processing and doesn't want to abandon photoshop, we had to bite the bullet and subscribe. It's not the cost that bothers me but the need to pay in perpetuity.

 

I wasn't speaking so much of PS(I never process RAW files in it) but rather LR6(perpetual license).

 

At this point, the D500 is the only camera of note that LR6 does not support. I've seen been told elsewhere today that Adobe is allegedly going to release one final update to LR6, presumably to support the D850.

 

Since I'm likely a few years off from getting a D850, and it supports every camera I currently use, I should be set for a while.

 

As a side note, I guess I hadn't really played with my S3 Pro a whole lot. I intentionally overexposed some photos, and I was able to pull the highlights back quite a bit. I guess that LR is indeed able to "read' the R-pixel data-the R pixels are what gave the Fuji cameras their dynamic range and highlight recovery.

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I wasn't speaking so much of PS(I never process RAW files in it) but rather LR6(perpetual license).

Sorry, that wasn't clear to me.

 

the D500 is the only camera of note that LR6 does not support.

Not true, LR 6.5 is required. I could have use LR to process my D500 files but I am not in favor of LR nor the resulting complications in my workflow.

 

Adobe is allegedly going to release one final update to LR6, presumably to support the D850.

Yep, LR 6.13, release date Oct 26. There will not be a perpetual license version of LR7; subscription is now the only viable way forward.

 

There's no reason to assume that ACR or LR won't open image files of older cameras - why would adobe drop something that's already in the software?

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There's no reason to assume that ACR or LR won't open image files of older cameras - why would adobe drop something that's already in the software?

 

Mac users ask that of Apple all the time :) . Some software-or at least the underlying framework needed to run the software-gets deprecated for no apparent reason.

 

Of course, there are head scratching exceptions. As an example, MacOS Sierra(10.12) contains a program to configure the PCIe bandwidth on the first and second generation Mac Pro(1,1 and 2,1). The program is HIGHLY specific to those two models, and does nothing on any other computer. Support for the 1,1 and 2,1 was officially dropped at 10.7, although it doesn't take a lot of work to make versions as new as 10.11 run. 10.12 hit a hard roadblock with the 1,1 and 2,1 as the CPUs don't support some necessary instruction sets. The version in 10.12 was built in May 2016, or a few months before the OS was released.

 

With that said, I don't see that Adobe has anything to lose by continuing to include support for older cameras. I doubt anyone other than a nutty person like me is still using a D1 series camera(and at that I only use them for curiosity sake-I couldn't afford them back then) although they had a long life in service. I have a D1H that came from the largest daily in the state, and the battery in it was noted as having been purchased in 2008. I'd love to have a shutter count on this camera-the controls are all very "mushy" compared to every other camera camera I have. I know studio photographers who still swear by the D2X, despite the fact that the D300 edges it out in almost every way except for midtone/highlight noise at base ISO. I would not be surprised if my home town newspaper still uses the couple of D2Hs that they bought new. Like most other newspapers, they are dying a slow and painful death. 4mp is plenty even for a half page color at newspaper quality. I'll take a close look at the next largish color photo they publish, as I can usually spot photos from a D2H thanks to the peculiar highlight handling(AFAIK, the D2H was the only commercial DSLR with Nikon's LBCAST sensor, and I'd guess that's why the their rendition is so unique).

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