RAW NEF + Nikon Capture = Camera processed JPG?

[jasonang]

I'm just starting to experiment with the RAW workflow. I was

wondering if Nikon Capture reads all the NEF's meta-tags and produces

the same image as if the camera writes to a JPG file.

 

I'm used to the in-camera processing options. While I'm playing with

NEF files, I would like to get back "what I expect" from in-camera

processing without spending a lot of time fiddling with controls.

 

Also, does Nikon Capture process images differently depending on the

camera model? It seems to me that different models process their

images differently.

[bernard_frank]

I'm not sure I understand your question, but why do you bother shooting in Raw? Just

shoot in Jpeg if you want to get an in-camera processed Jpeg file.

 

I guess NC and in-camera software work the same, only NC offers you almost total control

on adjustments whereas in-camera adjustments are pretty much pre-defined.

 

Also, I suppose NC processes Raw images differently not depending on camera model, but

on sensor type.

[frank_skomial]

While in-camera JPG processor takes advantage of the built-in knowledge database of thousands of shooting scenarios, user of Nikon Capture usually has no such a knowledge or experience.

[ellis_vener_photography]

<I>I was wondering if Nikon Capture reads all the NEF's meta-tags and produces the same

image as if the camera writes to a JPG file.</I><P> No it doesn't on at least three

counts.<P> 1.)There is no compression. Even with in camera JPEGS there is JPEG

compression, at best --fine / large --it is about a 1:4 compression ratio.

2.) You are getting a full 12 bit (which NC outputs as a 16 per channel) data set

image.<P>3.) Full control of image attributes.<P>4.) You can come back tothe "raw" NEFS

later and decide that you wantto process them either slightly or radically differently.<P>

<I> I would like to get back "what I expect" from in-camera processing without spending a

lot of time fiddling with controls.</I><P>Then don't touch any of the image settings and

choose to output as an 8 bit per channel TIFF or JPEG. Did you know that you can decide

that you want a particular set of processing instructions for one image to apply to a large

number of images? Set your processign parameters and save those settings. When you go

to those images you want "batch processed' choose them and load your saved set of

parameters and apply them. It is also not a good idea to rely on "what you expect if what

you expect is what you saw o the cameras tiny LCD monitor.<P><I>Also, does Nikon

Capture process images differently depending on the camera model? It seems to me that

different models process their images differently. </I><P> This is correct. it does because

each different camera model (D1, D1X, D1H, D2X, D2H, D2Hs, D100, D70, D70s, D50,

etc.) have different firmware or either different sensors and firmware so files from these

different camera types have different instruction sets in their meta-data that Nikon

Capture (or Photoshop, or Capture One , or Bibble Pro, etc.) process the images to those

parameters. This is true of every camera manufacturer that makes different camera

models.<P>You may decide that shooting and processing NEFs to get ultimate image

quality just isn't worth for you or appropriate for all the types of photography that you do.

If that is the case shoot JPEGs and be done with it. <U>As long as you know what you are

not getting</U> there is inherently nothing wrong with this approach. Not even Ansel

Adams always shot with large format film and cameras. Think of deciding between NEF

and JPEG the same way he did-- as choosing the appropriate tool for the job at hand.

[joseph_wisniewski]

Jason, do you have a relatively new Nikon DSLR (D70, D70s, D50, D2X, D2H)? On those cameras, each NEF files contains a "camera processed" JPEG built into it for preview. If you use a program called "preview extractor" you can copy this JPEG out of the NEF and look at it, without having Nikon Capture convert it for you.

 

http://drchung.new21.net/previewextractor/

 

That will get you exactly what you'd get from the in-camera JPEG, for comparison to the NEF.

 

To answer your other questions, the algorithms in Nikon Capture are more sophisticated than those in the camera, and the control settings are more detailed. While in camera sharpening has five settings (basically extra sharp, sharp, normal, soft, and extra soft), Nikon Capture uses unsharp mask with a near infinite combination of strength, radius, threshold settings. So you might do an in-camera JPEG with the sharp setting, but the NC equivelant (strength 65, radius 3, threshold 10, for example) will look close, but not exact.

 

Everything that's done "in camera" is designed to fit in 1/3 second of processing time on a 200MHz processor. The Nikon Capture stuff can take up 10's of seconds on processors 10x faster than the one in te camera. That's why NC can do things like D-lighting, which don't really "fit" in the camera.

 

And yes, different cameras process images differently, and NC doesn't really duplicate that effect.

[joseph_wisniewski]

Frank, the camera's "built-in knowledge database of thousands of shooting scenarios" only affects the exposure metering system. JPEG conversion through NC typically produces much better results than in-camera JPEG. In-camera, you've got 1/3 second of the 200Mhz (more or less) camera processor. NC on the desktop can use 10x (or even 100x) longer time at processor speeds up to 20x that of the camera.

[SCL]

Jason - I futzed around with JPEG vs RAW NEF for about a year, then attended a Nikon School Workflow seminar, with about 200 other pros & amateurs. What I saw there convinced me that, FOR MY WORK, RAW was the way to go in that it provided more flexibility without subsequent image degradation. For some of my cohorts, it reconfirmed for them that JPEG was the right choice for their workflow. I suggest you either try a workflow seminar or spend several hours with an experienced photographer who has used these tools extensively to help you make the choice of what is best for you.

[jasonang]

Thanks everyone for clearing that up. The reason why I'm experimenting with shooting RAW is I would like the option of doing my own processing when I'm printing large images. However, this would happen for maybe 5% or less of my shots. For the other 95%, I would like to batch process them with the settings I set on the camera like Ellis says. I don't produce enough "keepers" to justify adjusting all my images manually so processing "the rest" with the camera's sharpening, tone, saturation, etc... settings would save me a lot of time.

 

Thanks again!

[jay_blocksom]

<BLOCKQUOTE><I><B>Jason Ang, jul 07, 2005; 09:19 a.m.</B>

<br>

I'm just starting to experiment with the RAW workflow. I was wondering if Nikon Capture reads all the NEF's meta-tags and produces the same image as if the camera writes to a JPG file.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Well, "Yes and no".  It's not "the same" -- it's *better*.  The NEF format retains *more* of the original data than JPEG ever possibly could.  So producing "the same image as if the camera writes to a JPG file" is not really a valid or desirable goal (at least in the long term -- see below).

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><I>

I'm used to the in-camera processing options. While I'm playing with NEF files, I would like to get back "what I expect" from in-camera processing without spending a lot of time fiddling with controls.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

That's certainly easy enough to do, provided you go about it the right way.

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Since it appears that you're just now "dipping your toe into" Nikon Capture, .NEF files, and the myriad of possibilities that a "serious" post-processing workflow can provide, I would suggest that you start by:

 

<ul>

<LI>

a.) setting up the camera to produce the best possible NEF-format "digital negatives" (so to speak), then

</LI>

<LI>

b.) defining, then saving off, a default set of "Image Adjustment" settings in Nikon Capture, so you can

</LI>

<LI>

c.) routinely use this "adjustment set" to batch-convert your fresh-from-the camera NEF files to JPEG.

</LI>

</ul>

 

This will near-painlessly provide the closest equivalent to "in-camera JPEG", without obviating the possibility of doing better by those images later, after you've learned what you're doing.  And (presuming you choose your default "Image Adjustment" settings wisely), the resulting JPEG files will be, if anything, *better* than those produced by the in-camera JPEG-conversion algorithm (albeit, probably marginally so).

<br>

<br>

To flesh out that explanation a bit...  That first part "a.)" mostly means

 

<ul>

<LI>

*ALWAYS* shoot in "P", "S", "A" or "M" mode, never in "Auto", and no more than rarely (if at all) in any of the other "Digital Vari-Program" modes such as "Portrait", "Landscape", etc.

</LI>

<LI>

Set "Optimize Image" (Shooting Menu, Item #1) to "Custom", with the following sub-settings:

<ul>

<LI>

Sharpening:  "None".

</LI>

<LI>

Tone Compensation:  "Custom" if you have created (or downloaded) and applied a custom curve; "Normal" (or *maybe* "Auto") if you haven't.

</LI>

<LI>

Color Mode:  "Ia (sRGB)", unless you plan to process the images in Adobe Photoshop; "II (Adobe RGB)" if you do.

</LI>

<LI>

Saturation:  "Moderate" or "Normal" (preferably the former).

</LI>

<LI>

Hue:  "0-degrees", unless you have a good reason to change it.

</LI>

</ul>

 

</LI>

<LI>

Set "Image Quality" (Shooting Menu, Item #3) to "NEF (Raw)" (you can also use "NEF + JPEG Basic"; but this is mostly just a waste of CF-card space).

</LI>

<LI>

Set "White Balance" (Shooting Menu, Item #4) to "Preset" (after doing the appropriate setup, of course).

</LI>

<LI>

Set "ISO Auto" (Custom Settings Menu, Item #5) to "OFF"

</LI>

<LI>

Set "ISO" (Shooting Menu, Item #5) to 200 -- unless you absolutely *need* to go higher to "get the shot" under unfavorable conditions; then set it back to 200 as soon as you are no longer operating under those bad conditions.

</LI>

</ul>

 

That should get you to the point where you're making good usable NEF files, which will be your best "base" for further "image enhancement" work now or in the future.

<br>

<br>

But as you said, "for now" you don't want to have to deal with a lot of individual editing chores, which brings us to that part "b.)" mentioned above.  Basically, you're going to want to create an "Image Adjustments" set which UN-does all those setting changes you just made in the camera, so that the resulting batch-produced JPEGs will be more-or-less equivalent to shooting in "all-default auto-everything" mode with the camera converting to JPEG on the fly.

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<br>

So start by noting any non-default camera settings you had already chosen (i.e., before making the changes suggested above) to suit your particular shooting style, then go through the various settings in Nikon Capture, and set them to either the equivalent to the camera's default, or to your "preferred" setting, as the case may be.  This will likely mostly involve the "Advanced RAW" tool on "Tool Palette 2", where you'll (probably) want to use "Normal" (or *maybe* "Medium High") Sharpening, "Normal" Tone Compensation, Color Mode I (sRGB), and "Normal" Saturation.  You may also want to tweak the "White Balance" tool, depending on the lighting conditions you normally shoot under, and/or whether or not you've done a Gray Point calibration based on an 18% Gray card.

<br>

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With all of the other image-adjustment "tools" set to "OFF" (i.e., with a red "X" in the checkbox, instead of a green "check-mark"), you can now go to the pull-down menus and use [settings | Image Adjustments | Save All Adjustments] and save this "adjustment set" under a unique name, such as BATCH_01.set.

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Now, each time you transfer a batch of freshly-minted .NEF files from your camera or CF card-reader to your HDD, you can fire up Capture, and with just three mouse-clicks (the [Tools | Batch] menu item, then the "Start" button), create all the JPEGs in one fell swoop (but see the NOTE immediately below before doing this the first time!).  You will then want to move *both* the original NEFs and the JPEGs to wherever their "permanent resting places" will be, based on whatever archiving scheme floats your boat.

<br>

<br>

NOTE:  The *first* time you use Capture's [Tools | Batch] menu item to initiate one of these batch conversion sessions, you'll have a small bit of "setup" work to do, in order to make it fit this workflow scheme.  It's not difficult or onerous; but get it wrong, and all bets are off...

<br>

<br>

The first thing you need to do here is decide on (and create on your HDD, using Windows Explorer or similar) two dedicated subdirectories (or "folders", in MacSpeak/WinSpeak) to use for a.) dumping new .NEF files into from the CF-card (or the camera itself; but I *strongly* recommend the use of a CF-card reader, as opposed to routinely lashing the camera to the computer via USB), and b.) for Capture to output the batch JPEG conversions to (for example, I use M:\PIX\NikonD70\CF-IMPORT and M:\PIX\NikonD70\PREVIEW, respectively).  Once this is done, then be consistent about *always* using these particular directories for these particular purposes (and nothing else), which will simplify things significantly in your day-to-day use of the system.

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Now, as for the rest of that "setup"...

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Under "Source", use the "Browse" button to set the data field to the path/filename of that first dedicated directory (i.e., M:\PIX\NikonD70\CF-IMPORT, in my example above).  I would suggest that the "Include subfolders" checkbox be checked, on general principles; but this isn't critical if you always dump all your .NEF files directly into that one directory.

<br>

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Under "Image Adjustments", make sure that the "Apply settings in" radio button is selected, then use the "Browse" button to set the data field set to the path/filename of wherever you saved off your "default" Image Adjustments Set (BATCH_01.set, in the example I gave earlier).

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Under "Destination", ensure that the "Use source folder" checkbox is NOT checked, and that the "Use source file name" checkbox IS checked.  Then use the "Browse" button to set the data field to the path/filename of that dedicated "output" directory discussed above.  You'll want "Save as type:" to be "JPEG Format"; and the secondary selector pull-down should be set to "Excellent Quality", if you intend to use these JPEG files for printing or similar.  "Bit Depth" will then be automatically set to "8-bit" (the only choice with JPEG).

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Now press the "Start" Button, and let 'er rip!

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(Yes, from here on out, Capture will "remember" these settings each time you use the "Batch" function, as long as you don't change them in the meantime.)

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I realize that my rather long-winded explanations here made all this seem rather complicated; but really, it isn't, once you get used to it -- and getting used to it is NOT difficult.  I suggest you print out this thread, so as to have these instructions handy to refer to while you do the setup work and through the first couple of batch conversion sessions.  By that point, it should all seem rather intuitively obvious.  The benefits of shooting in NEF format are manifold; and just as importantly, what you "throw away" by shooting in JPEG is *permanently* gone, with no recovery ever possible.  So it's well worth learning to use these tools properly and effectively, even if it *seems* a little daunting at first.

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Good luck.

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[jay_blocksom]

<BLOCKQUOTE><I><B>Jason Ang, jul 07, 2005; 11:02 p.m.</B>

<br>

Thanks everyone for clearing that up.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

I didn't see your follow-up post until after I posted my earlier response (which I was still writing when you posted this).  So a couple of further comments are in order...

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><I>

The reason why I'm experimenting with shooting RAW is I would like the option of doing my own processing when I'm printing large images.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

It's not just those times when "doing [your] own processing" is useful.  But fine, if that's how you want to look at it.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE><I>

However, this would happen for maybe 5% or less of my shots. For the other 95%, I would like to batch process them with the settings I set on the camera like Ellis says. I don't produce enough "keepers" to justify adjusting all my images manually so processing "the rest" with the camera's sharpening, tone, saturation, etc... settings would save me a lot of time.

</I></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

This is where your logic is derailing.

<br>

<br>

Notwithstanding the initial setup work (which, as I noted before, is really NOT anywhere near as difficult or complex as I surely made it sound), once you're set up to routinely shoot NEF, it takes next-to-zero additional time (on your part -- the computer's time is another story) to do routine batch-oriented post-processing with Nikon Capture.  Either way, you download the images from the camera or card to the computer's HDD.  Then it's just a matter of firing up Capture, making three mouse-clicks, and walking away for awhile while the computer churns (the definition of "awhile" will vary greatly here depending on both the power/speed of your system, and how many images are in the batch).  Once that's done, you use Windows Explorer or similar to move *both* the NEFs and the JPEGs to their permanent home(s); this is a simple "drag & drop" operation, executed twice (once for each set of files, NEF and JPEG) in a matter of a few seconds, tops.  Bingo -- you're DONE.

<br>

<br>

It really is just that simple and painless.  And adopting this approach pays off BIG dividends in terms of retaining the best-possible quality on those images you *do* want to spend the time on to get "Just Right".  As I said before, if you shoot in JPEG, you have *already* thrown away a significant chunk of image detail and down-the-road editing flexibility, which you can NEVER get back.

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Bottom Line:  Shooting in NEF is the ONLY way to go.

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<br>

[jasonang]

Hey Jay,

 

Thanks for the details. What you suggest sounds like what I want to do. I'll give it a go.