Comparing RAW/NEF converter

[rubens_t_vora]

Would someone explain me how those converters of the market could interfere in

integrity and photo's quality? I've been using Lightroom.

 

Thom Hogan has a article that compares only (http://www.bythom.com/raw.htm) -

Photoshop & Lightroom / Bibble / Nikon Capture NX / PhaseOne but we still have

DXO, ACDSee, and may be others.

 

Question:

 

1) Who is the best choose and way to preseve the integrity of the NEF files?

2) Second step - after captured and sending to PS - may I have to export in DNG

or in PSD. Again looking for best quality?

 

Thanks, Rubens

[russ_konrad]

The only RAW converter that can read ALL your camera settings is Capture NX.

[mjt]

i have to agree with Russ ... if you need to PP in a "NEF-dedicated" manner, then Capture NX is the only way. personally, i use Lightroom for about 70% of my work. the balance falls to NX, for "critical" work.

 

i have the same issue with my S5 Pro. although Adobe claims Lightroom supports the S5's RAF (raw) file format, it certainly does not support it 100%, so i have to use HyperUtility (Fuji's RAW converter) for those raw images that need critical tweaking. and believe me, HU is dog slow, which hinders effective PP work.

[ronald_moravec1]

If you go to RAW THERAPY site you will see comparisons.

 

NX is most valuable for high ISO images.

 

Adobe Lightroom is very fast. ACR brings you right into photoshop and has the same converter as Lightroom.

 

Since I rarely use high ISO and do portraits, family, and landscapes,

I use ACR, photoshop, and am considering NX, but my trial was dog slow on the old computer. I`ll see how it goes on new iMac.

NX editing tools are different than ps, but the U_Point controls are sometimes nice.

[joseph_smith3]

The more I use U points the more I love NX. I will admit I do not know how to use the PS 7 version that I have. Joe Smith

[rubens_t_vora]

Thanks for help! But If I use NX as a converter to my D2H NEF files and send this NEF files to ligtroom for Post Processing, what do I get? Still best quality ?

[lex_jenkins]

I tested a few NEF converters for my D2H files a couple of years ago. I think the comparison photos are still available on my photo.net gallery space.

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=554193

 

In short, Nikon software rendered NEFs the best. The promising but ultimately doomed RawShooter was the least satisfactory. (Again, I'm talking only about D2H NEFs. Other folks were happy with RawShooter.) Bibble was pretty good. Irfanview rendered NEFs fairly soft and flat, but heck, it's free and does quick batch processing. Nikon's free software is s-l-o-w.

 

For maximum quality but low quantity I'd go with Nikon software for straightforward photo editing. But if you need to do a lot of post processing or creative stuff it's still pretty much Photoshop or nothing.

[marco_p1]

I am happy with Capture NX and use it for all my photo editing. I like the idea of shooting raw and then have just one file which can be edited and printed at my liking without altering the original data. Admittedly I only apply minor tweaks to my images, the most invasive being the removal of the occasional sensor dust. Bye, Marco