best software to get

[greg_elliott2]

<p>hello everyone,</p>

<p>i have a D300 and i want to know what the best software is, for making adjustments to my photos, i have an apple mac which is running Mac OS X version 10.5.6.<br>

apple have got there own photo editing software but is it as good? compared to nikons captureNX2 OR PHOTOSHOP and do both of these programs work on a mac, if so which is the best ?<br>

thank you <br>

greg </p>

<p>(IS THE BUILT IN DUST REMOVER ANY GOOD??)</p>

[Rene11664880918]

<p>Most people just more than 1 software. NX2 will give you the best results on your RAW files but it is limitid. You can't do all the things you can with other softwares.<br>

You can try them all for free. they all have a 30 days trial. Nikon NX2, Apple Aperture 2 and Adobe Lightroom 2. These are the most popular. Some other people use Adobe Photoshop too which is much more expensive.<br>

All the softwares I mentioned can be used on Macs. good luck!</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>You can download free trial copies of NX2 (from the Nikon web site) and Photoshop (from Adobe's web site), and give them a test - to see how they behave on your particular computer hardware and operating system configuration. No cost except your time - and you'll learn a lot by taking them for a test drive.<br /><br />NX2 "understands" what's coming out of your D300 very well, if you're shooting RAW files (which you should, if you intend to do a lot of fiddling with the images). But if you're shooting right to JPG files, it starts to matter less.<br /><br />There are some big budget differences, too. PS comes in different flavors at different prices.</p>

[ellis_vener_photography]

<p>I would choose Adobe Photoshop Lightroom as a general image processing and database cataloging software. Capture NX2 on my Mac (also running OS X 10.5.6) is much faster now than when I tried it last year. Apple's Aperture program is alkso very good but frankly I never really got on top of it ( so little time , so many programs) and Lightroom integrates very nicely with Photoshop CS4.</p>

<p>A really good guide to an efficient workflow with Lightroom was published last year by Seth Resnick & Jamie Spitzer last year, "The Photoshop Lightroom Workbook".</p>

[rarmstrong]

<p>Greg, I use Aperture 2.1 on my 24 inch iMac running Mac OS X. It supports the RAW files from my D300 and is very intuitive as you would expect from an Apple application. You can get a free trial from the Aperture web site. I'm very pleased with it. I have Photoshop CS3 on my work computer and I'd much rather use Aperture.<br>

You asked if the built in dust remover is any good...I've had my D300 for a year with about 10,000 shutter releases and lots of lens changes and I have not noticed any sensor dust specks yet.</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>I went through the same process as you, and settled on Apple Aperture 2. I was previously using Photoshop Elements 3. I think Lightroom is the other logical choice. The learning curve is the big investment. Using 2 or more applications really increases that investment. If you needed Creative Suites, you wouldn't ask the question as you did. In other words, you would have some expertise that revealed the limits of Lightroom and Aperture (or even Elements) to you.</p>

[greg_elliott2]

<p>ok great i will try out some of the trial copys. thank you very much for your response i will get back to you and tell u how i get on.<br>

have a great 2009 everyone cheers </p>

[Rene11664880918]

<p>OK! I use Aperture myself but Elis is right, I think the best is lighroom. it is also much easier to use, i think! I just hate adobe japan and that is why i use aperture</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Does Aperture have a writing tool?</p>

[david_mccormick]

<p>I use a combination of Capture NX2, DxO Optics Pro, and Photoshop.</p>

<p>Capture NX2 (http://www.niksoftware.com/cepnx/usa/entry.php?view=intro/capturenx.shtml) has the best Raw converter by all reports, and also has the amazingly helpful U Point selection technology (which Nik Software sells as the Viveza Photoshop plugin for $200 (http://www.niksoftware.com/viveza/usa/entry.php)).</p>

<p>If you go with the Capture NX, I recommend Jason Odell's <em>The Photographer's Guide to Capture NX2</em> ( http://www.luminescentphoto.com/nx2guide.html). He's one of the Nikonian Image Doctor podcasters. It has a nice explanation of how to really use the product and how to do specific things in the workflow (like emulating a neutral density filter).</p>

<p>Mostly I use DxO Optics Pro for image quality and speed of the workflow. Although the program can be buggy at times, it has a host of tools in one place that are really useful, like body- and lens-specific geometric and image aberration corrections, astoundingly good noise reduction (especially at high ISO), good batch processing, and lot's of little things that improve the images. Raw conversions have been better than Photoshop to date, but I can't vouch for that right now.</p>

<p>http://www.dxo.com/us/photo/dxo_optics_pro</p>

<p>they have a trial version and they have a 1/3 off sale at the moment, which brings it to $110 for a D300.</p>

<p>You might even consider Photoshop Elements (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac), which has an interface customized for the digital photography workflow, but has most of the power of Photoshop with much less of the overwealm and is much less expensive (~$100). For example, Elements has all the photomerging for panoramas that Photoshop does. It has an interface that walks you through common image correction workflow steps. And the selection tools (magic lasso, etc.) for masking are exactly the same as in Photoshop, and these are better than most of the selection/masking tools in other products. However, the Nik U Point selection tools is the best I've ever seen for selecting based on image texture.</p>

<p>I had been using Elements on Windows, but got a sidegrade to Photoshop CS3 on the Mac. I find Photoshop to be overwealming and I don't always know where to start, but that's why we have a slew of books on how to use it for digital photography (eg, Scott Kelby books).</p>

<p>All the software packages are somewhat complementary.</p>

<p>Your milage may vary....</p>

[vivid_earth_photographics]

<p>I have a Mac and use NX2 for RAW conversion and tweaks (which is all I do for most pix) and then Photoshop Elements for more involved work (healing, cloning, layers). I find the iPhoto software okay, but iPhoto's shadow recovery is kind of brutal IMO. The organization function of iPhoto is fun and decent, but exporting pix to other software or for uploading to a service or basically anywhere out of iPhoto is a little cumbersome and inelegant. It could just be me, but I understand why someone who does a lot of photography would get frustrated with it. I'm in process of moving now, but when I settle and have a dedicated workspace again, I'll be unlikely to stick with iPhoto as I get more serious again. </p>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

<p>I have a firend who just changed over to a Mac & he's tried different software - - he went back to NX2 for IQ.<br>

Lil :-)</p>

[galileo42]

<p>I am sorry, but I don't understand this theory that only NX2 will «understand» your original Raw file. Since you're going to tweak the file anyway before converting it to jpeg or tif or whatever, you will achieve the same end result with any good Raw converter that can read Nikon Nef. And since we're talking Raw files here, what is there to «understand» that other programs can't understand? It's a... raw file after all, isn't? NX is horribly sluggish (on my Power Mac G5 runing OS 10.4, anyway), has a convoluted and undecipherable interface, and has a nasty habit of changing the parameters of a previous «step» when going to the next «step» (try to rotale a file, then do some more adjustments after that, you'll understand what I mean). And, above all, you can't make last minute minor adjustments to individual files in a batch before launching the batch process. Now, is that silly or what? I have seen nothing in the trial version of NX2 that says it's any different. I try to avoid ANY piece of Nikon software at all costs. For me it's either Lightroom 2 or ACR 4.6. Then PS CS3.<br>

YMMV.</p>

[Ed_Ingold]

<p>I recommend Adobe Lightroom as the best program to process images, with Photoshop as a backup for things you can't do in Lightroom (e.g., masking and compositing). Aperture will do in a pinch, but Lightroom is faster and better.</p>

<p>It's possible that Nikon Capture NX does a better job reading and interpreting in-camera settings. It is far too limited (and slooow) to serve as a general editing program. Capture is fine if you want your RAW files to match JPEG images from the same camera. I have not bothered to set or even check these settings in the last two generations of Nikon DSLR's I've owned - they only apply to JPEGs and I only shoot RAW.</p>

[martin_aspeli]

<p>I'd vote for Lightroom 2. It really is an excellent piece of software with very good UI and a natural workflow. Unless you have very specific needs, then I doubt you'll find the need for anything more. If you do, it'll probably be Photoshop or another more specialist editor, which would complement Lightroom if and when you need it.</p>

[paul_tobin1]

<p>David, how do you manage the workflow with NX2, DXO and Photoshop? Recently I've been wrestling with this. iPhoto image management is becoming too limited for me. I've used DXO fairly successfully, and like it for batch corrections to multiple images, especially the lens distortion correction and DXO lighting. I also use it for some more detailed work on the better photos. Its image management system is lacking, my preference Aperture for that because it integrates with the other Mac apps, and it has editing capabilities that are good enough for most (of my) final adjustments. When needed I've also got PS elements for making local (non-global) image edits. <br>

Of course these apps don't work together so managing images and which is in which state of processing is my dilemma.</p>

[rjacksonphoto]

<p>I used a full version of Photoshop for years (PS7) but find that I can do pretty much all I need with PS Elements and a much reduced price. I use NX2 for RAW conversion.</p>

[galileo42]

<p>Let me add that the new local retouching tools in LR 2.2 are, in my view, better than the Nik's U-Point thing. </p>

[jose_angel]

<p>Michael, I really hated NX on my previous old, low RAM PC and now love a way faster NX2 on my full RAM, good graphic card current 10.5 iMac.<br />I think "understand" mean, e.g., that same settings can be done either on NX-NX2 or in the Nikon camera with equal results. Don`t know if it worths nothing. Don`t know if there is anything more about camera info on NX-NX2 too.<br />I have read (and I believe they are reputable testers) that even the latest PS runs a slightly bit faster on the new 4Gb Core2Duo iMacs than even on the current 8 core standard MacPros.</p>

[seismiccwave]

<p>Greg, how serious are you about learning to use the software. If you want to do some real simple adjustment you can use the edit function in iPhoto on your Mac. If you are really serious and willing to learn including taking classes I say there is not a more flexible software than Photoshop CS-4. However the learning curve is steep and you have to be disciplined to use it.<br>

Then there are all the other software that falls somewhere in between as far as usefulness and difficulty to use.</p>

<p>My vote goes to Lightroom and Photoshop CS3 or 4. the best and most fast and intelligent choice.<br /> It´s my belief that your skill in editing your picturefiles really sets the limit, not the camera or lenschoice. We´re all doing this for the picture, right? My efford and energy is aimed at learning editing so that I better can express myself in my pictures and I, for myself, still have a long journey to go.</p>

[david_mccormick]

<p>Paul:<br /><br />I forgot to mention the other piece of software in the workflow: Photo Mechanic (<a href="http://www.camerabits.com/site/index.html">http://www.camerabits.com</a>). I use that for the ingestion, tagging, adding IPTC data, rating, and bulk resizing and emailing. I love it because it's very fast to do these image management tasks. It is not an indexing utility, which I think is one of Lightroom's strong points. But if you are disciplined about how you organize your folders, you can always get to stuff with standard Mac indexing and searching.</p>

<p>One thing that Photoshop Elements allow you do is to search for images based on image similarity, which can be quite useful. I don't know if that's in Lightroom.</p>

<p>I have not used Lightroom or Aperture, so I can't speak to whether the retouching tools are better in that that with the Nik U Point. NX2 does have the dust-removal tool. </p>

<p>I agree that the NX2 interface is non-standard and it seems slower than other programs. </p>

<p>As to the Raw conversion issue, there have been many threads on whether NX conversion is better than Adobe Camera Raw vs. DxO vs. other converters. The issue is that the Raw formats are proprietary to the camera makers and companies like Adobe, DxO, and open source people have to reverse engineer the format to build their converters. That's one reason why there is a delay between when Nikon releases a new camera and an Adobe Raw converter will appear for that camera. It's available immediately for Capture NX. Having said that, DxO output seems great. I have not used the Adobe Camera Raw conversion. </p>

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

<p>I've found that NX 2 is excellent. Many photos never have to go into other programs for edits.</p>