NEF to JPG: ViewNX or CaptureNX2?

[kevin_peng1]

<p>I realize that NEF conversion seems to be rehashed at least as often as every month, but since a casual search didn't turn up an answer, I wanted to ask the question here: which is better, ViewNX or CaptureNX2, for converting RAW to JPG?<br /> <br /> Thanks</p>

[z_newbie]

<p>Adobe Lightroom......</p>

[monika_epsefass]

<p>Zeeshan, this was definitely <strong>not </strong> an answer to the question.<br>

<br /> Kevin, if you just want a general conversion, ViewNX is OK - it has the most common adjustments. If you want to go more in depth and really push a bit, adjust colours by small areas etc., go for CaptureNX, which can offer stunning results. Both are a bit slowish, though.</p>

[maulindu]

<p>I agree with Monika. Capture NX may be slow and sometimes buggy, but for Nikon RAW conversion, this is the ultimate tool one can have.</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Zeeahan, I agree.</p>

<p>Lightroom works great for me. And has a lot of other stuff going for it. I'd check it out. It's a free trial anyway.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>If you need convert a group of NEF files, ViewNX is the way to go.</p>

[pete_harlan1]

<p>I'd love to know why so many people bemoan how slow or sluggish Capture NX is?</p>

<p>I don't find this to be the case at all.<br>

I am not running anything special in the way of computing power. (AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4800)</p>

<p>My guess is that too many people simply read some article by some guy who feeds this non-sense for general consumption and then it is regurgitated all over the place as though it were the gospel truth. Or; there are people who buy their computer at the XYZ mega-store which is already crippled from the start with all the useless programs already installed, engorging memory and the registry.</p>

<p>If anything, I find Adobe PS VERY slow; esp when applying any sort of filter function.</p>

[will_daniel1]

<p>Kevin,</p>

<p>I had been using ViewNX for a while with great results. I recently bought CaptureNX2 and don't see a noticeable difference in conversion speed. (By the way, version 2.2 is now available for download.)</p>

<p>Will</p>

[photo5]

<p>Capture NX2 is unmatched in quality in my experience. Haven't tested CS4 too much, but NX2 beats CS3 in my testing.</p>

[joseph_leotta]

<p>I vote for capture NX<br>

Nikon software for a Nikon designed file</p>

[digidave2]

<p>Did I miss something here? The original question was on "Converting" RAW to jpg. It doesn't ask which is better for adjustments or pixel manipulation.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>I wanted to ask the question here: which is better, ViewNX or CaptureNX2, for converting RAW to JPG?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The answer to this would be, they are equal because they both use the same conversion engine. Please correct me if I'm wrong because I certainly am not a computer guru.</p>

[curt wiler]

<blockquote>

<p>which is better, ViewNX or CaptureNX2, for converting RAW to JPG?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>It depends on what you are trying to do. CaptureNX2 is by far the "better" program in terms of making adjustments to the images, but ViewNX is quite adequate for simple conversions. Both can read the Picture Control camera settings and apply them to the output, which Lightroom and other non-Nikon software cannot, except for white balance. Without this control, you are losing much of the capability of the Nikon system. Since ViewNX is free, it is a good place to start, but eventually you will probably want the power of Capture NX2.</p>

[Raymond W]

<p>Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think we can do bulk conversion with ViewNX and with Capture NX, we can only do conversion one by one. </p>

[gary payne]

<p>Capture NX2 has a batch process for converting NEF to JPG, works great.</p>

[john_demott]

<p>Both programs use the same raw conversion engine, i.e., the same de-mosaicing algorithm, but Capture NX2 offers many more possible adjustments. So, if you need only the very limited adjustments available with View NX, the two programs are identical...neither is better. If you need more sophisticated editing, then Capture NX2 is the clear winner. Capture NX2 has a batch processing mode but that is not the strong suit of the program.</p>

[kevin_peng1]

<p>Thank you for all the responses! Yup, I wanted to know specifically about the two pieces of Nikon software, but I appreciate the input re Lightroom. The information about CaptureNX2 is also very helpful. I am curious about Elliot, Gary, and John's comments:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>If you need convert a group of NEF files, ViewNX is the way to go.</p>

</blockquote>

<blockquote>

<p>Capture NX2 has a batch process for converting NEF to JPG, works great.</p>

</blockquote>

<blockquote>

<p>Capture NX2 has a batch processing mode but that is not the strong suit of the program.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Does this mean that both CaptureNX2 and ViewNX have functions for converting a batch of files? If so, which program has the better batch processing tool?</p>

[cc_chang2]

<p>ViewNX is free but you need to pay to get CaptureNX2. If you just want to do basic modification and then convert to JPEG/TIFF, ViewNX is great b/c it is FREE.</p>

<p>If you plan to perform a lot of modification and editing that go beyond the basic changes in exposure, WB, etc, then you need to buy CaptureNX or Photoshop, or whatever to do that. I have not compared PS CS4 with ViewNX, but when I compared CS2 to ViewNX, I found the images converted by the latter are sharper with more vibrant/warmer color. I thus believe that the Nikon software still does a better job in converting their own NEF files than other third party's products. However if you already have image editing software, I would suggest to use the free ViewNX to convert to TIFF and then edit in your program of choice. I think the initial conversion should be done using Nikon software.</p>

<p>I know you can batch convert in ViewNX. To do so, I usually assign the pictures that I need with a star, and then ask the program to show only files marked by one star. Select all those files and then convert. I think you can batch mod as well but I have not yet tried.</p>

[john_demott]

<p>I find that the user interface of View NX makes it a little simpler to do basic operations like selecting a few files, applying a simple adjustment like a white balance correction and saving the files. But if you need to make more complex adjustments, then only Capture NX2 will do the job. Both will handle a simple batch conversion from NEF to jpeg. View NX is free and Capture NX2 has a free trial...why don't you try them yourself?</p>

[joseph_smith3]

<p>Kevin, Yes, this question has been asked and answered many , many times. <br>

Nikon software is the only software out there that will read the settings you made in your camera at the time of image capture--except for one exception, white balance. So if you want to preserve this info and have it represetned in your processed JPEGs you have to convert them with Nikon software. Lightroom will not do it. CS4 will not do it. So you have two choices, View NX or Capture NX2. I know that NX2 can create JPEGs in batches, or one by one. Others have said that View NX can do it too. I use both packages, View NX as a browser and NX2 as my processor for my NEF images. <br>

Lightroom and CS4 are great products. If you are an expert in one of them, already own it and are willing to add back the info not read by them thru extra processing steps, then use them. The choice is yours. I have PS 7. I rarely use it in that I have no real need to use it accept to add my copyright to my prints. <br>

Joe Smith</p>

[curt wiler]

<p>For a batch conversion in CaptureNX2, you first open one image file and walk through the steps to convert to a jpeg. These adjustments can be simple (open, resize, convert to sRGB, save as jpeg), or more complex and specific to a camera and type of image - open, apply tone control for landscape and sharpening for D300, ..... etc. Then save this as an "Adjustment" file (like "Save Copyright 800x800 sRGB.set"). This can then be applied to a number of files, or an entire directory by invoking it through the "Batch > Run Batch Process" command. For instance, I have an Adjustment file that I run in Batch mode to convert thousands of files for copyright submittal. It takes a few hours, and I usually run it at night, but next morning the jpegs are sitting in a new directory ready to go.</p>

[nsfbr]

<p>Okay, I'll try to answer this question based on what I do.<br>

When I shoot, it is NEF + Jpg (small, fine). If I want really small jpgs (meaning computer screen sized or less) of the original image (before ANY touchups) I use ViewNX directly. This is also very useful if I want to change the image from Adobe to sRGB.<br>

However, ViewNX can not handle NEFs that have been edited in Capture NX, so when I edit my images, I save BOTH the NEF, and a Jpg of the edited image, back to the same folder where the originals are kept. In doing so I lose the originally saved Jpg created by the camera. However, this allows me to still create those smaller Jpgs with ViewNX.<br>

So...in my workflow, I only really use Capture to go from NEF to Jpg, but I use ViewNX to go from Jpg1 to Jpg2, etc. And no, I don't think the degradation of making a jpg from a jpg is noticeable. All of my initial saving from NEF is at 100% quality, and all jpgs I produce from them are one generation removed - ie, I don't make jpgs from the jpgs that I made from jpgs.<br>

The only real departure from this is when I make prints. In that case I make the print file directly from the NEF in Capture - and I save this file, with the printer profile as a specific named file that has both the size it was made for and the printer it is targeted at.</p>

[gary payne]

<p>Kevin - everyone has their own preferred workflow. I shoot ONLY NEF. I download and save on two separate disk using Nikon Transfer. I use Nikon ViewNX as a viewer, and to review images and downselect images. I edit using Nikon Capture NX2 and save the edited NEF files, renamed. Once I'm happy with the edits, I use the batch process in NX2 to convert the edited NEF to JPG and place them in a separate file. That edited JPG file can then be used to print, resize for web, e-mail, crop, or whatever. The Original NEF, the Edited NEFs are also saved for "just in case" efforts. The "Run Batch Process" under Batch in NX2 is fairly sophisticated and can do a lot. But, to convert a group of images from NEF to either TIF or JPG is a really simply exercise. Hope this helps.</p>

[cc_chang2]

<blockquote>

<p>This can then be applied to a number of files, or an entire directory by invoking it through the "Batch > Run Batch Process" command.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>This is more sophisticated than the ViewNX, I think, as I don't remember seeing these features. Well that is why ViewNX is free ...</p>

[pnance]

<p>I had originally tried conversion from the Nikon View and found it horrible, especially compared with Nikon Capture. I have not even tried converting with ViewNX as I have Capture NX, I find Capture NX unequalled for use with Nikon's raw files.</p>

[anders_andersson2]

<p>Regarding Lightroom, I do not have it myself, but I have Adobe Camera Raw with Photoshop CS4, and as far as I understand it's exactly the same conversion engine.<br>

Am I the only one finding that the Adobe products do not handle noise as well as the Nikon products?<br>

I know that things like Noise Ninja supposedly are even better, but limiting the choice to Adobe and Nikon products, I have a feeling that Nikon is better (but slower).</p>