Preset modes on D5000

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Hi all!</p>

<p>I have a D5000 that I use only for travel and street photography. I like this camera and I found it to be very capable, at least as good as my D300, of course with less ergonomy, AF capabilities and options. I use it always in A, S or M mode. This past Saturday I went out with some friends and among some other shots I wanted to see how this camera performs in a preset mode (Landscape) tooking for the first time some pictures in this way.</p>

<p>Back to home, I downloaded all images on my PC and I tryed to do just few basic PP tasks with NX2. To my stupefaction, while the thumbnails are visible an looks OK, when I try to open any of the pictures that I took in Landscape mode I have just black images... If I open with IrfanView I can see all images properly.</p>

<p>I mention that I am shooting only RAW.</p>

<p>What am I doing wrong?... </p>

 

[umesh_bhayaraju]

<p>I guess the RAM(memory) on your PC might be running low as well as check you C drive space as NX s/w needs loads of memory. :)<br>

cheers</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>I have a very good PC... with enough resources... quad core processor, 4GB RAM, over 500GB free HDD space, very good Video Card... Why the images took in A mode does not show this problem?</p>

[buri]

<p>Ok, I am an IT guy both professionally and as a hobby, so I am going to ask some questions before responding. I will check back and respond later if you take the time to answer:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>Have you tried uninstalling Capture NX and reinstalling Capture NX?'</li>

<li>What operating system are you using?</li>

<li>Have you tried shooting in another mode and looking at those images after this problem started?</li>

<li>Have you had any other problems with Capture NX? Is it slow, does it crash? etc</li>

<li>I know this sounds crazy, but have you restarted your computer and tried to open the images again? A lot of people put their computers in standby mode and don't clear out the ram....so 4Gb may not be enough if run for a long enough time.</li>

</ol>

<p>Also, try to restart the computer....open only Capture NX and then open an image that you think works. Then try to open an image that you shot in landscape mode on the D5000. Please let me know what happens.</p>

<p>The problem may end up being your camera, but I am hoping it is just a computer glitch. If you are using Windows 64-bit...that may be the problem. Nikon does not officially support 64-bit. I have Windows 7 64-bit and Capture NX will work fine sometimes and then crash and glitch often other times. It doesn't seem to be the most stable program and does not seem to have the most efficient programing. It is really heavy on the RAM and slow even though my computer is near bleeding-edge. Photoshop is even faster than Capture NX on my machine....that makes absolutely no sense!</p>

<p>Again, I will get back to you once I have more info on your exact problem.</p>

<p> </p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Ryan points are all fair, though maybe just start a bit more simple first: did you update Capture NX2 to its latest version, and did you try ViewNX (latest version) to see if that shows the same issue?<br>

A more far-fetched idea, installing the 'landscape' picture style preset from Nikon, maybe it is attached to the D5000 landscape mode, and causes CNX to not be able to render it.</p>

<p>Ryan, Nikon does support 64 bits in the latest versions, fyi.<br>

Let's not turn into a "Capture NX2 does not seem all that fast" threads. Mihai is not complaining about that, so there is no need for that type discussion - enough threads dealing with that.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>The preset "scene modes" merely set up some pre-determined aperture, shutter speed, and ISO combos to make it easier for beginners. For example, the sports mode favors higher shutter speeds. There should be no difference between using those modes and setting the equivalent exposure controls yourself.</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Hi Ryan,</p>

<p>I have some computer experience too... not as a professional but at least from 19 yrs working experience, (starting with 80286 machine with 512KB fabulous RAM... ) including installing and uninstalling software, various upgrades, tweaking systems, etc. But I agree that someone can show a better expertise in this area and I am very open to give a reply to your questions:<br>

1. I didn't... Unfortunatelly time is quite an issue now... but ultimately I'll try this...<br>

2. Windows 7 / 32 bit<br>

3. No, I haven't any chance. This happen Saturday for first time and no other shooting activity yet. But I mention that Saturday I was shooting in A mode, in P mode, in S mode and in Landscape mode. All images in A, P and S are fine... only those in Landscape shows this unexpected behavior... I mention that using IrfanView I see perfectly even these "defective" images... also today I tried with ViewNX and I see fine all images... so in my opinion it seems that these programs are extracting the jpeg enclosed in RAW but the RAW does not work properly...<br>

4. I use NX2 for PP of RAW files produced by D700, D300 and D5000. I never experienced before this problem. I used NX2 before on Windows XP, then on Vista Ultimate 64bit and now on Win 7 32bit... I always had some crashes after doing PP of many files... but in an acceptable manner...<br>

5. Oh, yeah! Right when happen for first time, I restarted the PC and I launched only NX2... (usually I have some other programs running...). Nothing changed. I use to shut down my system every night, so yesterday and today I tried again after a fresh start... but with no luck... </p>

<p>I wait impatiently to hear from you again... and from anyone who may have an idea about this issue...</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>@Wouter<br>

Yes... in fact the software is set to look periodically for updates... and I personally checked to see if that's ok.<br>

Well, I used NX2 in Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bits and it worked at least as well than now on Win 7 - 32 bits, so no complaint about this.</p>

<p>@Shun<br>

I know what you say... and that's why I am surprised by the difference. So two images shot at one minute difference, one is A mode, the other in Landscape Scene preset are seen differently by my software. Again, it seems that the problem is only at the RAW sequence in NX2. I just tried to open with IrfanView and to save the jpeg and it was saved correctly, then I tried to open the NEF with NX2 and to save it as jpeg and I get a black jpeg... I also mention that during the shooting day I switched between modes several times so I have images shot at different hours in the Landscape Scene intercalated among these from other modes that are ok.</p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Mihai,<br>

ViewNX does use the same rendering engine as CaptureNX. If ViewNX works, it means things are fine, file-wise. To verify, you could click the "RAW" button in ViewNX to enforce the RAW file being rendered rather than the JPEG being displayed, or apply some edit from ViewNX to see how the file responds. This should distinguish properly between a CaptureNX only issue, or a "Nikon software gile handling" issue.<br>

Another simple thing, clearing the cache of Capture NX2 (Edit -> Preferences -> Cache Settings). I've seen the CNX cache do weird things.</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Wouter,<br>

You did it! I cleared the cache on NX2 and nothing changed... But hitting the RAW button in ViewNX transformed my pics (only those shot in Landscape Scene... ) instantly in black rectangles... I start to think that it is a camera issue... so, if I will have some time, tommorow (here is already 11:21 pm...) I'll shoot some more test images in all Scene Modes and I'll also do some Manual shots copying the settings from these Landscapes... (the same aperture, shutter speed, ISO...) to see if is any crazy combination that does not work properly... (I don't believe that...) I will also replace the card but again I do not think this to be the cause... Any other suggestion, please?</p>

[buri]

<p>@Wouter....I can vent about Capture NX if I want to. Most of my post was dedicated to this problem, so you don't need to get mad at me about expressing my opinion on a related topic. If you want people to stay active in a forum, then let them express themselves.</p>

<p>@Mihai....I do believe that your issue is camera related. If the RAW file is invalid (which you have proven) and the other RAW files shots in A, S, or M are displaying correctly, then the issue must be with your camera creating the RAW file when using landscape mode.</p>

<p>My suggestion would be to discontinue use of the camera presets (I never used them in the first place). I even tried to search for someone else having a similar issue, and I couldn't find anything. It is odd indeed. Wish I could help more....</p>

[mihai_ciuca]

<p>Thanks Ryan... I never used before these Scene Modes... it was just a curiosity in a relaxed time. I can live for ever without Scene Mode... because I entered in photography in full manual mode :-) But now I am even more curious about the other Scene modes in my camera and I'll do some tests to see if Landscape represents an exception or all of them are corrupted. I'll also consider if I will contact Nikon service overhere because it is in warranty... I want to make sure that this will not spread out to A, S and M... It will be a tragedy because in my vacations I do not take a backup camera with me so this camera plays a vital role! </p>

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Ryan,<br>

The request to not turn it to a speed-related issue was not only adressed to you, unfortunate formatting made it seem like that. Sure you can vent whatever you want, but to stay on-topic is much appreciated too.</p>

<p>Mihai, do you have the landscape picture style installed on your PC? Alternatively, if you can change the picture style in View NX, does the photo get re-rendered? I have strong hunch that it's picture style related (as far as I know, the scene modes are a combination of what Shun described, and a picture style to get the desired look for that scene type - but not sure since I have no DSLR with scene modes and picture styles combined).</p>

<p>Not using scene modes will sure help, but it should work to have shots in these modes displayed in Nikon's own software, and re-actively you cannot change the mode in which you shot the photo anyway. So digging up the solution is surely worth it.</p>