NEF vs. JPG color

[ana_negri]

<p>Hello everyone,<br>

I use a Nikon D80. I usually program it to take the pictures in both: RAW format (NEF) + JPG.<br>

When I after go to my computer (mac) and open the nef picture with the Adobe Raw in Photoshop it looks veeery desaturated, and with a funny white balance, which was not in which i took the picture.... AND if I open the JPG version took by the camera, and open it with photoshop as well, the colors are perfect!<br>

Just for the record I tell you that in my Adobe Raw window, in the basic space, I´ve checked that the white balance is set to "as shot"...<br>

I'd like to know if someone else has gone through this... <br>

Very thankful and hoping you understand my akward english (it's not my language).</p>

 

[lornesunley]

<p>Photoshop ignores the camera settings that are in the NEF fle. The camera uses those to generate its own JPG file. You have to set the camera profile in photoshop to convert the NEF to an equivalent image.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>Or, use Nikon's (free!) View NX to render that NEF to a TIFF. Better yet, try out Capture NX2, for a really amazing amount of control over how that conversion takes place. Both View NX and Capture NX2 "understand" the way you had the camera set up. NX2 lets you play, non-destructively, with the other ways the camera could have rendered the image. That's a great way to explore other approaches to having the camera create JPGs on the fly.</p>

[kevin_delson]

<p>If you will allow me a cheesy analogy:</p>

<p>NEF (RAW) is having all the ingredients to a cake; though you have not mixed them together nor baked the cake yet.</p>

<p>JPEG is already mixed together and baked.</p>

[curt wiler]

<p>Kevin's analogy is good, but fails to mention that PhotoShop simply can't read the full recipe, only the white balance. The camera followed the recipe to produce the jpeg, but you need View NX or Capture NX2 to do this outside the camera. Try Matt's suggestion. If you shoot Nikon, you are missing much of the capabilities without this software. Personally, I use aggressive settings in the camera to make it easier to read the display (extra sharpness, contrast, etc) and then strip these out for my own more subdued profiles in Capture NX2.</p>

[will_daniel1]

<p>Ana,</p>

<p>I concur with those who say View Nx or Capture NX2 is your answer. I use them both. However, there are alternatives. For cataloging and thumbnailing, I use ThumbsPlus from Cerious Software. An optional plug-in lets you tell all of your thumbnails to use Nikon color libraries for display. The plug-in works with the D80. When used in this manner, your NEF thumbnail will look just like your JPEG thumbnail unless you've edited the JPEG. See the screenshot below in which I've placed some JPEG and NEF files side by side for comparison. ThumbsPlus has a pretty good photo editor, but by customizing the interface you can instantly open any image in just about any software you choose. Note the three icons in the top center of my screenshot -- I frequently use those to open files in View NX, Capture NX2 or Photoshop CS3 directly from within ThumbsPlus.</p>

<p>You can download a trial version of the software at <a href="http://www.cerious.com">www.cerious.com</a>, but make sure you download the Pro version -- the standard version won't work with raw files. Also, I recommend the older version -- 7.0 -- because the developer has been having problems with his latest iteration. You'll have to search for the older version, but it's there. And don't forget to also download the digicam plug-in. The registered Pro version costs about $85.</p>

<p>Will</p>

<p><img src="http://www.willdaniel.com/stuff/157.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="669" /></p>

[ana_negri]

<p>Hello everyone and thank you!<br>

I understand perfectly. I will try the capture nx free version or try to set up the camera calibration sometime....<br>

Thank you and good bye..</p>