possible camera raw malfunction

[dorothy_kay]

<p>Please help! I just shot a wedding and used camera raw for the first time. Setting RAW & JPEG worked fine for my D600, using 2 memory cards, but when set on my D7100 with 2 cards all I got were JPEG files! What am I supposed to do with these (awful) JPEG'S now? Any and all thoughts and suggestions appreciated.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

Dorothy: all I can say is "are you SURE?" - if you've really only got JPEGS, there was something wrong with

the settings on the D7100; better luck next time when you change this, but there's no way to get back to

raw if it wasn't recorded. I'm sorry the JPEGs are "awful" - you CAN process JPEGs just like raw, you just

don't have as much detail recorded. But check your software isn't hiding raw files or failing to copy them.

Good luck.

[daniel_johnson6]

<p>Were you trying to record RAW on one card and JPEG on the other? Or were you recording RAW+JPEG side by side, using the second card as overflow?</p>

<p>Assuming you haven't adjusted the settings since your wedding shoot, try this: set aside your two wedding cards, put two new empty ones in the camera, shoot a few frames, and see what you get. It might help you determine what's going on.</p>

<p>What happened to the JPEGs that makes them 'awful'?</p>

<p> </p>

[dorothy_kay]

<p>I definitely have camera malfunction. I put 2 new cards in (slot 1 dedicated to camera RAW and slot 2 dedicated to JPEGS). All the sets of images were labeled JPEG rather than JPEGS and NEFS. I shot in aperture priority with auto white balance and auto ISO, but my AWFUL JPEGS had yucky color shifts and exposure was all over the place. If I can process JPEGS just like raw, please, how do I go about doing that?</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

Hi Dorothy. How do you normally edit your raw files? Adobe's software can be used to edit an image in

progress in the same interface as the raw converter. Otherwise, most editing software has its own way to

let you adjust exposure and white balance. Quality when doing so will probably be a bit worse than starting

with raw, but better than nothing. Let us know the software you use, and we can probably help.

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>Dorothy, I find it difficult to believe that the camera refused to save RAW files when asked to. Have you tried setting the file option to RAW only and seeing what happens?</p>

<p>In order to process JPEGs you need an image editor of some sort; PhotoShop being the (expensive) industry standard. However the free GIMP image processor - GNU Image Manipulation Program - can do nearly all that PS is capable of. It's downloadable from <a href="http://www.gimp.org">www.gimp.org</a> as a fairly small file that takes only minutes to install, as opposed to Adobe's lumbering installation that takes the best part of an hour to install and set up.</p>

<p>Easiest tool for colour corrections in GIMP is found in Colors>Levels. The central eyedropper button (next to the box marked [Auto]) allows you to set a neutral White Balance by pointing the eyedropper at something in the image that should appear grey. In the absence of anything else, you can use the white of a person's eye, although a grey suit, a road surface or shaded white object might give more acceptable results. You can also use the aforementioned 'Auto' button to correct slight underexposure. See illustration below.</p>

<p>Unfortunately you <em>will</em> get some posterisation after doing this to an 8 bit JPEG, but in most cases the result is more than acceptable and the posterisation un-noticeable. What's usually far more damaging is making strong saturation adjustments to an image, and you should avoid doing this with a JPEG.</p>

<p>If the Levels tool fails to fix the colour or tone automatically, then there's a more sophisticated Curves tool available. However using this requires a bit more practise and expertise. Its use is also more complicated to explain than a simple reply to a forum post allows.</p><div></div>

[dorothy_kay]

<p>Rodeo Joe, I just set the file option to RAW only (1 card, first slot) and the downloaded images were JPEGS. I have been editing my JPEGS in Photoshop CS6, but I believe I have an additional problem with my camera. In aperture priority the shutter speeds are totally erratic and thus my images (jpeg) are all over the place exposure wise. I think I'll send my camera off to the shop and recover what I can from these images. Thanks to all for your input and suggestions.</p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>One further thought. The D7100 is a newer camera than the D600, and it's quite possible that your RAW software doesn't recognise your D7100 files. In which case it (the software) might well simply be showing the embedded JPEG that's present in all RAW files. The camera uses the embedded JPEG as a preview, and it's possible that some computer software will display this too if it doesn't recognise the NEF file version.</p>

<p>What software version are you using to try and display the files? Only the most recent version of ACR will be able to show D7100 NEFs.</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.irfanview.com/">free Irfanview viewer </a>with all available plugins will display almost any image file going, including newer NEFs. It'll certainly distinguish between NEFs and JPEGs and show you the file extension properly.</p>

[keirst]

<p>Have you mounted the cards on computer using a card reader to see if the NEF files are there in the folder? Perhaps they are there but not transferring via USB camera cable? If so, drag and drop copy them to your photo storage drive. Do make sure to update to the latest CS6 Photoshop and ACR.</p>

[themaz]

<p>Maybe give it a try with ViewNX2 and see if you get the RAW files.</p>

[dorothy_kay]

<p>Rodeo Joe, I am NOT a techie and do not understand what you mean about the software version I am using (ACR). How do I find this out? Also, I could not download the Irfanview Viewer on my MAC.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>I suggest you try DXO software. It does a great job, and should be able to 'fix' your photos, especially the ones that have bad exposures.</p>

[rconey]

<p>As someone just said, if you connect the card to your computer, you can use the computer to look at the card like any other hard drive and see if you see any .NEF files on there.</p>

[elliot1]

<p>Keep in mind that unless the JPGs are [badly] overexposed, you should be able to do a pretty good job of correcting your images, regardless of the software or computer system you use.</p>

[stevenseelig]

<p>I suggest you do further testing. I suspect that you set the camera incorrectly. Do some test shots and verify. If your test shots don't give you RAW + JPEG, then there is something wrong in your workflow.</p>

 

[CvhKaar]

<p>Dorothy<br>

Question, What software , and what version, do you use to download ( upload?) the pIc's form your camera to your PC / Mac ?</p>

[tom_boston1]

<blockquote>

<p>I just set the file option to RAW only (1 card, first slot) and the downloaded images were JPEGS.<br /></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Exactly how did you "download" the files? Most people wouldn't call it "downloading". You should be copying the files to your hard drive. My guess is that you plug a USB cable into the camera and that some software that has been installed on your computer is downloading the images and converting them to jpeg files. <br /><br />And maybe this is common sense, but <strong>DON'T USE THAT CARD YOU SUCCESSFULLY COPY THE RAW FILES</strong>. Or at least wait to confirm that you really do have only jpeg files. </p>

<p>As other posters have suggested, stick the memory card in a card reader and look at it there.</p>

<p> </p>

[tom_boston1]

<p>By the way, on the top LCD display of the camera, did you see the word RAW? This would be corner of the display closest to hot shoe and towards the back of the camera. I think it's the same as with your D600 and D90. And it is possible to accidentally knock the setting in the middle of shoot though I don't know how easily that might happen with the D7000<br /><br />If RAW was displaying on the LCD display, the camera almost certainly recorded RAW files on at least one of the cards and your only issue is figuring out a work-flow that lets you get them off.</p>

[steve_bingham]

<p>What version of ACR are you using? You need 7.4 or higher. . . AND if you are using Lightroom you will need 4.4 or higher. Otherwise you won't see the files BUT you should see that they are there in Bridge.<br>

In order to help you, we need to know what software and what version you are using. There is a distinct possibility the NEF files are there. In Windows do a search using %.NEF%. I will bet they are there.</p>

[keirst]

<p>When you open a .NEF or other RAW file in Photoshop CS6, the Camera Raw version should bin the text of the bar at the top of the window (ie "Camera Raw 8.2" for mine now). Dorothy has a Mac not Windows, but Dorothy you can still search for .NEF files on your hard drive or SD Card using Spotlight or Command-F on the keyboard.</p>

[dorothy_kay]

<p>Thank you for your additional comments and feedback. I will follow up on all your suggestions ! </p>