# Raw Advice



## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

OK, so the time has come for me to get a DSLR, and I've just bought a (cheap) used Nikon D50, a new Nikkor 60mm Macro lens, and an IR remote, so I'm ready to go :yes:

I understand what RAW files are, and that Nikon RAW files are .nef files, but my (old) version of Photoshop (PS5) won't open them or support the file extension, so I'm thinking I may need to buy a new editing programme  . I guess it's time though, I bought PS5 back in 1995 :lol:

So, has anyone any suggestions? I'm particularly keen to hear from anyone with experience with Nikon Capture NX or NX2.

Thanks

Rich


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Im pretty sure Tim ( indeniel ) is a Nikon man, Im sure he will read this soon..


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Thanks Jase 

I can tell this photographic thing is going to be expensive...... I've only had the camera for 2 days and already I'm thinking "is 6MP enough?" :lol:

Took my first quick pics with the 60mm lens last night -


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2008)

Hi Rich,

I used to work with Raw Shooter Essentials (freeware for PC) and that was good enough for me before I bought an Apple computer. The company who produced this program however was bought by Adobe recently, so I am not sure that a download of RSE is still possible? The program works very well and comes for free, so that is quite charming  .

Nowadays, I am working with Nikon NX (I have got the D50, too). I would recommend to buy this, as it works flawless, fast and very well with the Nikon DSLR's, plus it is more affordable than PS. However they are different programs, so NX does not have all the filters/ gadgets PS provides. There used to be a demo version available, so why don't you try it out (hopefully, it is still available)?

all the best

Jan


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

JHM said:


> Hi Rich,
> 
> I used to work with Raw Shooter Essentials (freeware for PC) and that was good enough for me before I bought an Apple computer. The company who produced this program however was bought by Adobe recently, so I am not sure that a download of RSE is still possible? The program works very well and comes for free, so that is quite charming  .
> 
> ...


Thanks Jan

I've downloaded the free trial of NX2 (not sure how long the trial is - haven't installed it yet) and so will have a play.


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## Guest (Dec 3, 2008)

Toshi said:


> Thanks Jase
> 
> I can tell this photographic thing is going to be expensive...... I've only had the camera for 2 days and already I'm thinking "is 6MP enough?" :lol:
> 
> Took my first quick pics with the 60mm lens last night -


Geat shot Toshi :thumbup:


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## blackandgolduk (Apr 25, 2005)

Toshi said:


> I can tell this photographic thing is going to be expensive...... I've only had the camera for 2 days and already I'm thinking "is 6MP enough?" :lol:


Great shot, just lovely. Just remember, it's not all about the MP's - it's a bit like jewels in watches; there are crap high jewel watches and bloomin' great lower jewel watches. You probably can't go far worn with a Nikon (although I'm a Canon man, meself  ) as the lenses are great and the processor should be more than able to do what you want it to.

Regarding processing RAW images - GIMP has a plug-in which enables it to handle them, and once again it's free!


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

blackandgolduk said:


> Toshi said:
> 
> 
> > I can tell this photographic thing is going to be expensive...... I've only had the camera for 2 days and already I'm thinking "is 6MP enough?" :lol:
> ...


Thanks James. I wanted Nikon because I have a 20-35mm f2.8 ED lens that cost me a fortune 12 years ago and kept with my F5, so although it's more like 30-50mm with digital it's still a great lens. The 60mm f2.8 also seems very clean, so I'm hoping that the quality of the lenses will make up for the fact the body only has 6MP. 

Thanks also for the advice re the plug-in. My wife is away at the moment (Tokyo for 2 weeks) and I can just imagine what she would think if she called to see what I was doing.... "Oh, just downloading a GIMP plugin to handle RAWS"! :lol:


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

another pic taken last night.....

this shows better what the lens can do (full frame, but not full magnification)


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## bunchie32 (Jun 27, 2008)

great shot that, rich.


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## PaulBoy (Dec 2, 2007)

Hi Rich - Before I sold my gear recently I was a Nikonian! - I also bought & used Capture NX which I still have - It doesn't get great reviews from people who use Photoshop but I liked the fact that it is designed to work with .nef files seamlessly rather than other programs which didn't support .nef files without an 'add on' program - I found it easy enough to use although didn't do much to my images other than a bit of brightening up / sharpening / noise removal - I ended up only taking pics of watches (to sell) and as the forum here & elsewhere only support 800x600 I stopped using RAW & just took my pics in JPEG format to save time

Hope that helps & if you decide to buy Capture NX speak to me first as the way I bought mine was alot cheaper than the going price in the UK (this may have changed in recent years?)

Paul


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

PaulBoy said:


> Hi Rich - Before I sold my gear recently I was a Nikonian! - I also bought & used Capture NX which I still have - It doesn't get great reviews from people who use Photoshop but I liked the fact that it is designed to work with .nef files seamlessly rather than other programs which didn't support .nef files without an 'add on' program - I found it easy enough to use although didn't do much to my images other than a bit of brightening up / sharpening / noise removal - I ended up only taking pics of watches (to sell) and as the forum here & elsewhere only support 800x600 I stopped using RAW & just took my pics in JPEG format to save time
> 
> Hope that helps & if you decide to buy Capture NX speak to me first as the way I bought mine was alot cheaper than the going price in the UK (this may have changed in recent years?)
> 
> Paul


what does any of this mean? h34r: h34r:


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## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

Dont worry about it Shawn its Photobabble :lol:

Ive got a 350D and have to agree i only shoot in JPEG and its normally because im out watching the rallying so i need the extra frames per second.

While RAW is great learn to use the camera and then stick with JPEG IMO as its just easier if your not playing.


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

mattbeef said:


> Dont worry about it Shawn its Photobabble :lol:
> 
> Ive got a 350D and have to agree i only shoot in JPEG and its normally because im out watching the rallying so i need the extra frames per second.
> 
> While RAW is great learn to use the camera and then stick with JPEG IMO as its just easier if your not playing.


 :lol:


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

.jpegs lose quality every time they are opened and saved. It's an inherent characteristic of the compression algorithms, and why they are such small files...

Shoot in a lossless format, such as .tif or RAW, and 'save as' a .jpeg, sized for your purpose after editing, say 1000x 600 for eBay.

It is preferable to have camera originals that are uncompressed.


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

chris l said:


> .jpegs lose quality every time they are opened and saved. It's an inherent characteristic of the compression algorithms, and why they are such small files...
> 
> Shoot in a lossless format, such as .tif or RAW, and 'save as' a .jpeg, sized for your purpose after editing, say 1000x 600 for eBay.
> 
> It is preferable to have camera originals that are uncompressed.


That's exactly what I want to do. Shoot in RAW, save the files un-edited as RAW files, and then after editing as TIFF, then for images for the forum size them down as save them as jpegs to photobucket etc.


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

I am still working with Nikon Capture (not upgraded to NX as yet) as all I need within NC is the RAW manipulation like exposure/colour balance/and tone controls, then I save as a TIFF and do all the serious stuff within Photoshop......but thats just my workflow.

You should consider using Photoshop Elements as it has the capability of manipulating RAW files with the plug ins available from Adobe and it has virtually all you will ever need for photo "tuning".


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Boxbrownie said:


> I am still working with Nikon Capture (not upgraded to NX as yet) as all I need within NC is the RAW manipulation like exposure/colour balance/and tone controls, then I save as a TIFF and do all the serious stuff within Photoshop......but thats just my workflow.
> 
> You should consider using Photoshop Elements as it has the capability of manipulating RAW files with the plug ins available from Adobe and it has virtually all you will ever need for photo "tuning".


I'll have a look at that David, thanks. It sounds like your workflow is the same as I have in mind.

I've downloaded the trial version of NX2 so I'll have a play and see what I think


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## Boxbrownie (Aug 11, 2005)

One of my retired collegues uses NX2 as he just upgraded to a D300 and finds the dust removal tool a boon......but he also uses Elements as he thought at retirement a full CS2/3 might be a bit "overboard"......I must say I agree as I use CS2 professionally and doubt I use even 20% of what CS can do!

Nice lens BTW


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Bleeding hell Rich, thoses pictures are unreal :thumbup:


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## Mutley (Apr 17, 2007)

Toshi said:


> Thanks Jase
> 
> I can tell this photographic thing is going to be expensive...... I've only had the camera for 2 days and already I'm thinking "is 6MP enough?" :lol:
> 
> Took my first quick pics with the 60mm lens last night -


Sorry Rich, all I can see is a blurred pcture of a modded seiko, had you thought of getting a decent camera & going on a photography course 

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:thumbup: ... :notworthy:


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## tranber70 (Mar 24, 2007)

I just discovered Fast Stone Image Viewer to manage my olympus ORF files, it's free. Who knows it?

Bertrand


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## Guest (Dec 7, 2008)

tranber70 said:


> I just discovered Fast Stone Image Viewer to manage my olympus ORF files, it's free. Who knows it?
> 
> Bertrand


Sorry Bertrand i know nothing :huh: :lol:


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## Silver Hawk (Dec 2, 2003)

tranber70 said:


> I just discovered Fast Stone Image Viewer to manage my olympus ORF files, it's free. Who knows it?
> 
> Bertrand


Thanks for the heads up Bertrand...not tried it before, but have just downloaded it and I like it! Thanks.


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## Robert (Jul 26, 2006)

Used Faststone when I had my Olympus. I found it easy to use (which was a necessity for me)


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## chris l (Aug 5, 2005)

Toshi, what did you end up doing regarding .raw files?

I've only gone and bought a D50 myself....

I wanted to use my existing Nikon lenses and the SD cards that I already have, and I have to say I love it!

As soon as I get a picture worth showing I'll post it; all land and seascapes at present!


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

chris l said:


> Toshi, what did you end up doing regarding .raw files?
> 
> I've only gone and bought a D50 myself....
> 
> ...


Chris, sorry, I've only just seen your reply









I tried Nikon DX2, but TBH I found it clunky and not at all intuitive, so it was soon deleted. I then took Boxbrownie's advice :notworthy: and downloaded a 30 day trial of Adobe Photoshop Elements 7, and it's great :thumbsup: .

I shoot in RAW, download the images to my PC, and then when I open them with PSE7 they actually open in a RAW editor that gives me the flexibility to adjust exposure / contrast etc. and also adjust for the colour temperature present when the image was shot. Then when I'm happy I open them in Elements 7 to fine tune and eventually save them as a TIFF or JPEG. All the functionaility I need with a fairly intuitive interface (at least it is similar to PS5 which I've been using for the last 10 years).

The other advantage is that Nikon Capture DX2 is around Â£125, and you'd still need an image editor IMO. PS Elements 7 is around Â£55 and includes an editor which has everything I need (probably the only thing I miss from PS5 is the history pallete).

Now I just need to find more time to take some more pictures :lol:


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