Capture NX Help, please!

[wenrob]

I've just installed Capture NX 2 and it won't let me look at or edit my NEF files. I can see JPGs and Tiffs but no NEFs. I have the NEF/JPG/TIFF box checked but nothing. I've gone through the book and tried to find a help center (the only help I can find has to do w/editing)but can't find any info on this. So weird since it's supposed to work specifically with NEFs. What's going on?
Am I supposed to have View NX installed? If so why can I see the other formats?

 

[NostalgicDad]

Wen....Is this what you're talking about when you say you have the formats all checked? I'm running version 2.2. If you are using a later model Nikon, then the original version doesn't have support for that. (I think you are using a D90, correct?) Make sure you have all the updates from Nikon USA's site for version 2.

 

[wenrob]

Danny, it's that box but that's not what mine looks like. I don't have an All Images icon. Mine goes: NEF+JPEG/Tiff, NEF/JPEG/TIFF and then each one alone. I'm pretty sure I did the update but I'll go look again.

 

[NostalgicDad]

I just edited my post regarding the model of camera you might be using. Click Help then About Capture NX2 to see the exact revision you are using.

 

[wenrob]

Thank Danny, the update was it. I thought I was going to lose my mind.

While I have you here, do you know anything about camera presets?

 

[NostalgicDad]

Glad the update helped get it going for you.

Are you referring the image presets in the D90 such as standard, neutral, vivid, etc? If so, I typically use a custom setting that I have created to not add any sharpening, saturation, etc. I'll take care of that in PP when converting from NEF to JPG. Depending on what I'm shooting though, I'll sometimes use the D2Xii preset on the D300 that tends to work pretty well.

 

[wenrob]

Glad the update helped get it going for you.

Are you referring the image presets in the D90 such as standard, neutral, vivid, etc? If so, I typically use a custom setting that I have created to not add any sharpening, saturation, etc. I'll take care of that in PP when converting from NEF to JPG. Depending on what I'm shooting though, I'll sometimes use the D2Xii preset on the D300 that tends to work pretty well.

Yes? LOL

Part of the reason I decided to move on to Capture NX was that I want to be able to apply my camera settings (color, sharpness etc.) if I feel they're right. I'm just confused on whether I need to get them from the camera itself or if they come along in the file w/the picture. I have two books on Capture NX but I can't find a clear answer. It could be that it's just not sinking in. This program is daunting compared to Light Room...

 

[YesDear]

Capture NX 2 will bring the profile in from the camera with the image. There is no reason to recreate it.

NX does have a learning curve but I really like it.

 

[NostalgicDad]

Trust me, once you wrap your brain around it, you will love NX2 as YesDear mentioned.

Once you have the NEF transferred, you can also still change the preset within NX2 as well. It will be under Camera Settings/Picture Control edit list on the right of the GUI.

 

[wenrob]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the help. I'm sure there will be more questions in the future!

 

[dmccarty]

If you are using NX2, RUN ok SURF, don't walk to your favorite Internet storefront and buy Ben Long's Capture NX2 book AND Jason P. Odell's The Photographers Guide to Capture NX2. Odell also has viewlets on how to perform certain operations in NX2. Buy them as well. Some things are just easier to see done than read in a book. Odell's book is PDF file not a physical book unless you want to print it out.

If you can only buy one book then get Odell's PDF and viewlets.

I used NX for a year or so until NX2 came out. I was able to figure some things out on my own but reading the two books was a real eye opener. It made me far more efficient using NX2 and I was able to pull the best photograph out of the NEF file.

I finished both books after our last WDW trip. I went back and reprocessed over 700+ photos because what I had learned in both books. The extra work was well worth it.

Later,
Dan

 

[wenrob]

Thank you Dan, I will look into those.