FREE RAW Processing Software for Nikon - Capture NX-D

[WhoDo]

Nikon has just released a FREE RAW processing program to support Nikon cameras. They claim it is the ONLY such software Nikon owners will need. Here is a link to the site for FREE download. (Downloading my copy as I write this)

http://www.nikon-asia.com/en_Asia/product/software/capture-nx-d

[arthurking83]

FWIW:

This software, while it's more feature rich than the current ViewNX2 is, ViewnNX2 seems to operate a lot better on my current PC.
Nikon are claiming that NX-D is a replacement for Capture NX2, and if this is so, is 10 steps back into the past(in terms of features) compared to CaptureNX2.

Their software progression has been from Nikon Capture, to CaptureNX to Capture NX2, of which NX2 was the better package overall .. and NX-D is about what the original Nikon Capture was ... 8 years ago!

:confused:

Some strange thinking at Nikon, who's management really seem to have no idea of what to do next!

While the software itself produces images with that Nikon look to them, as those of us used to Nikon software have expected over the years ... the software is below par in terms of features.
And I'm not referring to super cool features that a lot of modern software seem to have .. really basic stuff like adding keywords/ITPC/metadata info into images!

The rendering engine in CNX-D produces images that are similar in appearance to both ViewNX2 and Capture NX2.
But CNX-D on my PC is both slow and a bit buggy. Although the slow comment may be my own fault for still using the onboard graphics chip instead of a dedicated and higher powered graphics card.

Of course there may also be the possibility that this is just the beginning of a new line of software products from Nikon, where we may see a more feature rich version with modern image editing tools available.
ie. this (NX-D) could be a future replacement for ViewNX2 ... and a more 'Pro' like version of NX-D may be made available for purchase with tools that modern photographers want/need.

of course the still big issue is how to deal with masses of images that have been edited with either of the CaptureNX programs over the years.
In CNX-D, you can see the edits as have been made by the CNX'es on raw images ... but you can't do anything other than just view those images as they have been edited.
You can't convert them via CNX-D, and hence need the old software to convert them to a usable format.
Problem is Nikon will now have completely ceased support for CNX2, which means it's now tied to Windows7/8 for installation(and whatever current equivalent Apple OSes)
In the years to come with later versions of OSes that wont allow CNX2 to install .. all those edited raw files are borked.

I'm going to (partly) persevere with it for a bit longer, although my usage of it is more about curiosity, rather than any sense of desire or pleasure.
But every time I open it to view a new image, I get this feeling of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
And that's the best way to describe Capture NX-D.

Did I mention Nikon management appear to have their heads firmly planted into their ar....? :D


The other annoying aspect of it all ... I still can't get used to that Lr look to any image I try to open. Very quickly after opening the raw file with Lr .. I shut LR down and open the image in CNX2! :o

[WhoDo]

I still can't get used to that Lr look to any image I try to open. Very quickly after opening the raw file with Lr .. I shut LR down and open the image in CNX2! :o

I think it's really just about giving the masses a way of accessing RAW data files before processing in whatever is their preferred software. I use (and enjoy) LR, because I never got around to purchasing and installing CNX2. (Look who's laughing now, AK) ;)

Pentax have a similar piece of software that ships with their cameras, and seemed to me to be the only raw processing software that handled PEF files correctly.

That said, I sure hope (for your sake, if not mine) that this isn't the end of the exercise and there is an updated version of CNX2 in the pipe. I agree the interface is cheap, nasty and dated compared to more sophisticated non-FREE tools. It may be all that some people need though, and you can't beat the price. :D

[I @ M]

I think it's really just about giving the masses a way of accessing RAW data files before processing in whatever is their preferred software.

They already had that in View NX!


That said, I sure hope (for your sake, if not mine) that this isn't the end of the exercise and there is an updated version of CNX2 in the pipe.

I am almost certain that CNX2 is DEAD, defunct, discontinued and now dodo status. ( note the prevalence of the letter d in that line, it just happens to be the letter of the new software )


I agree the interface is cheap, nasty and dated compared to more sophisticated non-FREE tools. It may be all that some people need though, and you can't beat the price. :D

As in most things, you get what you pay for and in this case you are being given a free version of sillypix silkypix and that is possibly because no one has actually paid for that program in the past. I tried it ( the paid version ) for Fuji files and it was the most god awful thing I have ever seen on a 'puter.


I am not even going to waste bandwidth downloading Capture NX-Dereliction.

[arthurking83]

Andrew is right, that Nikon have ViewNX2 as their freely available raw processing software already, and CNX-D's tools are much better than VNX2's tools .. which are so basic that it's ironic to call ViewNX2 a raw editor! It's more of a converter and file viewer/sorter than an editor.
But VNX2 works a lot better than NX-D does.

Had to give it(NX-D) another chance last night to see what I could do with a few images I got yesterday, and while I prefer the tools it has to VNX2 to get images looking a touch nicer, it was so slow in loading up, slow to load the film strip thumbnails, then slow to load the preview image of the first image in the folder .. then it took about 2mins to load up the preview of the file I wanted to edit.
So, from clicking onto the thumbnail of the file I wanted to have a go at(which VNX2 was useless at 'editing' due to it's lack of tools .. I waited a few seconds .. then went into the kitchen poured my coffee into the cup, popped it in the special box to Nuke it for 2mins .. came back to the PC quickly .. still hadn't loaded the preview image ... went back into the kitchen got the milk .... etc.

My PC certainly isn't fast, but it's not slow either and Nikon don't specify a min requirement for graphics hardware(meaning that it's obviously not a graphics card intensive bit of software).
I checked it's resources uses, and CPU usage on loading and displaying files is very low when it then spikes up briefly when it tries to load the preview image, about 0.5sec at 50% CPU which then stops just as quickly as it starts. RAM usage is about the same as ViewNX2 in the same situation.

Then, once it settles down and (what seems to be) build up it's thumbnail database you can get some reaction from it as you browse through your images.
Using the arrow keys to quickly navigate through the film strip, after quickly flicking through 5 images, it seems to baulk at the next image and no amount of arrow pressing will get it to switch to the next thumbnail. Then it decides to work again of it's own accord .. until it baulks again.
Flicking quickly from image to image, it takes over a second or so.. maybe two to properly display the preview image. It shows a blurry rendering and a short while later will then render it sharply.
On the other hand, using this method with ViewNX2(on my pc) is instant!
I use this method to flick from image to image if for example trying to determine an image in a series that looks better or maybe sharper than the other, when sorting files out.
Because of the delay in loading the images, using NX-D in that manner is not an option.(on a side note, Lr does the same thing on my PC, so I can't use that workflow to sort images).

The multi window tool is only handy if you're just comparing two images .. but not useful if you're comparing more.

As already said, NX-D could be a good replacement for ViewNX2 .. but a major step backwards from CaptureNX2 .. as Nikon have indicated it is.

And as for CaptureNX2, support should have ceased for it as Nikon have claimed they would when CNX-D went into official status.
D810 is not supported in CaptureNX2 as of now.
ViewNX2 does support it(via V2.10.0), and with the recent update for VNX2 Nikon also updated Pictrure Control Utility to v2 status which supports the new Picture Control methods on the D810
The new Picture Control steps are not available in older cameras.

And I still get the annoying "Capture NX-D has stopped working" error every now and then on trying to start it up! I get that maybe every three attempts to load it.
I close the msg box, and try again and it loads fine. Very annoying .. and if it were still beta status it could be forgiven. But now that it's official .. this kind of bad programming is unforgivable.

[I @ M]

it was so slow in loading up, slow to load the film strip thumbnails, then slow to load the preview image of the first image in the folder .. then it took about 2mins to load up the preview of the file I wanted to edit. ------------------------------------- unforgivable.

Yep, that is typical sillypix silkypix quality.

[Cage]

I've downloaded it to have a look.

Just about everything I tried is as slow as a wet week, and while my computer isn't the latest and fastest, it isn't exactly a slug either.

[arthurking83]

A question:
Is the Fuji version of SilkyPix dedicated to Fuji, or is it the generic version of it.

Tamron have a Silkypix for Tamron version which ships with some new Tammy lenses.
Had to load it back onto the PC to compare again.
Updated to the later version, which is v4.0.5(up from 4.0.2 when I first loaded it) and one thing that stands out is that the Tammy version is definitely faster overall.
It loads up quicker, loads images quicker, effects alterations quicker .. etc, etc.
it still has the same annoyingly slow switch from image to image issue tho.

[I @ M]

A question:
Is the Fuji version of SilkyPix dedicated to Fuji, or is it the generic version of it.

It is an all encompassing piece of xxxx software but they have worked with Fuji, Tamron ( and now Nikon cos it already supports the D810 ) etc etc

http://www.isl.co.jp/SILKYPIX/english/

I downloaded it at the time because it was one of the few programs that would render the Fuji raw files but then thankfully, Photo Ninja came along.

It did a horrible job of Nikon files and even trying it with 6 and 10 mp files it was unbearably slow.

[arthurking83]

OH! .. and to make matters even worse.

I just found that Nikon have stuffed something up with the way the new side car file editing system works.
They've warned that files edited with the beta version will not translate to the new software .. which doesn't bother me at all.

But what they didn't say is that they have now stuffed up the side car file system so that when you make any edits to your raw files, they don't seem to hold if you close the program down unless you remake those edits all over again after reopening the program.

Awesome!

I edited an image last night as a trial again(hope springs eternal, huh? :p) and saved it as a jpg. So I opened the raw file again now to compare with the rendering differences with the Tammy version of SP, and find that the settings I made on the raw file don't seem to hold on the raw file in a strange way.
The edit I made to vignetting setting seems to be there, but has been deactivated.
I don't ever remember this being an issue with the beta version of -D, but looking back on the other images I also edited indicates the same issue.

In fact, playing with it a bit more .. it seems to be a bug only with the vignette control tool, and no other, that I can see.
The value added into the number box stays as altered, but the checkbox to activate the tool itself resets to off after closing the program.

- - - Updated - - -

So, which version of SP do you have access too? Is it v4, or v5 or 6 Pro?

The Tammy version doesn't support D810 files as yet, but did notice that v4 of DSP does now.

I don't reckon I have the patience to trial the standalone version of SP .. but reading up on what features they have in their latest top version, DSP Pro6 .. this could be a basis for proper CaptureNX2 replacement.
I think!! .. it has dodge and burn tools, HDR like functions, spot removal(which Nikon says NX-D will get soon) and a few other features that could be useful.

This is why I reckon NX-D is the basis for a future plan to dump VNX2, and Nikon to have plans to also offer a paid for, more Pro, version of NX-D.
It sort of makes sense really, and Nikon would be typically stupid not too!
This isn't to say DSP6 is good software, and will almost certainly not have CCPs to play with .. but as a replacement for CNX2 .. the current NX-D falls short whereas a NX-D Pro(ie based on DSP6) would give Nikon photographers the bare tools that are expected in photo editing software.

I didn't try hard, but I can't get the Tammy version of Developer Studio to render any raw file as does Nikon's software.
I can't say the likelyhood of this happening to be very high either.

[Lance B]

Capture NX-2 was purchased from Nikon by Google, I do think. This is why Nikon has dropped it as their RAW converter of choice.

Whatever, Capture NX-D is not very good and View NX-2 is even worse. I am now using Adobe Camera RAW for the D810 until my RAW converter of choice, Capture One Pro 7 gets the D810 RAW working. Adobe Camera RAW results are actually quite good, but the workflow is awful compared to Capture One Pro 7.

[I @ M]

Capture NX-2 was purchased from Nikon by Google, I do think. This is why Nikon has dropped it as their RAW converter of choice

Google bought Nik Software who were the ones who developed CNX in conjunction with Nikon. The control point functions within CNX were a Nik invention and I guess that Nikon failed to license them from Nik before google bought the company.

Arthur, I had the latest version at the time ( about 12 months ago now ) and I can't remember what it was because I removed it from the 'puter never to be returned. I downloaded it fro the sillypix site as a trial version and if I remember correctly I was "allowed" to buy it at the end of the trial for a "special" price of about $200.00 because I had the give away version supplied by Fuji with the camera. Pffffft, that is more than CNX 2 cost me with all the years of free updates that they have supplied.
To save you the frustration, I would strongly recommend that you don't have anything to do with the POS that it is. I simply think that Nikon have aligned with that company because they are Japanese and the executives of each company can sit down to drinks together and talk the same language, I think too much saki has already been consumed consummating the marriage ----

[Lance B]

Google bought Nik Software who were the ones who developed CNX in conjunction with Nikon. The control point functions within CNX were a Nik invention and I guess that Nikon failed to license them from Nik before google bought the company. -

Thank you for the clarification. I couldn't remember the exact facts of how it all went together (or fell apart), but now that you mention it, I now remember it.

[arthurking83]

.....

Whatever, Capture NX-D is not very good and View NX-2 is even worse.......

I suppose it depends on what you mean by "not very good" and "worse".

In terms of speed, I'm yet to come across any NEF viewer or converter that is as quick to browse through raw files, or convert then to tiff than what ViewNX2 can achieve.
It takes ViewNX2 longer to convert to jpg, than to convert to tiff.

I suppose everyone's computer will run software slightly differently relative to each other, but this is how I see it on my PC, with it's very modest specs now.

If you rate software by it's features .. then ViewNX2 definitely sits at the bottom of the pile!
It's not really meant to be anything other than a basic and free way to view NEF files as you get them on your camera.
Although over the years, Nikon have added very basic editing ability .. we even got a cropping tool a couple of years ago! :p

But what it did well was sort through a series of files, allow you to quickly rate them, sort them and do basic quick edits like WB exposure compensation adjustments, and then send any files that needed further work into Capture NX2 .. as an NEF file.

And now Nikon has broken this routine with CNX-D .. where it doesn't cooperate with either ViewNX2(which Nikon still support) nor CaptureNX2(which Nikon have no ceased).

BUT!! the strange thing is that if the workflow is to initially use VNX2, do quick basic edits and then open an edited file in CNX-D .. CNX-D recognises the VNX2 edits!

Nikon have monumentally botched the software side of their business, to the point where it doesn't even achieve an amateur ranking in the way it all works now .. it's just outright idiotic.

[Lance B]

The beauty of Capture One Pro 7 is that the RAW files are there displayed in a tab for you to see and you can very quickly look through them, see which you want to keep or delete at a glance and the tab with the image folder stays there so you can scroll through the images whilst you work on an image, or you can work on a number of images at once. You can bulk save whilst you do other work, and the ease of the workflow is the best I've used as is the inuitiveness of the whole system and as such the speed of conversions is much faster than with any other RAW converter I have used. You can do global changes to a multitude of images very easily. You can customise the working tabs you work in by adding whatever particular aspect or "tool" you want to work on into that tab. So, you may have each of the following "tools" - "exposure", "WB", "contrast", "highlight", "shadow" "saturation" on a tab that you are working on, but in that tab you can add any of the 40 or so other "tools" onto that tab that you use the most. You might want to add "lens correction" and "keystone" tools into that tab as these may be the things you use most. So, you can customise the tabs to suit your workflow and prefernces. Not only that, I like the IQ of the output.

I found Capture NX-2 to be quite cumbersome and slow as not untuitive and having to open different tabs for different tools was a pain. Capture NX-D is slooooow and locks up. ACR is very good, but the fact that you don't see each of the images in a panel to scroll through just slows things up. Like Capture One Pro, ACR has tabs as well, with each tab being a group of tools that are associated with each tab, like exposure tab has "exposure", "WB", "highlight", "shadow", "saturation" etc but you can't customise that tab to include say "lens corrections" that you may use a lot and therefore have to jump to the tab with lens corrections in it.

Anyway, these are just my opinions.

[arthurking83]

.....

I found Capture NX-2 to be quite cumbersome and slow as not untuitive and having to open different tabs for different tools was a pain. ......

While I'm not the type to defend the undefendable .. CNX2's viewer/browser/selection process is definitely sub par.
I think I may have mentioned that I use VNX2 to view and sort my images, make the general global typical raw edits like WB and picture control selection .. and then pass on any images that need more processing on to CNX2.

In this workflow, I see VNX2 more as Nikon's ACR .. rather than a real 'editor' as such.
ViewNX's tools are far too rudimentary for it to be classified as an editor .. it's more of a selection/sorting/tagging tool than an editor .. with the ability to export to a raster file type too.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by open different tabs for different tools, but the way most folks use CNX2 is to use the tools most readily available in the tool bar.
The two most liked tools(and why CNX2 has a following .. are colour control points and selection control points.
Once you learn how to use them .. all other software feels cumbersome and clunky by comparison.
Of course, CNX2 also has some of the favoured tools other software has, such as brushes and selection masks and so forth, but they feel tedious to use after using CCPs and SCPs.

But I downloaded and am trialling C1 Pro(v7) and while it's not bad ... it feels a lot more clunky to edit an image in my mind.
Finding tools isn't easy .. but my most hated workflow process .. opening an image with the annoying 'Import' dialog method is present in C1 .. just as it is in Lr.

If Lr just allowed you to simply navigate and open an image, I'd probably be using it more often than any other processing software.
if C1 has a method of doing this, that would be at least 50 points out of 100 that I will gladly add back into it's overall score.
One really nice touch about C1 tho is the that upon reopening C1 after closing it, it navigates back the last image you had open.
Not a massive problem in most situations .. but with VNX and CNX-D if I have a hundred files in a folder, and was workign on the last, or 5th last image .. had enough for the night and want to try again the next day(I always go back to my images with 'fresh eyes') .. I have to navigate back to the image that i had in mind I wanted to see again.
Not painful as such ... but it's nice to know that some nice finishing touches are thought of by some developers.

But I think PC setup or hardware choices has a lot to do with speed of software.
I can't see the slowness that many people refer to about CNX2 .. and can't see the problem with ViewNX2(if you consider ViewNX2 as more of an ACR type software .. not a fully fledged editor!)

I have run some 'speed tests' recently. (would have posted last night if I didn't have trouble loading up AP!!)
Anyhow, I can't see the speed advantage of C1 .. but for some unknown reason Lr is now loading up quickly for me .. and not only that, but working quickly too! :th3:
(there may be a weird reason for this tho).

Anyhow, in terms of speed of conversion .. which many people seem to think CNX and VNX are slow to do .... I have a few results on a raw file just converted by a few programs.

Raw file is not mine .. just a test file I had downloaded.
D800E NEF file, of 48Mb, opened in each software and just converted to both jpg(100%) and tiff(16bit, no compression) all converted images set to sRGB.

NEF to jpg:

VNX2 = 8.4s
C1 = 20.5s
CNX-D = 8.3s
CNX2 = 2.3s
LR4 = 7.6s

NEF to tif:

VNX2 = 7.5s
C1 = 20.4 (16bit) 17.4s(8bit)
CNX-D = 6.5
CNX2 = 1.2s
Lr4.4 = 6.4s

All times are three trial runs and averaged out values taking into account my timing errors. Had to do 5 of the CNX2 runs as I know I'm not accurate enough pressing my stop watch and my mouse concurrently.

The differences between CNX-D, VNX2 and Lr aren't noticeable to any real degree other than for me . now wondering when did Lr4 become so much faster in so many ways.
I did do an update a while back to v4.4, as instructed and I know I opened LR4 with this new update .. but haven't really dine all that much with it.
But, what I also did last night(as I regularly do ... but not to this degree) was go into some OS related flotsam repositories and remove unwanted 'stuff'
My faux pas tho was that I deleted all of my AppData contents .. not the specific directories that I thought I had targeted.
Al of my software now seems to think I've only just installed it .. and I think this may be where Lr may have got some of it's speed.
I normally delve into it's myriad of folders in the AppData labyrinth and delete only some of the garbage it creates(catalog, and other stuff like that) but this time I deleted all of the folders in AppData!

C1 is a fresh install, so I can't understand it's 'slowness'. It's glacial to start up, but this isn't entirely fair as I only have the trial, and one part fo the start process is to tell it that every time I open it. From hitting the Try button tho, it still takes a good 30 sec or more to fully load. It's not overly slow to operate, other than building the icons for the filmstrip. Takes far too long for that process .. compared to some other software(mainly VNX2 in my case, but not limited to this program). CNX-D is also woeful in the time it takes to build the icon cache for the first time too tho.

I can't see any advantage of C1's tool structure, you still have to go through too many multiple clicks to effect basic edits.(I think I prefer CNX2's structure).
It's super annoying in not having a way to turn on/off any edits steps just created .. even free software like VNX2 has this ability.
I like to see real time changes sometimes to any edits I make and sometimes the ability enable/disable edits is critical to understanding if it's a worthwhile step.
Anyhow, I'll keep C1 and look into it a bit more.
I'm about to start the process of freshly reinstalling Win7 soon as it's now a 5 yo installation and has slowly gotten bogged down with much flotsam over those years.
Hopefully that'll give me another 60 days to trial C1 to give me a better idea on how it can be tweaked.

[I @ M]

It seems that Thom Hogan has some less than complimentary views about NX-D as well. http://www.dslrbodies.com/accessories/software-for-nikon-dslrs/software-news/day-12-of-the-d810-workflow.html

[WhoDo]

Responses in this thread, while valid and appropriate, pretty much guarantee that I WON'T be posting any more "useful links" for AP members. Sorry. Maybe I'm just too old, or too tired, to appreciate that trying to be helpful can be such a pain in the arse for some people. :confused013

[enseth]

Responses in this thread, while valid and appropriate, pretty much guarantee that I WON'T be posting any more "useful links" for AP members. Sorry. Maybe I'm just too old, or too tired, to appreciate that trying to be helpful can be such a pain in the arse for some people. :confused013

I don't think you should take it personally. In fact I'm very grateful for your post. It opened up some very interesting discussion. I learnt a lot. Well done you!

[Goatch]

I've got to agree with enseth here WhoDo, don't take any comments personally mate , this has been a very informative thread for people to take from it what they will , isn't it all about learning the craft :wd:

[arthurking83]

Definitely not your fault Waz!

It's all Nikon's doing(or is that undoing! ;))

While NX-D does have a couple of useful features .. they are only useful if you grew up on a diet of previous free Nikon software.
In some instances, NX-D is slightly better than CNX2(the only feature that I can confirm so far is the split screen view, where CNX2 doesn't offer one!)

I'm still persisting with using NX-D .. but only in a sense of seeing what it can do for me, that I can't already do.

If it weren't for its lack of speed and inability to do simple things like add ITPC(metadata) info, I'd probably prefer it to ViewNX2 as my primary raw viewer/converter.
Oh! and it doesn't integrate as well with Nikon's Transfer2 either.
That is, you can induce Nikon Transfer2 from within ViewNX2 if need be, but there is no native tool to do so in CNX-D! :confused:(and it doesn't have any useful means to transfer files to the PC).

Like I said earlier .. its as though Nikon have almost deliberately made the decision to forgo any attempt at producing useful software that makes it easy to do stuff(simple stuff) with software that work together.

Adobe successfully(this could be argued tho!) use a multitude of software that work together to allow the user to do meaningful stuff to their images.
eg. you don't use Photoshop to view your raw files, but using ACR to initially view and do preliminary stuff .. then onto Bridge to do more stuff .. then into Ps to do the real stuff, you do eventually get a file(although not raw!) into Ps to do your stuff to it.

Nikon have ViewNX2 which is the most basic of software .. as I said .. really only does preliminary raw editing, such as whitebalance, exposure correcting, tonal adjustments and so on on a global basis.
This was handy because to view and sift through many images in CNX2 was a bit of a nightmare compared to how easy it is in VNX2.
So in effect, VNX2 was to Nikon's software ecosystem what ACR and Bridge are to the Adobe system.
That is, you don't use ACR to do complex editing on your files .. you use Ps for that! ..
In the Nikon system, this is where CaptureNX2 came into the equation! .. simple and effective :th3:

Now, you have a new software, that sits between the two established software from Nikon, but for all intents and purposes doesn't fit between them in any manner.
It's a totally new workflow that doesn't help.
In fact not only does it not help .. it's more annoying than anything else.
If you want to replace ViewNX2 in your workflow for NX-D, you can't make any preliminary edits in NX-D that carry over into the raw file in CaptureNX2. The raw file is sent to CNX2 in tiff format, which defeats the purpose of using CNX2 :confused:
If you add any metadata to the file via CNX2, it's only present in the tiff file if you want to take it back into NX-D(eg. for review or comparison purposes) and hence the metadata isn't present in the raw file.
(it begs the question .. what's the point??!!).
The if you add any metadata into a raw file via CNX2(for example) and then open the raw file in NX-D .. the raw file is locked from editing again in NX-D, unless you reset it to edit it in any way(which is simply lunacy).

if this gives the impression that much is broken in the Nikon software team .. that's because that's exactly what's happened.

Thom says:
“completely avoid because it’s a waste of time” .. which is an accurate assessment if you want any sort of integration(as there used to be).
Although I disagree with him on it's failure to pass his Photo Mechanic -> CNX-D test! Why would Nikon want to bother with this form of interoperability?(I can't see any NEED to use PM as an initial point of call for raw files!! :confused:)

NX-D is more of a curio!
A curious piece of software that is probably best described as beta software for just checking out what it may do.
Maybe in a few years time :rolleyes: .... if they produce a CaptureNX-D Pro, which would parallel what CaptureNX2 used to do, we might see what Nikon's end goal is supposed to be.

But you should have no fear of having wasted any time in altering anyone to any news worthy for consideration(no matter the product being discussed).

and FWIW, if anyone else is trialling NX-D too .. there is a new v1.01 update for Windows(only) that fixed some bug (that I couldn't produce, but still doesn't fix the bug that I consistently see!).

[Lance B]

Responses in this thread, while valid and appropriate, pretty much guarantee that I WON'T be posting any more "useful links" for AP members. Sorry. Maybe I'm just too old, or too tired, to appreciate that trying to be helpful can be such a pain in the arse for some people. :confused013

Don't know why you're uset, Waz. The link was useful, and thank you for that, but you didn't make the software.

[Hawthy]

Let me state from the outset that I am a rank amateur photographer. I am also what I like to call "sensible with money" but what my wife calls "being a tight ar*e".

I have been using PS Elements 8 which I bought back in 2009(?) to process photos from my Pentax K100D. I upgraded to a Nikon D5100 and the PSE8 software was too old to process RAW files from the camera. So I have been using View NX2 which was supplied with the camera to process RAW files and then convert them to JPEG to process in PSE8.

I just downloaded Capture NXD and had a bit of a fiddle around. First impressions are that it is light years ahead of View NX2. I have had no experience of the other Nikon software mentioned in earlier posts so I can't compare against those programs. For a free program, it is really a pretty good tool for RAW files. So for thrifty people who have older versions of Photoshop but want to shoot in RAW this allows them to do that at no extra expense.

That said, I have been trialling Adobe PS & Lightroom on their Creative Cloud and will probably sign up for that. At $10 per month it is hard to go past it for value.

[arthurking83]

.....

I have been using PS Elements 8 which I bought back in 2009(?) to process photos from my Pentax K100D. I upgraded to a Nikon D5100 and the PSE8 software was too old to process RAW files from the camera. So I have been using View NX2 which was supplied with the camera to process RAW files and then convert them to JPEG to process in PSE8.

I just downloaded Capture NXD and had a bit of a fiddle around. First impressions are that it is light years ahead of View NX2. I have had no experience of the other Nikon software mentioned in earlier posts so I can't compare against those programs. For a free program, it is really a pretty good tool for RAW files. So for thrifty people who have older versions of Photoshop but want to shoot in RAW this allows them to do that at no extra expense.

......

In your situation, CNX-D has potential.
If you haven't invested a lot of time into the Nikon software system, CNX-D could actually make sense(it it usable).
Firstly, if you want to achieve the highest possible quality from your files, go from VNX2 or CNX-D to Elements using the tiff option.
You can set up a quick shortcut to do this automagically in each program .. by setting up an "Open With" shortcut tool.
Using that shortcut will cause either VNX2 or CNX-D to create a tiff file and send it to <insert your favourite program here>

All this does it to bypass the step of manually converting the file and then opening in the other program(in your case Elements).

The only caveat with using tiff files is that I think Elements may not be capable of opening 16 bit uncompressed tiff files! .. which is all that they can provide in this situation.
I have quite a few Open With shortcuts made for VNX2 and they're handy to have if you just want another option.

If it weren't for two important aspects of ViewNX2 that can't be done in Capture NX-D .. I'd dump VNX2 for NX-D yesterday! :p
The two things I use more than anything else in ViewNX2 are it's instant zoom to mouse cursor feature(makes rating images based on IQ so much more speedy and less tiresom), and of course my keywording.

The reason I use View NX2 for keywording(ITPC data) and hopefully don't lose the ability too in the future, is that it writes the keywording data to the file itself(ie. raw file) and not to some abstract and obscure data set in a file on my PC that no other software can use!
Having the very important bits of metadata in the raw file itself makes the raw file useful some day in the future.
Having metadata stored in an unusable database somewhere on your PC that only is only usable by the software that created it(ie. Lightroom!) guarantees only one thing .. that you will be reliant on that software for ever!
If you have a store of a hundred thousand images and want to easily retrieve an image you made at some time between X date and Y date that you think was taken in a place you've been too 3 times a week every week for the last 8 years .. anyhow.. it does get very difficult to find an specific image once you have lots of them.

Having the metadata in the raw file(the most important file in your image storage system!) is vital (I think). Any other subsequent database can be constructed from this most basic foundation.
Lightroom(and I think CaptureOne Pro that I'm currently trying out) may sound really nice on the face of it ... but I think in the long term ... a fools errand!(or that you have to be totally committed to the one software system for all eternity).

ViewNX2 can be used easily enough to value add your images with metadata, but Nikon haven't made it easy to use .. it takes a bit of patience to get it to work OK.
With respect to metadata .. CNX-D sucks!
Nikon simply decided that, even tho they gave you this ability for all these previous years with both Capture NX2 and ViewNX .. they think it's no longer important to have the ability to add metadata into your raw files!
Not entirely sure what Nikon manageridiot in charge made this decision when they were looking for new software .. but had they worked for me .. I'd have laid charges for subversion and causing harm to my software business!

I guess this downtrodding of CNX-D may be a case of us Nikon software users not wanting regression in the next level of software.
Like you said Hawthy .. in terms of more usable features .. ie. processing/tweaking/editing, NX-D is far superior to ViewNX2.

The sharpening tool in ViewnX2 was a joke(that I usually laughed at, at least).

The USM tool in NX-D is just like most others can be, other than you can't selectively apply it tho. But at least it allows much better quality than VNX2 did.

[Mark L]

Responses in this thread, while valid and appropriate, pretty much guarantee that I WON'T be posting any more "useful links" for AP members. Sorry. Maybe I'm just too old, or too tired, to appreciate that trying to be helpful can be such a pain in the arse for some people. :confused013

Hopefully you're to tired and a good nights sleep or two helps that.:)
You've posted many useful links that I'm sure some have benefited from and while this one may be a a pain in the arse for some people, it don't mean it has to be for you.

And, I'm still a little embarrassed.:)

[Jorge Arguello]

Capture NX-D is free, has more features than View NX-2.
Also, the RAW file looks that remains untouched, and a work file created, compared with View NX-2 that generates a RAW file that is bigger than the original. I get used to have a single file, something to be considered.
Capture NX-D has more tools, I feel that I need a 2nd screen.
Well, thank you for this post. Hope that a more experienced user writes advantages and disadvantages of this FREE software (compared with View NX-2 that is also FREE).

[arthurking83]

..... Hope that a more experienced user writes advantages and disadvantages of this FREE software (compared with View NX-2 that is also FREE).

I hope that I'm experienced enough(with nearly 10 years of only Nikon software usage)

Advantages: none.
Disadvantages: a totally unusable program that locks up after loading two or three individual images for editing.

To be more accurate, the advantages are plenty(over VNX2) in terms of features .. a few missing tho. The reason that the advantages are listed as none, is simple. I can't the program to run for long enough to use many of those features!
The crucial annoyance is not just the instability of the software, but it's refusal to open again after it's hissy fit crash and burn routine after a few minutes of editing.
Once it crashes, any subsequent attempts to start the program result in "CNX-D refused to start - do you want to send an error report(etc, etc)"

As a summary of this software ability and place in the world of editing(as I currently see it):
If this is Nikon's new strategy for software and support for those of us not really interested in other software .. no matter how little you pay for it .. it's pretty miserable!
I'd rather pay more than the third party software vendors current pricing for an updated Capture NX2!

I used to read many people complain of Nikon's software, with many comments of slowness and stability issues. I've never experienced this with either CNX2 nor VNX2(of any note).
I think I now see with CNX-D, what others found (with their issues) in CaptureNX2 and VNX2.

I think I must be alone in my contra view that the original raw file needs to be protected from any form of tweaking by any software.
While it's perfectly understandable that as you edit the image in strange and interesting directions, what's important is the ability to reset the raw image back to an original state.
ViewNX2 has the ability to do this, even tho it still adds it's edits into the raw file, rather than this separate sidecar file idea that Nikon have now adopted too(with CNX-D).
The problem tho, is that simple edits such as tagging, don't attach to the raw file either.
So, you end up becoming tied to the software that tags the images if you want to view those tags.

One of my principle uses for ViewNX2(among a few others) .. is it's ability to tag raw files. And properly tag them .. not some psuedo tag that mean really nothing to any other viewer(if the need arises).
ViewNX2(as well as CapturenX2 where possible) .. allows you to add ITPC info into the raw file directly. So my images of the man on the moon, I add tags with ViewNX2 such as Moon, Man, Man on Moon, and so on via the ITPC tag tool. The ability to do this is easy, but implemented in a slightly lunatic manner by Nikon(as usual *1* .. see below).
Once I do this, I can then see this tagged info in the raw files from simple file management software like Windows Explorer(if the raw codec is installed on Windows) ..and almost every other software that recognises the raw files(eg. Lr, IrfanView, FSViewer, and a host of so many .. I'm yet to find one that doesn't read these tags).
For cataloging, I use a dedicated software which is discontinued now, but again .. it built it's database simply from the ITPC tags I've entered into the raw files .. long before I started using the cataloging software.
I can also do this with Lr if I wanted, as Lr sees the tags.

BUT! ... and this is a major annoyance I have with almost all other of these so called cataloging/editing/managing software .. an example of why I can't use Lr as my sole software.
If I add any metadata to the image, Lr keeps it in it's database .. not in the image.
So raw files I tag with Lr are only any good if I use Lr only. No other software that I know of can see this tagged info. So for me to tag files now and to maintain the ability to access this tagged info in (say) 10 years time, Adobe expects/assumes I'm going to be tied to Lr for those next 10 years.
You can't see Lr tagged info via any other software (that I know of), such as Windows Explorer(only as an example).

CaptureNX-D follows this annoying philosophy too now.
To begin with, you can't actually add any tag info as metadata at all, let alone into the image.
The rating/label that you can add(ie. colour/number labels and or star/number ratings) which I use with every session to keep a track of the good/bad/ugly .. in CNX-D, they decided to keep this info separate too, so that only in CNX-D can you see these labels/ratings.

If you do this in VNX2(and CNX2 on images that it recognises) .. because the metadata is embedded into the image, you see it in CNX-D.
Remember, if you label it in VNX2, you can see it in almost any other software as it's embedded into the raw file.

But CNX-D added metadata can't be viewed in VNX2 (remember both Nikon software!!) because it's kept separate from the actual raw file.

Why is this a problem(worth mentioning)? .. backups! Backups are hard enough to do .. just the idea of remembering to do them is hard enough for some :p .. but remembering to backup those stupid separate sidecar files too!
If you don't backup the sidecar files as well .. all your metadata is then lost.
The importance of this becomes apparent as your image archives start to approach the tens of thousands .. without trying to explain the difficulty of an archive of 100,000 raw files and nearly 10 years. Trying to find an image of a place or situation you've been too so many times before but you know you had this one image of a specific situation! .. metadata is your best friend at times like these.

So, my major hope is that CNX-D is a halfway stepping stone, that Nikon had to settle on, to get beyond the CaptureNX2 saga they got themselves into.
VNX2 and CNX2 worked 75% happily together if your routine was structured correctly. A few annoyances between the two, but nothing worth complaining about.

VNX2 and CNX-D are a much less happy pair. More like 1% happy to work together, if you treat them as separate entities, where one knows about the other and puts the effort into maintaining a relationship(ie. VNX2) .. but the other doesn't give a stuff about the existence of the others presence(CNX-D).

Do it in VNX2, and CNX-D is happy to oblige with it's version of the raw file.
Do it in CNX-D and VNX2 can't see it at all.
With respect to the snobbery of CNX-D .. it's not as tho it's some super Uber totally capable raw editing hero either! It has basic ability, that is still in dark ages compared to almost all other raw editors. CNX2 was at least twice as capable by comparison. There are very few features improvements in CNX-D over CNX2(multi-window comparison for example) .. but this sort of features pale into uselessness compared to the features in CNX2 .. now lost in CNX-D!!


*1* earlier I made a reference to Nikon's lunatic manner, which is simply an addendum to describe the traditional Nikon way.
This is a traditional Nikon nuance, whereby they enable a very cool feature(usually something along the lines of an must have feature such as ITPC/Keyword tagging) but make it close to impossible to use it easy to apply repetitive manner .. or make the feature worthy of it's inherent value. (and something not to be underestimated is the value of tagging images, especially as the archive grows .. a lot!).
So you can't easily or efficiently add already created tag data into images.(well, to be more accurate, you can .. it's that Nikon made it very hard too!!).
The other issue is that you can't search for it,at all .. in the very same program that allowed you to create it in the first place!
So for many years now, I've had to use this other software(for cataloging) that used data I entered via VNX2 .. because VNX2 can't really find the data it allowed me to create in the first place!
(how's that for lunatic Nikon manner! :D)
I have other gripes against ViewNX2 .. but these are my biggest gripes, as it's really the main reason I actually use it for.
I do the general overall global edit, like whitebalance/exposure/etc, and it's much easier to do this in a batch situation than with either CNX2 or CNX-D. But for intricate edits, I still use CNX2(as my cameras are still supported by CNX2.
If I ever get a new camera model(not likely in the near future) I have no idea what I'll use .. unlikely to be CNX-D, as it won't run properly for long enough(yet).

[Jorge Arguello]

Thank ArthurKing you for your comments, and for taking the time to explain with details.

Capture NX-D has been the most controversial photo software that I have been across.

Thom Hogan has experienced some issues,
http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/capture-nx-d-announced.html
http://www.dslrbodies.com/accessories/software-for-nikon-dslrs/software-news/day-12-of-the-d810-workflow.html

but in the next link, my understanding is that the program is not as bad as it was when was launched, especially when suggest that we want to install it.
http://www.dslrbodies.com/accessories/software-for-nikon-dslrs/software-news/is-capture-nx-d-good-enough.html

I have not found any user comment where said that Capture NX-D has “replaced” any of his programs (including View NX-2) in their workflow.

My understanding so far is:

In general, All (or almost) of the users are not willing to change the work flow to ADD this software into it. Why? So far, the program does not add a big/any difference in the image quality (should I say “yet”) neither making a simpler or faster workflow.
Users of new cameras that needs RAW converter, might need it (what a shame that Capture NX-2 can’t be updated to support new RAWs).
If View NX-2 is the only program in the work flow then Capture NX-D looks to be a good free option to be added.


Again, thank you for sharing your experience with this program.

[arthurking83]

LOL!
I can't imagine anyone(serious about image editing) replacing their current software with CNX-D, to be honest.
As already said, the feature benefits over ViewNX2 are definitely there .. with tools such as the LCH editor, and proper sharpening(USM) tool .. etc.
VNX2 is as basic as image editing comes(to my knowledge) .. and that's one of the appealing aspects of it.
The major reason I like it(and partly why I kind of like CNX-D too .. even tho I can't believe I just used those two terms .. like and CNX-D!! .. in the one sentence :p)
Simple software, like these, forces you to make sure your images are captured properly from within the camera.



......

My understanding so far is:

In general, All (or almost) of the users are not willing to change the work flow to ADD this software into it. Why? So far, the program does not add a big/any difference in the image quality (should I say “yet”) neither making a simpler or faster workflow.
Users of new cameras that needs RAW converter, might need it (what a shame that Capture NX-2 can’t be updated to support new RAWs).
If View NX-2 is the only program in the work flow then Capture NX-D looks to be a good free option to be added.


.....

I think you just about summed it up perfectly there.
I would have no issue in using it more regularly, if not for the fact that I struggle to get it to run on my PC. I just updated to the latest v1.03 and opened it 9 or 10 times(with short breaks between each attempt, and for a while things looked good. It seemed(for a moment) that Nikon have fixed bugs that caused me grief.
That only lasted a few minutes later tho, as on my nearly 10th attempt at doing something with it, it crashed again. I when to use the image comparison tool this time and noted that it took forever to generate one of the preview images in the multi window, and clicked on something else in the window and as per usual it died.
Strangely tho . I never had issues with it crashing while it was beta software .. the initial release as you commented.
If the software was still beta .. I'd have no problems with crashing and slowness and whatnot.

With point #2 in your summary .. I suspect that Nikon have lost, or will lose many customers/potential customers with this software now.

That is, in a market that has been declining for a while now, and as manufacturers look to different ways to generate income(to compensate for falling sales) .. it made/makes sense for the manufacturers to offer good quality software to go with their products.
But the point that needs highlighting .. ie strong emphasis here is ... GOOD QUALITY!! .. of which both CNX/CNX2 were good quality software.
I don't know of any other camera maker that offered software close to that sort of capability of image processing/raw conversion :confused013

It seemed that Nikon should have been 'onto a good thing' .. and over time, make it better.
But they seemed to have gone the other way.


I have to say again too tho(so it's clear) that my PC is now on a very old installation of it's OS, and this may be causing some issue in CNX-D. I doubt it, but it could be a possibility.
No other software is causing me trouble.. and I have lots of software installed. CNX-D is the single most irritating .. in that I'm hoping that it may come good at some point.
If it were not software I'd want to keep, I'd have deleted it ages ago, as I do a lot of, and never have to deal with it ever again.
Over the next few months, I'll go through the process of a total reinstallation of my PC environment and see if this affects how CNX-D work after this process .. so my thoughts on it may change.
But the lack of certain features(like keywording input) is an issue that won't be rectified until they rectify it!
And then of course even if they did, would they do it as they did it before(embedded into the image) or as they seem to want to do it now(separate meta info files)?

[Jorge Arguello]

Hello:

Thank you for sharing your experience with CNXD. I have not used photoshop so I can't compare.
I have used View NX2, Capture NX2, GIMP, and Capture NXD.

It might not be good for everybody but I do like CNXD a lot. It is pretty easy to use and NEF files remains untouched.

Here is a couple of links
https://www.flickr.com/groups/capturenx/
https://www.flickr.com/groups/2680071@N25/discuss/72157648800172542/