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Recommendations on editing software for D800E

derekw

New member
You guys seem to be a knowledgeable bunch, so I want to see what you have to say.

I had been using lightroom 4, something I'm quite comfortable and competent with.

Recently I tried the viewNX software that came with my D800E and was quite surprised at how much more pop the images seemed to have. Better clarity.

This with no sharpening added. (although now I do wonder if even the neutral profile contained some default sharpening)

I downloaded capture NX2 and gave it a whirl last night, making sure to remove any default sharpening. Still felt like the images had more pop, more detail. (although the interface and tools aren't as nice as what I have with lightroom, IMO)

I know capture one (I believe) is another tool some people favor.

Is this all in my head, just missing something settings wise? Or does some software do better in getting the most out of D800E files?


Thanks
 

Bob

Administrator
Staff member
You guys seem to be a knowledgeable bunch, so I want to see what you have to say.

I had been using lightroom 4, something I'm quite comfortable and competent with.

Recently I tried the viewNX software that came with my D800E and was quite surprised at how much more pop the images seemed to have. Better clarity.

This with no sharpening added. (although now I do wonder if even the neutral profile contained some default sharpening)

I downloaded capture NX2 and gave it a whirl last night, making sure to remove any default sharpening. Still felt like the images had more pop, more detail. (although the interface and tools aren't as nice as what I have with lightroom, IMO)

I know capture one (I believe) is another tool some people favor.

Is this all in my head, just missing something settings wise? Or does some software do better in getting the most out of D800E files?


Thanks
I am partial to Capture One for almost all files. I have struggled with Lightroom and almost always find it lacking or the controls just incompatible with my style of work.
Give it a try and invest in some learning-curve time. I think you will be pleased.
-bob
 

glenerrolrd

Workshop Member
Capture Nx2 does seem to provide a better raw conversion than LR4 . It is most notable in the rendering of fine details and in subtle tone separation . It also typically does a better job of profiling the color to a neutral and pleasing result . Those using it do note that the sharpening is way behind most other raw processors ....so in the final product (after sharpening ) you may see little difference . It provides essentially no work flow capabilities which is unpleasant after using LR4 .

The key question is would a change be worth mastering another software product ? Would the same effort with LR4 ..say in calibration and sharpening techniques ..give you a better result .
 

Tektrader

Member
I use Capture NX2 and after a learning curve I find it quite easy to use.

Only thing I wish it would do is Keystone correction. The distortion adjustment abilities are disappointing. Apart from that I find its really good software.
 

dogstarnyc

Member
For me the trick to getting LR to work for your personal camera is to use Adobe's DNG PROFILER and create your own camera profile.

There is a lot of chatter about fine tuning lenses, so why not make a unique profile for your camera, it solves a lot of colour issues straight away.

S
 

Stan ROX

Member
I was using LR since years. Had my Canon files there, my H4D-files also.

As I'm a D800E-user now, I found the development of my NEF's very dull and boring. So I researched and found that there is a way to connect Lightroom and Capture NX:

NxToo from Rob Cole.

It enables Lightroom to send the NEF's to Capture NX and your files will no more be the same than before. I really recommend the crispness, color rendition and overall look of Capture NX.

Main reason for me was to keep Lightroom - have more than 10 years of shooting in my catalogues, so a change is not really what's necessary.

IF you use Active D-Lighting, you may have also seen the beautiful pictures on your camera screen and the boring things that happen after the import into Lightroom - Capture NX nows how to handle that.

Stan ROX
stanROX.com
 
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