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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Nikon D2X and D200 users...
Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:05 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> what do you use to open up RAW files? I have Photoshop CS..what do I need?
Debbie |
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Andy Song, Photographer
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Auckland | ALK | New Zealand | Posted: 1:04 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Debra, try downloading the latest ACR updates from the Adobe website.
Andy |
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David Stout, Photographer
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Jonesboro | AR | USA | Posted: 1:12 AM on 03.19.06 |
| ->> I am too poor to buy CS. Heck I am just using the windows xp browse folder option. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 1:23 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Andy,
Ilooked for the update, downloaded one but I can't get it to work. I am using CS for Mac with no updates yet. Believe it or not, I never played with RAW but want to start for some personal work.
Debbie |
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Chris Machian, Photographer, Assistant
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 1:36 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> DO you have CS2?
I know that the latest version of ACR for CS1 won't open the newest files. Adobe would rather you buy CS2. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 1:46 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> I have versio 8.0 but it just says Photoshop CS. Does this mean I cannot open RAW files from the D2X and D200? Do I just buy the update for CS2?
Debbie |
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Chris Machian, Photographer, Assistant
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 1:52 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> CS 1 is the same as Version 8.
As far as I know, yes you would have to get CS2..
But you if you plan on going to intel macs soon, you might want to wait until CS3, which will run on intel macs native and open D2X and D200.
I know I will most likely skip CS2. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 2:02 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> But you if you plan on going to intel macs soon, you might want to wait until CS3, which will run on intel macs native and open D2X and D200.
what does this mean-" which will run on intel macs native"
wasn't planning on getting the intel machine-but was looking at the G5.
Debbie |
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Chris Machian, Photographer, Assistant
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Omaha | NE | USA | Posted: 2:11 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Well, software on an intel mac has to be written differently than on older machines. Right now you can use an emulator called Rosetta to use older software on intel macs, but it saps some processor power. To take full advantage you have to have the newer versions of the software that run native to intel.
Adobe said they won't release an intel friendly version of CS2, but it will be in CS3.
As of now, the G5 towers are not intel. But the imacs are.
I can only assume intel towers are in the near future. |
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George Bridges, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | USA | Posted: 10:31 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Debra,
You need to upgrade to CS2 or buy Nikon Capture (which is clunkier but has a few features PS does not have) or look at Bibble which has gotten good reviews and does a lot of things Capture does but better.
Also, reports are Nikon is working to create a new program similar to Capture that runs better. When it will come out and whether it will be OSX, or the platform for the Intel Macs or what I'm not sure.
For now try downloading the trial of Capture or trial of Bibble to play with RAW and see which program you like best. Each full license will set you back a little over $100 though. |
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Gary Gardiner, Photographer
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Westerville | OH | USA | Posted: 11:49 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Debra,
You have several choices. One is free (for the cost of the camera.) The others are not free.
You can download Nikon View from www.nikontechusa.com at
http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p...
or
http://tinyurl.com/77ywd
NV lets you browse images from the D2X and D220 and open them as Tiff in PS CS. It doesn't allow you to do much to edit a NEF. The included Nikon Editor is rudimentary although being able to adjust exposure and color balance are included.
You can buy Nikon Capture for $99. It is an expanded version of Nikon Edit with many more controls affecting more aspects of the image. It is a good RAW converter for Nikon images.
There are other programs you can purchase, Bibble among them. Also look at the free version of Rawshooter essentials.
All I shoot is RAW. The workflow is much smoother with CS2 and Bridge. The quality is great and you have many more options available from a RAW file.
The best thing for you to do is upgrade to CS2. The latest version of the Adobe Camera Raw plugin does handle the D2X and D200 with great ease. The cost is about $180, depending upon your buying preference. If you're a student you can purchase the software for about the same amount but it cannot be used to upgrade to the next version, whenever it comes out.
I highly recommend the Adobe upgrade to CS2. It is a much more robust program than CS including the upgrades to Adobe Bridge. Well worth the money. And, you'll love the shadow/highlight recovery function, if used with care.
Buy yourself a copy of The DAM Book which I believe is listed in the SS bookstore. You'll never shoot jpg only ever again. You might shoot RAW+jpg to save time on deadline, but you'll be hooked on RAW. |
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Tony Donaldson, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | USA | Posted: 11:53 AM on 03.19.06 |
->> Nikon View has a convertor for NEF images. You can use that while waiting for CS2. It is free, unlike the software Nikon makes you pay for. (Like selling you a new car without a trunk lid. It's driveable, but not complete).
If for some odd reason you upgrade right now to an Intel Mac, you can still run CS2, it just runs on an emulator. If you are upgrading to an Intel Mac from a current PPC Mac, you'll see a slowdown. If you're upgrading from an older Mac (e.g. more than a year old) you will probably not see the difference, and won't till there's a Universal Binary version of Photoshop, then it'll seem even faster. |
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Robert O'Rourk, Photographer
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Setauket | NY | USA | Posted: 10:32 PM on 03.19.06 |
->> I use Photo Mechanic for initial editing and then move my selects to CS2 with the lastest ACR (version 3.1). My sooting is strictly RAW so I can take advantage of greater range by making sure I do not blow highlights,. RAW lets me get to the shadow info more readily. I also use several actions in CS2 to convert the edited RAW into final jpeg version for delivery to various customers
ACR3.1 covers the D2X and I believe D200 formats. It lets you use an automatic mode or you can use manual settings on any or all shots you wish to save as jpeg. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 11:23 PM on 03.19.06 |
->> so, if I already have Photoshop CS, I can just purchase the upgrade to be able to open up RAW? ACR is CS2?
Debbie |
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Matthew Knight, Photographer
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Cedar Falls | IA | usa | Posted: 1:52 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> Might want to try Adobe's Lightroom. I know it has d2x support ( or at least it says so on the site.) Plus it's free and you don't need to update your machine ( Aperture) to run it. Understand, it is a beta version but it could solve your problem for now.
m |
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Gary Gardiner, Photographer
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Westerville | OH | USA | Posted: 6:14 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> "so, if I already have Photoshop CS, I can just purchase the upgrade to be able to open up RAW? ACR is CS2?
Debbie"
Correct, as long as the CS is not a student version. You will have to download the update for the most recent version of ACR.
You can also install the 30-day version of CS2 with full capabilities to see for yourself how well it works. It doesn't overwrite CS.
Again, buy The DAM Book. |
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Samuel Lewis, Photographer
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Miami | FL | USA | Posted: 7:45 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> You don't need CS2, although it would make life MUCH easier.
Instead, you can download the ACR3.3/DNG combination from Adobe. Look for the Digital Negative or DNG page. Using the DNG program, you can convert from NEF (D2X or D200) to DNG, and then you can open the DNG file in CS.
Hope this helps. |
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Dianna Russell, Photographer
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Springfield | MO | USA | Posted: 8:43 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> Debbie,
I just started shooting RAW/NEF files in January and had the same dilemma. I upgraded to CS2 and I have to say the more I use it the more I like it. I also upgraded my Noise Ninja to get the CS2 plug-in and love that too. It sure does make things easier.
Dianna |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 8:51 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> My non techy brain is about to EXPLODE :)
Thanks everyone.
Debbie |
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Wes Hope, Photographer
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Maryville | TN | USA | Posted: 9:10 AM on 03.20.06 |
->> I'm going to throw my vote out there for the Nikon software (Capture and View). I know a lot of folks scoff and think it's crappy software, but it works great for me and I've shot 100% .NEF for 2 years now (mainly with the D2h and recently the D200).
Here's my workflow:
-Download via Lexar USB 2.0 CF reader
-Nikon View to go through and edit (choose) by viewing the files and selecting the images I want to tone.
-Copy those images to an "edit" folder.
-In Nikon Capture, select "multi-image window" for the selected "edit" folder
-Make white balance and exposure adjustments as needed
-Batch save as .jpgs into my network folder (if at the paper) or "edits-jpg" folder (at home). Rename as they save if needed.
-Open PS CS or CS2 (depending on where I am) and do any resizing, captioning, tweaking, printing.
The above has always worked flawlessly for me and pretty darned fast too (depending on your machine I guess). It blazes through daily assignments (usually 5-20 pictures a day) and even high volume shooting like weddings. With those, I'll break down the edits into separate folders of about 200 photos and then do the same multi-image/batch save as above. Works like a charm.
I never could quite get into PhotoMechanic (older versions) and I can't stand the PS CS raw converter.
We all have a workflow that works for us. I just get tired of reading bad things about Capture. For me, it was the best $100 I've spent as far as getting the most for my money since moving to digital.
So load up the trial versions of Capture and View that came with your cameras and give it test drive. It may save you a lot of time and headache. |
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James Rulison, Photographer
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Chino Hills | CA | USA | Posted: 12:22 PM on 03.21.06 |
->> My work flow is very close to Wes's I just throw in photo mechanic to do captioning and keywords. I use it for D2X and a D200. I have tried several times to just use photoshop and well for some reason photoshop always gets the colors wrong.
Best,
James |
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