![]() ![]() On the negative side, it doesn’t do image alignment too well (despite the option being present). On the positive side, it’s got a very simple interface and it’s very fast. Picturenaut HDR is not the best HDR creation software out there, but it gets the job done for me. Here are the tools I’ve found useful for these applications: While Capture NX 2 handles development and retouching of single images, some times you need multi-image solutions for panoramas and HDRs. Yeah, batch conversion is a pain so if you do a lot of batch conversions, you might have to get something else or use View NX2 if you can live with its glacial speed of conversion and limited retouching support. I’ve tried LR3 and I didn’t like it as much as CNX2. Though a lot of people say it’s not as great as Aperture or Lightroom, I disagree. I’ve come to love the very functional interface.You want a full colour as well as a monochrome version of the same snap? Sure, your NEF can carry multiple sets of editing steps all in itself It supports multiple edit-versions of the same file.The ability to retain the exact settings used to create a JPEG is amazing! It saves all the development and retouch settings right within the NEF file.It’s got the U-Point controls that make selective retouching really really easy, without requiring you to drop into complex layer masks, etc., which I could never get the hang of.Really awesome to have this if you’re shooting with Nikon’s own lenses It has in-built lens correction features like distortion control, CA control and vignetting.It recognises all the camera settings used while taking a photograph and applies them as a starting point while developing the image.It’s arguably the best converter for Nikon’s RAW files, giving rich tones, smooth gradations and excellent detail.Nikon Capture NX 2.2.4 ($180): This software is all that I use for developing my images. for a month or few months, I copy the finished and shortlisted content to a more permanent backup solution (DVDs, in my case). When I’m done with all the processing, etc. It doesn’t happen often but on the rare occasion that it does, it’s good to know that you’ve got all the shots with you. The backup copy is always there, just in case I need to revert on my decisions. Please note that while I ruthlessly delete items based on the star rating assigned as above, I do it only on the primary working copy. Unlikely to be uploaded to Flickr or printed. 4 Stars: Awesome snap! Convert, retouch and upload to Flickr.5 Stars: Awesome snap! Convert, retouch and upload to Flickr.Here’s the rating system that I’ve evolved for myself over the months: The way it allows files to be compared at 100% zoom and the way it can filter the film strip on rating ranges makes it extremely easy to do so. I primarily use it to select the photos that I want to develop. It has also started offering the basic photo editing options that are available in Nikon cameras’ retouch menu. ViewNX 2 allows rating and tagging photos, while also allowing for conversion of RAW files into JPEGs or 8/16-bit TIFFs. ViewNX 2 is a recent release from Nikon and Nikon Transfer now comes bundled with it. I drop the camera-wise separation for permanent archival. The RAW files get dropped directly into those folders and the converted JPEGs go into a subfolder. My folder hierarchy for transferring these photos into is like this:Ĭamera Model/Name > Year > MonthNumber-MonthName or EventNameĮ.g. I don’t normally use this option but I’ve needed it once or twice so I thought it might be worth mentioning. It allows manually selecting the photos to be transferred.It detects which photos have already been transferred from a batch and skips those (configurable).It allows simultaneously downloading the photos to a secondary location, which in my case happens to be just another disk partition but can also be an external USB drive (I’m contemplating doing the latter, going forward).Anyway, so Nikon Transfer is launched when the SD card is inserted and the nice thing about this software is that I’ve tried connecting the camera through its own USB interface and through the built-in card reader on my computer, but I find that the San Disk card reader that came with my Extreme III card gives the fastest throughput. This is the program that detects photos on external media and transfers them to a local disk or other external media. Just to set the context, I use Microsoft Windows 7 for my imaging tasks, and my camera is a Nikon D90, so I do use a lot of Nikon software. I’d also outline my workflow as I present each software in the order in which it appears in the workflow. ![]() As my photos get backed up and burnt on to a DVD, I thought I might just do a quick cataloguing of the software I’ve found useful for developing my photographs and what each does.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |