Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Has any other Nikon users tried their new Capture NX-D software? I'm still learning my way through it, but so far I cannot see how it is not at least as good as lightroom. (OK, lightroom has great presets for B&Ws.) It seems like an affordable option compared to Lightroom or Lightroom CC.

I'd love to hear your input and opinions.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

I use Cature NX D but not Lightroom. It doesn't have the capability to adjust segments of an image which is a major failing. That is why I use Capture NX2 and CS6 as well.

But it handles D810 NEF files well which do not require much adjustments any way.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

I have used Lightroom and Photoshop for over a year now, I tried VIEW NX2, View NX-I and Capture NX-D - I did not care for them. My major concern was they seemed slow and clunky compared to the smoothness I have in Lightroom.

The BIG plus was that possibly they can do a better job to easily match what Nikon produces out of the camera with JPG conversion, but for me, I shoot raw and do not necessarily want what a programmer might think I want ;) I would rather do the editing myself and I can endlessly tweak all the settings in Lightroom and Photoshop till the cows come home.

I can also add presets that mimics the picture control settings of the Nikon menu, if thats what I really want to do of course.

Remember, the CC package for photographers at $10.00 a month gets you Lightroom, AND Photoshop. When you start talking that combo, $10.00 a month seems like chicken feed ;)

Capture NX-D is not going to manage and organize your image library either, that is another BIG benefit of going Lightroom.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I have been using Capture NX2 for many years to edit my Nikon files. I bought Lightroom but I do not use it.
When Nikon designed Capture NX2 the purpose was to create a software that could work to perfection with Nikon files. Then came Nick software and added a few refinements to the program. Over the year Nikon has fixed a few bugs and at the start it was a very slow program.
In my humble opinion no other program offers a better sharpening tool for Nikon files than Capture. I know that soon Nikon will not support this software but I will keep on using it as long as I can.
Capture brings the best to Nikon files.

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Thanks Joer

I used both view NX2 and Lightroom until I upgraded to a D7200. The NEF files from the 7200 are NOT compatible with either the old NX2 software or LR 3.6 that I was using. Currently I convert all my raw files into dng files to work with LR 3.6 and then export them a jpgs. Yes, it's all quite cumbersome and requires several different viewers. I've developed & adjusted a handful of images with BOTH LR and NX-D for side by side comparisons. Each software had good and bad examples. Of course it may also be (or probably is) the way I adjusted the image which made one preferable.

I'm not sure if I can justify the expense of capture NX-D, but I adore the notion that you can choose areas of a photo to develop.

Thanks for your input, it's what I was looking for and adds to my considerations.

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Thanks again Dn.

Yes, you are right about the slow and clunky, I've found the same thing. But they're free, too. I haven't yet figured out how to use LR to manage my photos effectively. I just manage them with the finder on my mac and navigate about that way.

I do love the LR presets, especially for developing images in B&W.

Currently I am just trying to get my head about the best way to go from here software wise, at least. I'm trying to NOT throw a lot of money at something but the value of free is often dubious.

Thanks you for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Thank you for sharing your opinion, it is very useful. Recently my D-90 and my laptop was stolen. I did manage to upgrade my camera to a D-7200, and it takes better picture than I imagined. But my software work flow has been in shambles. The NEF files from the 7200 are not compatible with either my old LR3.6 or View NX2.

Right now I am still trying to decide the best (and most affordable) way to develop and view my images. There are a few features with Capture NX-2 that seem very compelling and I am giving it strong considerations.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

If you convert the NEFS to DNG, Lightroom should work with them.

The stand alone DNG converter from Adobe is free for downloading.

http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/digital-negative.html#downloads

BTW - I trailed Capture NX-2 before I went with Lightroom and thought it seemed very NON-clunky and smooth ;) BUT, I still went with Lightroom more for image organization and the database capabilities.

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

Capture NX-D is a free download from Nikon.

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

I have and have used capture NX-D. It seems to me to be more cumbersome than LR, but maybe that is because I am more familiar than LR. Capture NX-2, what I think is a high end version of NX-D runs some $159 on Amazon and $180 on the Nikon site. It's a bit more pricey than Lightroom 6 running $142. Photoshop cc seems to be $10/month. But NX-D seems to have some nice features not available in LR. I'm just trying to keep my software expenses to a minimum while maintaining an enjoyable workflow.

Mark Bski Loc: A sleepy little island not far from Seattle

Thanks again D. You got me on the right track a few months back on the a similar topic. The B&W I posted above was developed with those suggestions you made about converting to dng and then uploading into LR 3.

I'm just a bit frustrated with the change in my workflow. I liked using View NX very much, both to import and tweak photos, but especially to view photos. It complimented LR very nicely. But so much of that software is not compatible with the D7200 NEF files that my old workflow is kaput. I spent so much $$$ replacing my stolen equipment (Camera, 2 lenses, all kinds of peripherals, and a new computer) that less than nothing is left to upgrade software.

Arg.

At least I take better pictures than ever with the D7200.

<happyface emoticon>

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Capture NX2 is excellent for converting nef files except those from the more recent cameras. It has some great features.

Capture NX-D is a step backwards. Its biggest short coming is that all adjustments affect the entire image. Other than that it has plenty of editing capability simple or complex which ever you like. It does an excellent conversion on nef files.

I don't find either to be slow but it depends on the computer.

View NX2 has limited editing capability but it covers the basics well. It's been replaced by View NX-I which does not run on both of my windows 10 machines. I'm currently trying to work it out with Nikon. So far it's been frustrating.

I use CS6 for things that are not easily done in the other programs although it has far more capability than I'll ever need.

I tried Lightroom but didn't care for the cataloging features. I like to control the computer myself but that's just me. The idea for renting software doesn't appeal to me but perhaps I'll get over it some day.

Win 10's "Photo" is a nice little program but it doesn't handle raw files. Editing is simple and effective on jpegs and tiff files. What I don't like about it is the file size is reduced substantially after editing.

Luckily most of my images don't need much post processing, but if I decide they do I move from program to program. It great to have a fast computer.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

NX-D is free. You probably meant Capture NX2.

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

I liked the old Capture NX(2?) it had control points didn't it? Like the NIK plugins?

I just wished it was more of a library management tool.

Good work on the B&W - that does make a statement at times ;)

Know what you mean about $$ :)

Edia Loc: Central New Jersey

Nikon no longer supports Capture NX-2. Capture NX-D is their latest and greatest.