Bill_de Loc: US

My advice came from the instructions provided by Nikon in the NX Studio manual!.

It "might" work in spite of what you have always done.

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Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

What is happening is nx Studio is applying the icc profile to the file when it is checked. Affinity then uses the icc profile to adjust color. It's not made to do that the printer and print software is capable of using the icc profile. So if you uncheck the icc box everything should work fine as I believe you have figured out. Lol. Pm me if I can be of further assistance.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

DrBob you are right, as soon as the "save ICC profile" was unchecked I began to see better colors. I knew from the beginning that the problem was the Nikon software, not Photoshop or Affinity Photo. I guess Nikon did not have a clue as to what was happening.
I have not read the whole manual for NX Studio but I will. There are some minor things that I have to address.

Thank you everyone for your help.

Craigdca Loc: California

Good call! I’ll keep a note of this as I’m sure it applies to other applications.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Thank you Craig for your comments. How in the world the ICC profile was checked in NX Studio I cannot understand but it was messing everything up. RAW data does not have an embedded color profile.
Nikon sent me an email today. They are saying that I should check if I changed the Picture Control top make sure the red color cast is not the result of a change. I have set Picture Control to Standard in camera. I have never messed with Picture Control when editing RAW data. I adjust contrast and saturation to taste but never to the point of departing from reality. Some other minor changes I do and when I judge it necessary I go to Control Points.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

In NX Studio --- NOT in Capture NX-D

Make sure you have a working color space set. Go to the Edit menu and select Options. Select Color Management from the Options list. Under Color Matching Profile select an RGB color space. NOTE: For editing raw files the appropriate choice here is ProPhoto RGB.

Farther down in the Color Management dialog find Output. There is a checkbox next to: Convert images to sRGB color space when they are converted into JPEG/TIFF format.

If you check the box your exported JPEG/TIFF will be converted to the Nikon sRGB 4.0.0.3002 color space. If you do not check the box your exported JPEG/TIFF will be converted to the Nikon Adobe RGB 4.0.0.3001 color space.
NOTE: The two Nikon color spaces are sRGB and Adobe RGB equivalents.

NOTE: You can not prevent the color space conversion from taking place. IT WILL BE DONE.

At the bottom of the Color Management dialog find Thumbnail. I suggest checking that box so that the thumbnail images you view in NX Studio will appear the same as your edited images.

The Export dialog: When you export an image to JPEG or TIFF note in the Export dialog a check box labeled Add/Remove ICC color profile. This is confusing and poorly designed. If you leave the box unchecked or if you check the box and select Add the same action occurs. The ICC color space tag matching the color space that your file was converted to (see NOTE above) will be applied to the output file. ONLY if you check the box and select Remove will no ICC profile tag be applied to the output file. NOTE: Not applying an ICC profile tag to a photograph is almost always a mistake and leaves the color in the image undefined.

The correct procedure is to apply the ICC profile. Which will occur if you leave the box unchecked or if you check the box and select Add.

YIKES!!! EDIT: Found new information! The option to Remove the ICC profile works for TIFF files and leaves the output photo untagged. HOWEVER It does not work for JPEG files. If you save a JPEG via Export in NX Studio and check the box Add/Remove ICC color profile and select Remove the file is saved with an sRGB ICC profile tag even if the previous Options dialog to convert to sRGB was NOT checked. Big bad!

Am investigating further... EDIT: YIKES is confirmed and I was able to create a bona fide real mistake in NX Studio. If the Options Output box is unchecked to convert to sRGB then the output file will be converted to Nikon Adobe RGB. If then in the Export dialog the Add/Remove ICC color profile box is checked and Remove is selected the output file will get an incorrect sRGB ICC tag instead of being untagged.

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In Capture NX-D --- NOT in NX Studio

Make sure you have a working color space set. Go to the Edit menu and select Preferences. Select Color Management from the Preferences list. Under Color Matching Profile select an RGB color space. NOTE: For editing raw files the appropriate choice here is ProPhoto RGB.

NOTE: Regardless of your working color space your output JPEG/TIFF will be converted to the Nikon Adobe RGB 4.0.0.3001 color space.
NOTE: This Nikon color space is equivalent to Adobe RGB.

NOTE: You can not prevent the color space conversion from taking place. IT WILL BE DONE.

The Convert Files dialog: When you convert an image to JPEG or TIFF note in the Convert Selected File dialog a check box under Output settings labeled Embed ICC profile. If you check the box the ICC color space tag matching the color space that your file was converted to (see NOTE above) will be applied to the output file. If you leave the box unchecked no ICC profile tag will be applied to the output file. NOTE: Not applying an ICC profile tag to a photograph is almost always a mistake and leaves the color in the image undefined.

The correct procedure is to apply the ICC profile.

Craigdca Loc: California

I’m adding your details to my notes also. Interesting that this involves both ICC and sRGB settings. Thanks for sharing.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Ysarec, I was expecting from Nikon something like what you have just described but the person I dealt with gave me the impression he knew nothing about the NX Studio software. He was asking about changing colors using by mistake Picture Control. I have never messed with Picture Control while editing my RAW data.

In the EDIT menu I have ProPhoto selected as my color space and I am assuming that it is the color space I am working with while editing RAW data. Now, you are saying that the software upon exporting the TIFF file will output as Nikon Adobe RGB. I noted the weird colors ONLY when in the Convert Files dialog I checked Embed ICCV Profiles. I am under the impression that if in the Color Management dialog I check ProPhoto when in the Export mode if I check Add Color Profile it is ProPhoto what I am exporting. I have said the colors in the exported file appear weird, unnatural. If I do not check it then the colors appear natural. I do not know if ProPhoto can be exported with the TIFF file but if it can be done that is exactly what I would like to do BEFORE I work with that color space with Affinity Photo.

The Customer Service representative at Nikon did not go into anything like this, reason what I have said I do not believe he is familiar with NX Studio. If I get weird colors there has to be something wrong with the software. Neither Photoshop nor Affinity Photo have anything to do with that. For Nikon the best way to solve the problem is to tell me that their softwares are not compatible with others, a big lie. Nikon RAW data can be edited with ANY software from other companies.

I thank you for your explanations and taking the time to answer my concerns.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

A color space is a color space if you look at it really. An icc profile is a color space for printing and rgb or adobe rgb is also a color space. Since I print at home and my printer cannot use all the colors in adobe I use rgb in studio and convert to tiff export to my desktop and finish editing in Affinity. I then print from Affinity using the icc profile that works with the paper I'm using. I use precision ink and a cannon 8520 with 6 cartridges. It works well for me as I only print 8x10 at the largest. My screen matches my print beautifully this way. I also calbrate my screen with a spyder pro. I know one can do a lot more than I do and go a lot deeper down the rabbit hole but this works well for me. Lol. I guess the important thing to remember is to be consistent in the color space you work in and use the correct icc profile when you print. I find very little use for the adobe rgb color space unless you have a monitor that can show all or most of it and those are usually benq or the more expensive dells. I spent several months learning about color management and came to the conclusion that what I do works good for me. Cambridge color has some excellent articles on color management. Be careful the rabbit hole is deep. Lol lol

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Well, NX Studio IS new and not everyone can climb the Learning Curve as fast as some others. Thank goodness we have so many really sharp folks on this forum to help-out us slower learners.

Drbobcameraguy Loc: Eaton Ohio

Yes learning can sometimes be harder on certain subjects than others. The nice thing is we still have the capability of learning. Lol. I spent many days reading and studying color management and still honestly know just the very basics. It is a deep hole to fall into. Lol. Best of luck to you

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

(Posted as well in the other thread.)
I certainly understand your frustration. However I think that your expectations and criticism were/are too much. Nikon is primarily a manufacturer and not a software developer. You have a camera problem..no problem.
It is unreasonable to expect a customer service rep, no matter what software company you work with, to understand the intricacies of every cause and effect of their software. We would like this to be the case, but in reality, it is not.
Now you could escalate to a 'level 2' agent, if available; and see what happens. In most cases, not much.
Your best resources are the ones you reached out to..other people who use your software. Answers here are proof positive.
Even a company that only sells software has these same issues.
I recently had correspondence with Capture 1 customer support. I was not happy either and actually worked out the issues myself and had them confirm my conclusions. It is nowhere in their manual and 'normal customer support'. Having done this, I realized that only through use and discussion with your peers can you work out many issues and questions. Good customer support policy will ask you to submit your solution to something that they could not answer.
My experiences with Nikon's Customer Support have been superlative.

Festus Loc: North Dakota

Nikon's customer service has never been what you would call stellar. Now it is getting worse. I read from a very reputable source that Nikon is cutting their staff for their professional services (NPS) from 14, 2 years ago to 5. If Nikon is starting to disregard the professional that uses their equipment, what do you think is going to happen to the other 90% of users?

Rick from NY Loc: Sarasota FL

I have no suggestions to solve your problem, but if you are a Nikon shooter and the Nikon proprietary software doesn’t work and Nikon’s service can’t solve your problem, it sort of seems obvious that you need to rethink this and use software that works for your needs. I gave up trying to pound square pegs into round holes years ago.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

First let me say that I am not a Nikon NPS member. But I have spoken extensively with a few of local NPS friends and 'some others'.
Three NPS members have said that they have not experienced any drop off in the service(s) that they have currently required during their interactions with Nikon's NPS group.
And now to what else NPS does. In the past, pre-pandemic, they traveled the country to promote Nikon's top of the line equipment to professionals. This included, but not limited to; major event shows/exhibitions, and special in-person events at different venues. I'm sure that there are many other 'in-person' services that have been provided.
This past year has completely changed every company's model for services such as these.
While no one likes to hear of layoffs...it happens.
I have not heard any NPS member, on this site or any other, say that their current interactions have suffered. Have you? Or have you experienced a problem with them? Let's stick to actual interactions and facts and not project gloom and doom based on...???