ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

I tried the Nikon software (the latest is NX Studio) several times and never liked it, mostly since there are no layers and masking is almost non-existent. So I didn't see any use for it. I've been converting raw files (and processing) in Affinity Photo (AP) and prior to using AP I did the same in Photoshop. My latest processing was to first convert raw files in either DxO Pure Raw or Topaz DeNoise AI and then process in AP.

One of our UHH members sent me a PM indicating that some of my images lacked detail - he was correct. I spent hours trying to figure out what I did wrong and in the process found other images that lacked detail. The only process that removed detail was de-noising. I tried different settings in Topaz and in DxO with no improvement. Then I had an epiphany - I downloaded the latest version of Nikon's NX Studio (free) and converted one of the raw files into the Nikon TIF format (no adjustments made, just conversion) and took the TIF into Affinity Photo. WOW - no loss of detail and minimal noise which is easily adjusted in AP. Then I did the same processing as I had done in AF and the results are so much better. I then used this same procedure to many other photos and got similarly improved results.

NX Studio can batch convert, and send any converted TIF file directly to your post-processing program of choice - it's easy to figure out how - so no need to save the TIF file.

Give it a try and you'll change how you process as I have. I will no longer use either DxO Pure Raw or Topaz DeNoise.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks! The price is right.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

👍

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Elliott, thanks for the hands-on advice. As a D810 and a Z6 user, I am downloading the software now.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When you run out of diskspace working in a longer (time / steps) workflow with monstrous and unnecessary TIFFs, you might not find this idea so 'free'.

More effective would be learning and applying the basics of Noise Processing and Sharpening. Neither of these settings are applied to the RAW files. Instead, the RAW photographer is responsible for understanding and applying that knowledge onto / into their images during the edit process. NX studio is doing nothing more than the human digital editor should be doing themselves in a workflow that skips an extraneous step in unneeded software and the associated TIFF transfer file.

These two posts are specific to LR. The ideas are applicable to all professional-grade software.

Basics of noise processing

Basics of Lightroom Sharpening

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When you process Noise, what are you doing? Which software? Which settings?
When you sharpen, what you doing? Which software? Which settings?

Topaz AI has a number of profiles as well as letting you customize the level of noise processing. Have you investigated alternative profiles or moving the sliders around yourself? Have you investigated any of the Topaz training / demo videos on Utube?

Can you post and store a specific example for comparison and analysis? Will your NEF fit under the 20MB size limit for an attachment. If no, can you screen capture your DXO settings for Noise and Sharpening. Does DXO allow for a DNG export, something that might enable transfer of your processing settings?

For the two LR links above, have you reviewed those examples and compared the examples with the possible similar settings / tools in DXO?

Elliott - now that you've seen the possibilities of other software, we should be able to point to where your current workflow is skipping steps and / or using inappropriate defaults. But, that investigation and skill development depends on some actual example images and / or your actual settings from the editors.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Just read your noise link. Much appreciated. Thank you.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Let's assume that was me. Thanks.

Look at your current tools and see if you can set-up / create defaults that capture and repeat your own noise settings, by camera and by unique ISO-setting, 100, 125, 160, 200, 400, 1600, and so forth. For the most part, your camera is consistent for each ISO value, even if the performance is not linear. If you start a spreadsheet and track your settings for each ISO, you might begin to default these values for future images at the same ISO. In Lightroom, this analysis and the resulting settings can be used to create Develop Presets. In Canon DPP, these can be saved as Recipes. Other tools probably have similar ideas, some maybe harder to use than others. You sort / filter your new images by ISO value, and as a first step of editing, apply your own ISO-specific Noise settings, possibly your default sharpening too.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Been using the Nikon processing all along (years, and always shift to the new when released) and it does what I need....the latest is pretty darn good, I'm a fan.....and as many will say "the price is right"!!

Bigmike1 Loc: I am from Gaffney, S.C. but live in Utah.

I have never gotten into post processing and at my age don't think I ever will. I'm not doing pro work and any pictures I post are what comes out of the camera and for me the detail is just fine. :) I wish you guys all the best.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you shoot in RAW and just pull the image into NX Studio and output the camera settings, all you have is a TIFF version of your camera's JPEG. You could have just started with JPEG and skipped this step and the diskspace needed for this approach.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Paul, yes I understand Topaz and DxO very well and tried many different settings on the images in question. They were not high iso files (1600 or less) and show little or no noise in NX Studio but significant noise in FastRawViewer and in Affinity Photo.
I spent much time working through this issue and hope that what I wrote will help others. You can have your doubts but I’m fine with my new work flow.

R.G. Loc: Scotland

It's worth drawing attention to the fact that NX Studio picks up on any Picture Control settings (including profiles) in the camera and applies them automatically upon import. They are easily reversed if that's what you want to do.

I created my own profile which has Picture Control Sharpening (which creates tight haloing) set to zero along with the Clarity setting (which creates diffuse haloing when you push the editing). It's not difficult to improve on the Picture Control sharpening that NX Studio gives the images, plus Clarity is best left till almost the end of the editing workflow and used for just minor tweaking. It's easy to make a custom Picture Control profile to apply (or not apply) whatever adjustments you want.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

That sounds too much like work.

ecobin Loc: Paoli, PA

Simple alternative: shoot a high iso (say 5000) image in raw; convert to Nikon TIF (no adjustments) in NX Studio and compare the TIF with the raw side by side in Lightroom or …
What do you see?