bill unger

Apparently Nikon's NEF raw format is not compatible with Photoshop. How can I convert a NEF raw image into a format that Photoshop will recognize and accept.

johnrad

Bill,

Hopefully others have more info on this, but I know Google's Picasa program can convert NEF (at least into JPEG).

Possibly of more use is that Adobe Lightroom is quite adept at handling NEF. The premier NEF program is CaptureNX2 from Nikon, which also can convert -- but if you already like Photoshop you may want to stay there.

I started with CaptureNX2, which is really good for individual photos, but ultimately switched to Lightroom, for its ability to handle large numbers of NEF images very productively,

Cheers ... John

bill unger

Thanks John for responding. I love Photoshop and use it all the time. I just got a nikon D7000 and want to learn how to use raw images and now I find out that Photoshop does not accept NEF.

johnrad

Okay, I remembered more of my early adventures. There is a "raw plug-in" from Adobe, and it can be updated. You can check the list here ( http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/407/kb407111.html ) for the plug-in version you need, but I believe it is 6.3.

If you are running Photoshop CS5, it ships with 6.0 -- which doesn't work -- but it can be updated (see http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/408/kb408941.html ). Elements 9 and 10 should also work.

Here is a link to 6.3 of the plug-in, and you will see that it says it supports the D7000. ( http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4917 ).

Hope this helps!

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

I have the same problem. My version of Photoshop is 7.01 and I really can't afford to spend another $100 to upgrade everytime a manufacturer or software designer decides to change something. Nor do I wish to spend my life constantly changing and upgrading due to planned obsolescence. I understand when something is improved. But the program supplied by Nikon for working with RAW seems very slow and very basic in it's functions. I also understand RAW but when it comes to the final JPEG I can usually get the same result in less than minute with PS than 10 minutes with this program. I would much rather work with RAW obviously. So I'm looking for something suitable to convert NEF to something PS can work with. I've tried to find something to convert them to DNG in the hopes that would work but haven't found anything. It would be really nice to find a way for my PS to work with the RAW file since I am very comfortable with it and happy with it. I would also be happy to find another program that's better than the supplied one but I'm not made of money and like I say, going out and spending 1 or 2 or 3 hundred bucks is not always an option.

Hoosier in GA Loc: Milledgeville, GA

I have PS 7.0 & downloaded Nikon plug in for NEF. Have had no problems. I open in RAW, do minor adjustments, then click on the "open" tab at the bottom to go to PS.

RockinRobinG Loc: The Middle of Nowhere, Nebraska

I've been having the same issues. Ok...I may be a little slow to upgrade (Photoshop Elements 4) but I upgraded with the Adobe website for Nikon RAW files (see link above by johnrad). You may have to navagate the website to find the upgrade for your particular PS version. Haven't tried it yet...just praying that it will work!

BMUS32

You simply need the ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) editor plug-in for Nikon. I use two different versions of Elements and have the ACR plug-in with each. When you open the .NEF file with Photoshop (or Elements), the ACR editor comes up first. You can do as much as you want in ACR, I usually adjust white balance and do some minor exposure tweaks, then "open a copy" in Elements where I do most of my changes. I think you go to the Adobe site for plug-ins.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Not contesting your sentiment, but in the 30 years I've worked in technology, this has been the defacto standard. The issues aren't necessarily due to the camera manufacturer, nor the software manufacturer. The issue is the forward marching of technology, which renews itself about every 6-9 months. I distinctly recall paying over $900.00 for a 243 MB (that's MB, not GB) hard drive in 1994.

As an example, a simple upgrade to Windows 7 may render a particular PS driver useless, which means it needs an update. Then, that may make your installation of PS inoperable with some given functionality. You may even have to update the firmware in your camera to take advantage of some functionality.

It's simply the nature of the beast, and will always be with us. Now that photography has been firmly entrenched in the digital world, we can only expect that updates/upgrades are the normal.

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Can you provide a link to the plugin? I've been Google searching for that plugin but I see nothing for PS 7, only CS 5.
Thanks.

lynn1

Been using Photoshop since version 3.0. NEF files hve always been usable. You must have another problem. Probably you don't have the version of RAW in your computer that your camera needs. You can either upgrade the RAW version or upgrade the version of Photoshop in your computer depending on which problem you have.

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

Yes me too, please provide the link

CocoaRoger Loc: Cocoa Florida

What plugin is that and where can I find it?

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

Dunno. Just went to the Adobe site to get the latest update to PS 7. Then I tried opening one of the .NEF files and it still won't recognize it. "Not the right format."
How can I update "the version of RAW IN YOUR COMPUTER that your camera needs."?

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

OK, I just opened the folder I keep my .NEF images in and right-clicked to "Open with..." I selected Adobe PS 7 and this is the message I got:

Adobe Error Message