Shooting RAW (Page 3): The problem IS NOT your computer. I notice that some people are concerned about whether you have a PC or a Mac and software you may have used to download your...

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

branson wrote:

I'm new to photography and have a Nikon D3300. I know it's entry level. I did shoot some shots in RAW and downloaded to my laptop. After going to the folder to view the photos, I could see there was photos' in the folder. I double click it and it says empty. I know their on their somewhere. Is there something special I need to do, or do I need photo software. Any feedback appreciated.

The problem IS NOT your computer. I notice that some people are concerned about whether you have a PC or a Mac and software you may have used to download your pictures. THEY ARE ALL WRONG!!! You have already successfully transferred pictures to your computer. The problem is that you need software that is capable of reading and manipulating RAW data.

Your Nikon camera included a CDROM. One of the programs on that CDROM is called either "PICTURE CONTROL UTILITY" or "VIEW NX". They are basic editing programs and should open your files. Before you use it, check for and install any updates. If for some inexplicable reason that should not work, than consider buying either the Affinity or Photoshop Elements editing software.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

gvarner wrote:

Delete the folder where you thought you put them. Close File Explorer. Reopen Explorer and create the folder again, being careful to note the path. Then open your SD card, Select All, and Copy. Then Paste into the new folder you just created. If they don't show up, restart your PC and do it again. If that fails, you may have a Windows 10 problem. Windows 10 does have a codec file that is able to view the JPEG that's inside of RAW files.

THAT IS WRONG INFORMATION!!! The problem has nothing to do with how the files were downloaded to the computer. Nikon cameras come with a CDROM that contains a program called "PICTURE CONTROL UTILITY" or "VIEW NX". They are basic editing programs and will open the RAW files that have already been successfully transfered to the computer.

jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

rehess wrote:

But that is not the problem here!!!
I can 'see' NEF files without the codec!!! {but I have no idea what contents are}

'Seeing the file' does not mean that you see the xxxxx.NEF; but that you can actually see the picture/contents. Count how many times someone has said..'get the Codec'.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

jbk224 wrote:

'Seeing the file' does not mean that you see the xxxxx.NEF; but that you can actually see the picture/contents. Count how many times someone has said..'get the Codec'.

Whatever

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

The problem stems from what you use to open the raw files with. explorer will not read them. You must use a Raw imaging programme to open them (the one on the CD or some other) Jpeg is a default programme widely used - Raw is taylored to your camera model. (Hence the problem when people upgrade their camera and don't upgrade their software)

There are free Raw processors......you don't need to jump into Adobe... Google will find several for you. Check that your camera model is suported before downloading them.

have fun

Bill_de Loc: US

G Brown wrote:

explorer will not read them

Bad answer! If you had read any of the thread you would know that the Nikon Codec for Windows allows the Windows operating system to show NEF files in Explorer. It always has. It is a free download from Nikon. Try it, you might like it.

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jbk224 Loc: Long Island, NY

Bill_de wrote:

Bad answer! If you had read any of the thread you would know that the Nikon Codec for Windows allows the Windows operating system to show NEF files in Explorer. It always has. It is a free download from Nikon. Try it, you might like it.

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Yup!

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

branson wrote:

I'm new to photography and have a Nikon D3300. I know it's entry level. I did shoot some shots in RAW and downloaded to my laptop. After going to the folder to view the photos, I could see there was photos' in the folder. I double click it and it says empty. I know their on their somewhere. Is there something special I need to do, or do I need photo software. Any feedback appreciated.

A RAW file does not contain an image; only data. You need a RAW processor to convert the RAW data into an image you can display or print.

Bayes Rule Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

branson wrote:

Thanks for all the feedback. Believe it or not I'm... (show quote)

I'm also a novice photographer, but maybe I can help. I use the same equipment you do - D3300 shooting Raw, which produces NEF files. For viewing the files I installed FastStone image viewer, free for personal use. I have had no problems viewing the photos with Windows 10. I see the thumbnails in Explorer, and FastStone is excellent for viewing and simple editing. I use Photoshop Elements for most post-processing, and importing NEF files into Elements is straight-forward - you can modify a variety of setting to convert NEF to JPEG. At first I tried to use the Nikon software, but found it too much of a hassle.

In other words, I have no idea why you can't access the photos. But I'm pretty sure that with the aid of FastStone you can do what you want to do. I hope that is some help.

branson

I politely suggest you need spelling-check on your PC. [3 mistakes] Thanks professor I didn't know it was going to be graded lol

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Bill_de wrote:

Bad answer! If you had read any of the thread you would know that the Nikon Codec for Windows allows the Windows operating system to show NEF files in Explorer. It always has. It is a free download from Nikon. Try it, you might like it.

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OOOps! Only had a nikon P&S and it went back after 2 days...the electronics were scrambled...2 others in the shop were equally bad. So went Sony. Probably a glitch with that batch not a 'statement' about Nikon.
Both Canon and Sony keep the Raw file (Not Nef or Tiff). Bad assumption on my part to think all cameras worked the same. My workflow simply keeps the Raw format and a copy as Jpg. I haven't used any other file.

George