+1 to DPP4. It's like getting a second chance at many in-camera settings. It plays well with Photoshop too with the transfer to photoshop menu. I imagine Nikon NX Studio to be very similar if shooting Nikon.
Light Room or not
- Thread starter Aussie Geoff
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+1 to DPP4. It's like getting a second chance at many in-camera settings. It plays well with Photoshop too with the transfer to photoshop menu. I imagine Nikon NX Studio to be very similar if shooting Nikon.
Aussie Geoff
Melbourne Australia
Hi Steve that's what mine does I open the file it put them into and then it just shows the photo in Raw and next to it in Jpeg.
I use raw just incase I get a program like LR down the track that way I have a chance of making a better photo than I would from Jpeg
Nah, Windows was late to the party.
jhallettbc
Well-known member
Another option no one has mentioned yet from what I can see is Photoshop Elements which sells for $99.
And comes with an organizer and I believe even the current version of Elements is compatible with Adobe Bridge though you have to download Bridge separately. So in addition to some great editing features including full raw conversion features you get some library management capabilities.
For many people Elements is a good option. There is a simple mode, guided mode and expert.
kimball
Brian Kimball
I'm a mac user as well. Finder and Preview are only displaying the embedded JPG previews that exist in every raw file (just like when you shoot raw only and view the image in your camera, you're looking at that embedded JPG). Apple Photos, however, will render the raw data into its own representation, and it sounds like Windows Photos will too, which is hilarious because it's not even color-managed.
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joe43
Well-known member
If you shoot Nikon on a D500, you can use NX Studio (free from Nikon) to ingest your images, cull them and process the RAW files, etc. The ingest feature is Nikon Transfer.
If you want separate programs, right now for your D500 you can download Nikon View Nx-i and Nikon NX-D. View NX-i contains Nikon Transfer. NX-D is the RAW processor. I have used free Nikon software for many years for all of my nature photography. NX-D contains Control Points for making certain local adjustments.
To Download them go here: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/index.html
To learn more about them, go here: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Imaging-Software/nx-studio.page
If you want separate programs, right now for your D500 you can download Nikon View Nx-i and Nikon NX-D. View NX-i contains Nikon Transfer. NX-D is the RAW processor. I have used free Nikon software for many years for all of my nature photography. NX-D contains Control Points for making certain local adjustments.
To Download them go here: https://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/index.html
To learn more about them, go here: https://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Imaging-Software/nx-studio.page
As joe43 said Nikon NXStudio if free. My wife uses it exclusively and really likes it. I use LR for editing but also because of the cataloging capabilities that NX Studio does not have.
Aussie Geoff
Melbourne Australia
Thanks everyone I have just downloaded from windows PhotoScape X it's free but has they option of buying the full version as a one off payment. The free version allows me to crop / adjust colour and even remove parts out of the picture you don't want
I use this program often, but mostly for its borders and effects. I did buy the upgraded version but not sure what it included other than additional borders. A good program overall, very easy to use intuitively. I don't know about how good it is for editing but should be fine.
Replytoken
Well-known member
Is Elements still limited to an 8-bit workflow like it was years ago? This was a deal breaker since raw files are 12/14/16 bit files and I had no interest in losing all of that data at the start of my post processing.
--Ken
Backdoor Arts
Well-known member
Thankfully the versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw released today support Canon mirrorless profiles. The R5's seem pretty close to what you'd get from DPP4. Haven't tested the R6 yet.
The camera raw part of Elements is 16 bit, but once the raw is converted you are working in 8 bit. So not too bad since you can do your recovery in the camera raw section when the file is first converted.
I have several friends who are very good photographers who were not using LR. Personally I find LR is a great place to organize my images though I am rather frustrated with how slow LR is (was). I think the latest version offers much faster response.
In the end, you need to have a system that works for you. Whether it is LR, Bridge, a pile of files, or something else. Good luck what ever you decide ..
Aussie Geoff
Melbourne Australia
Thanks every one for your help
As you have a Nikon camera you can download a very comprehensive editing application from Nikon called NX Studio. It has everything from a program to download your SD card images to the computer, a viewing application which is useful for culling the dross (if you have any) and a full-fledged raw converter/editor for getting the best from your images. Not only is this a great program it is absolutely FREE
