Nikon and Nic A Promise Lost?

DEEP SEA FISHER

Let's get a couple of things out of the way:

  1) The Adobe Photoshop layers and and layer masking system is excellent.

  2) Adobe Lightroom, Phase One Capture and others provide fine Digital Asset Management systems.

  3) The subject of this post is aimed at one at a time artistic manipulation of RAW NEF nikon files.

I can think of no easier more effective or intuitive way to raw convert and edit a Nikon NEF than by working in Nikon Capture NX2.3.0 with Nic Color Efex 3 Complete. The raw conversion is excellent. I have complete control over white balance, picture control settings, D-light settings etc. All done non destructively. All with a detailed history of every adjustment each of which can be changed any time I might want to make a change. I have all of the basic raw converter controls. No, I do not have Clarity or Vibrance and I do not need them. Because, when I move on from the Capture NX2.3.0 "Develop" or raw editor section to the "Adjust" or main editor section  I will find far better controls for those functions. As far as pre sharpening is concerned the use of some high pass and or some high radius low strength low threshhold USM works fine and can be selectively applied using Control points, brushes, gradiants etc. can even be applied as luminance, normal ,lighten,overlay etc. All non destructive and all on the detailed history changeable at any time.

In the Capture NX2.3.0 "Ajust" section I can apply all adjustments globally or as selections using the incredible U-Point technology developed by Nik. The uninhibited intuitive workflow of using Color Contol Points and Control Points to make precise selections is out of this world and fast,fast,fast. Once again all of this is maintained in a step by step clearly visible and detailed edit history list. All is applied non destructively and can be gone back to and altered at any time. Try that in a pixel editor. Yes there is some history, but in pixel editors, it is not as useful and anything applied in flattened layers or any adjustment applied to the background layer is permanent.

I do not have to leave my main Capture NX2.3.0  edit program and screen in order to utilize the Nic Color Efex 3 Complete filters. They are just another non destructive seemless step all detailed on my history list. All can be gone back to and altered at any time. These fine Nic filters provide incredible ability to create whatever look one might want to achieve. Oh, speaking of Adobe's Clarity and Vibrance sliders, try Nic's Tonal Contrast filter or the Color Boost adjustment. The Tonal Contrast filter is like a surgeon's knife when compared to the blunt singular possibilities of the Clarity slider. For my taste the Nikon Color Boost is more subtle than the effects of the Vibrance slider. Not to say that there is anything wrong with Adobe's Clarity or Vibrance, but IMHO I prefer the options provided by Nikon and Nik. And speaking of color adjustment try the LCH color editor functions Nikon provides in Capture NX2.3.0. We do not have time to address this tool today, but try it it is really cool. Subject for another day.

Now speaking of the Adobe Photoshop style layer and masking systems. It is the best solution for some things. When one needs to work with composit images it  Corel, The Gimp, or On One's Perfect layers are the way to go. Actually the only photo editing software that can do "Everything" is Photoshop CS5 or whatever upgrade or cloud rental they are trying push this month. I know that there are times I will want to utilize  layers and layer masking capabilities. However, they are not the majority of times. I could continue to produce and exhibit forever without ever using CS5. I do not do graphic design or commercial work. So for me 90% of the $800 plus investment would be wasted and more complex than I want or need. It is frustrating that Adobe really has no happy medium from an editting point of view. From an editing point of view Adobe's Lightroom offers the same, but no more than, the edit controls  contained in CS5's raw editor. Adobe's Elements 10 or 11 or whatever the latest momentary version is offers layers and layer masking BUT ONLY IN 8 BIT COLOR DEPTH. Deal breaker! Also,the raw editor is much restricted from what is available in the CS5 raw editor. So perhaps one day I will have to give On One's Perfect Layers another try as their products can now be used as stand alones. Also,note, that in order to execute my instructions to apply edits steps Capture NX2.3.0 is performing many layer and layer mask fuctions. It is doing that automatically. Kind of like the automatic automobile transmission that shifts the gears for you.

User interface. According to the almighty "THEY"Capture NX2.3.0 has a terrible interface. Well, if one chooses to use it as an all in one browser and editor I would agree. The design of that mess would drive anyone a little crazy. However, just use Nikon's free View NX 2.2.5 to download, browse and organize your image files. This works great if one like myself uses a file folder system and stays mostly in Nikon software. If one wishes more file format compatability and image asset management there are other solutions. Many NX2.3.0 users prefer Photo Mechanic. ACDSee, DXO, Phase One and many others offer image management software at various levels of cost and complexity. I am fine with the free Nikon View NX2.The user interface when using Nikon Cpture NX2.3.0 as an editor could not be simpler or more strait forward and intuitive. It makes me sad to hear people make such insulting comments about Nikon Capture NX2.3.0. When I ask them if they have ever used Capture NX2.3.0 I invariably get one of two answers. The first is no they have not. Duh. The second is that they tried a very early version of Nikon Capture, prior to the introduction of NX2 and found it buggy etc. I'm sure they are correct,but that was then and this is now. The new 64 bit Capture NX2.3.0 with Nic Color Efex Pro 3 Complete works fast and clean and is easy to use. One can accomplish complex selection edit tasks simply and quickly. Things that could well be done in CS5 but at much more effort and a more complex process that is not  non destructive.

So what is the problem? Well there is still much room for improvement. It appears that both Nikon and Nik are asleep at the wheel. With some additional file format compatability, upload options, plugin compatability, text and watermark capability Nikon and Nik could have a game changing piece of photo editing software. They could increase shareholder profits, gain brand loyalty for Nikon and Nic,and even attract users of other camera manufacturers to Nikon's product world through this software.With Adobe's new nasty and increasingly unpopular pricing strategies people are looking for alternatives. If Nikon and Nik could embrace the relationship they began the world could be their oyster. They need to stop treating it as some on again off again affair and commit to a marriage of their capabilities. The step up to the current 64 bit version is a great improvement, but it is too little. What I and many want is NIKON CAPTURE NX 3 with full compatability with the entire spectrum if Nic plug ins as well as other products. You know, you can develop and sell tons of software even when the factory is under water durring flood season.

Respectfully, KFW 02/03/12