Looking for:
Nikon Capture NX – Download
It is fairly compact, it can be compressed, and if produced properly it can make excellent prints. But there are some significant limitations to the JPEG file that make it less useful for photographers wishing to get the maximum quality from their cameras. This means that when you save them, the JPEG compression algorithm which makes the files smaller actually throws away image data.
Every time you save a JPEG, some data are thrown away. Therefore, if you wish to use JPEG as your digital negative, it is imperative to use the highest possible quality setting and always save your processed images as copies.
Overwriting the original JPEG file results in unrecoverable data loss. JPEGs are 8-bit color. On the other hand, a bit image offers the photographer potentially 65, steps of tonality. Is that overkill? What if you set the white balance wrong, or accidentally have noise reduction set too high and lose image detail? L-R Original image. JPEG image corrected using standard tools. Especially to those new to photography, who might not be experts at dialing in the optimal camera settings for a particular scene, shooting JPEG is a liability.
The images below are an example of what happens when I make a mistake which happens a lot, according to my wife. The as-shot image was overexposed by at least 1.
So what is a photographer to do? Clearly, the optimal format to save images in must preserve as much image data as possible, offer a bit color space, and allow the photographer the flexibility to override the settings set by the camera. This is exactly what the RAW format does. The RAW Advantage Besides the obvious strength of the RAW format in terms of the quantity and quality of data preserved in the RAW file, the major advantage of shooting in RAW is that you can apply changes to your image in a way that is non-destructive.
RAW files contain enough data to permit bit editing and they are substantially more compact than an equivalent RGB image file. A layered TIFF or file is the preferred choice for non-destructive editing an RGB image, because the original image is preserved in the bottom-most layer, allowing edits to be done apart from the actual image data.
Maybe you can hold off on getting that 3 terabyte storage disk array for a couple more months Because new features and improvements are made to RAW conversion software over the years, I can reprocess my older RAW files with newer software. Also, as I learn new techniques for post- processing, I know that I can go back and apply the changes non-destructively to my old NEFs.
Shooting RAW– some considerations While the RAW format is an ideal one for producing high-quality images, there are some things to keep in mind before you jump in to becoming a RAW shooter. Four-gigabyte memory cards are pretty much the minimum if you shoot RAW with a megapixel or higher camera. The other consideration to make when shooting RAW is computer horsepower. For the purposes of this book, you can think of a NEF file as being a container with multiple partitions– sort of like one of those plastic food containers with compartments for different foods.
This part of the RAW file is never overwritten. The metadata includes information about the image, such as shutter speed, aperture, time, date, and more. Usually additional areas in this section can be filled in by certain computer applications. For example, there are placeholders for keywords, copyright information, and captioning.
Third-party RAW converters typically read only the white-balance information and discard the other instructions. The embedded JPEG image is produced by the camera and reflects the in-camera settings that were active when the image was taken. For example, I have a few custom banks set up in my cameras that allow me to quickly tailor images for landscapes, portraits, or wildlife shots.
The Shooting Menu is designated by a camera icon in your camera menus. It is where you will find all the major parameters that affect image processing and quality, such as ISO, white balance, and sharpening. If you are using one of the newer Nikon DSLRs introduced after October , many of the image parameters are in the camera section called Picture Control. Here is a list of the camera settings that you should consider when setting up for a shoot.
However, you may have some additional options, depending on the camera you use. This can be useful when you are trying to preview lots of files on a less powerful computer or a laptop. If you choose a small, highly compressed JPEG, some of the image details may not be readily apparent when you review the image on your camera LCD. RAW Compression- should you use it? So Nikon has some options where you can choose to compress your NEFs and save on file space.
Nikon offers two forms compression in its NEF file format, depending on the camera you use. If you set white balance incorrectly, you could have unnaturally blue or orange images due to extremes in color temperature. You can use that gray card image later on in Capture NX2 to really nail white balance and copy the settings to the other images in the series more on that later.
Long Exposure NR This setting allows your camera to take a second exposure with the shutter closed, and then subtract any sensor noise caused by something called dark current. It is very useful for getting perfectly black skies during long night exposures.
This is one setting that cannot be altered in post-processing there is no way for the camera to take a second exposure after the fact. As a result, noise in shadow areas often becomes noticeable.
First of all, you can get more control over noise removal in Capture NX2, or by using dedicated noise removal software. Second, NR requires much more computer horsepower when you render your image. Depending on your camera model, you might not be able to disable NR in the camera menus. Camera Settings or Picture Controls?
In late , Nikon introduced a new form of adjusting the in-camera settings, called Picture Control. Each of these starting points can be modified and saved in your camera. The Picture Control presets differ in their contrast, saturation, and sharpness settings. You can also customize the sharpness, contrast, saturation and hue for any Picture Control preset. You can compare the looks of each preset when you process your image in Capture NX2.
Sharpening Sharpening is the one parameter that I adjust on each image individually, depending on its final output destination print, web and size. Depending on your camera, sharpening is either in the Camera Settings menu or in the Picture Controls.
Sharpening routines can have profound effects on image quality, and must be done with care. Fortunately, quality sharpening is one of the strengths of Capture NX2. For JPEG shooting, this is a critical setting. Too much contrast will mean that shadow and highlight details may clip and be rendered unrecoverable. I personally use the Adobe RGB space.
It offers a much wider color space than sRGB and is well suited for ink jet printers. For more about color spaces, check out a book on color management. Depending on your camera model, the color mode setting may also affect your choice of Color Space.
Note the stronger reds and greens in Mode III. Mode I can be utilized to make a fairly vivid image of people while still getting natural looking skin tones. Mode III color not only increases the color saturation, but it boosts reds and greens. So where should you set the color? Ultimately, it depends on your subject. Good for portraits. Good as an all-around setting. Useful for landscape shots.
Not recommended for portraits! Standard sharpening and contrast. Can be modified for other effects, like sepiatone. For more on Picture Control settings, refer to Chapter 8. Hue Adjustment This setting allows photographers to change the way colors are perceived by their camera. If, for example, your photos showed a greenish cast, you could theoretically compensate for it by making a hue adjustment. This is one feature that I never use in my camera, as it affects all the colors in the image.
The next step is up to you. Go out and start filling up some memory cards with NEF files. This box allows you to choose the location of where that TIFF file is saved. Folder for temporary data For optimum performance, set this to a directory on a secondary hard disk drive. Color Management Preferences Proper color management is essential to digital workflow.
In this dialog, you can adjust how Capture NX2 handles color profiles. While I recommend the Pro Photo RGB space for editing, it is important to understand the basics of color management and how it can impact your workflow.
Many printers install custom profiles based on different paper types and print settings. Therefore I have chosen the appropriate Epson profile from the drop-down box. I recommend setting the black clip point to 0. Cache Preferences This section allows you to set the directories and size limits for the various Capture NX2 cache files. For best performance, put the cache directory on a secondary hard disk instead of your primary drive.
Limiting the cache size will keep the number of cached images lower and retain space on your hard disk. You can choose one of the presets, or set your own label values. Manage Settings Use this dialog box to manage your saved settings files. You can add and delete settings files from the list, and you can also make settings visible in contextual menu shortcuts by enabling the checkbox next to a setting. Use custom workspaces to tailor the Capture NX2 interface to suit your needs.
Setting your cache file directories to the secondary hard drive improves data throughput and speeds up the application. Not only will this arrangement improve Capture NX2 performance, but it will probably improve the overall performance of your PC.
I always disable color noise reduction in my cameras because applying the in-camera NR settings to your images slows down Capture NX2 performance.
I do use noise reduction, but I do it at a later stage in my editing workflow. Of course, my workflow is based around editing small numbers of images one at a time in Capture NX2, and my routine for noise reduction is generally tailored for each image. A few new features were added to allow the user to customize the interface to suit their needs.
The most obvious new feature of the Capture NX2 interface is workspaces. You can choose from one of four pre-configured workspaces depending on what you are using the application for. In the Browser workspace, the file directory tab on the left side of the screen is expanded. The Metadata workspace defaults to a list view of your image thumbnails.
This workspace is useful if you are adding keywords and other metadata to your images in NX 2. The multi-purpose workspace displays the editing palettes on the right-hand side of the screen, and has the browser window open on the left-hand side of the screen. The multi-purpose workspace is ideal for users who want to browse and edit images simultaneously.
All the palettes on the left-hand side of the screen are collapsed. The available choices will vary depending which workspace is displayed on your primary monitor.
I use full-screen mode the most often as the gray background is useful for viewing colors accurately on the screen. Facing Page: Full screen mode top and Presentation mode bottom are additional ways to view your images. My goal for each of the subsequent chapters is to go through the processing of a NEF file in the order in which I apply adjustments and operations. Keep in mind that Capture NX2 like many other image editing applications has numerous tools and many of them can be used to achieve similar effects.
My intention is to work my way through the tools that I use most frequently, in the order of operation that is appropriate for optimal image output. The long and winding road In the journey that is editing a NEF file, no one should be without a road map. It is always important to know, even if just at a rudimentary level, where you are trying to go. In fact, most images rarely require the use of every point on my editing road map, and can be adjusted with just a few quick steps.
Another reason why it is good to have a road map of editing workflow is because the approach you take to post-processing should involve some visualization.
Before he went into the darkroom, Ansel Adams always had an idea of what he wanted to convey in his print. His goal was to convey in his print what he saw and felt when he captured his exposure in the field.
Therefore, I feel it is important, as digital photographers, not to get caught up in trying to apply every tool and effect to a digital image just because our software has those tools.
These adjustments often revolve around the fundamental operation of converting the raw sensor data to an RGB image. Think of the RAW Adjustments as the foundation upon which all your other adjustments will be built upon.
A classic example is dodging and burning, where you are adjusting the contrast of certain parts of your image beyond what was obtained in the original exposure. Other applications either do not permit local application of effects or require complex masking schemes to apply them. From there, the master image can be further refined for printing or other output. However, most photographs are judged by their final output, which usually involves a print.
Final output could involve resizing the image for use on a website, or sending it in an email to friends and family. First, it gives you a good outline of the kinds of adjustments you can be thinking about when you first approach an image to work on.
Second, it puts the adjustments into the proper order that will maximize your image quality and minimize your frustration. Keep in mind that Capture NX2 editing workflow is linear, starting with the Develop Section and continuing with the order of the steps in the Adjust Section.
Does that mean you need to stick to this script rigidly? Of course not. The rest of the book contains lots of details about numerous Capture NX2 editing tools, but in reality, the overall image editing process is quite straightforward. The following pages will take you through the basic image editing procedure to help you understand the simplicity of image processing in Capture NX2. After a few seconds, the image should appear.
I chose this image because it illustrates some of the advantages of shooting in RAW. First of all, my default settings applied far too much contrast to this image, especially because the subjects are back-lit.
Too much contrast! The first item in the list is White Balance. Because the in-camera setting I used was too warm yellow , we can override it here. This gives a look with strong contrast– bad for people pictures! This will collapse the Develop Section. The image turns gray. This will boost the midtone brightness of the image.
Drag the black threshold level slider until you see dark areas appear. A Color Control Point is added to the image. The actual settings you choose will depend on your camera model.
You can now add embedded XMP data, like star ratings, to your images. Even better is the fact that the star ratings and color labels you add in the NX 2 browser can be read by other applications that use the star-rating system, like Adobe Bridge and Photo Mechanic.
Sub- folders will appear in the browser; double-click on a folder icon in the browser to open it. A shortcut to that folder will be created in the Favorites list. This will collapse the Folder list and expand the metadata tab on the left side of the screen.
This allows other applications to read the embedded data. For example, you could use one color to indicate files that have been processed, and another color to indicate files that have not been processed.
For example, you can create a preset to apply your contact information to your images. In the Thumbnail List view, images are shown as small thumbnails in a list that includes file data, star ratings, labels, date shot, and more. The Thumbnail List view is useful when you want to quickly sort your images on any one of the file data columns in the list.
Use the Thumbnail Grid view when you want to view the largest possible thumbnails. Use the zoom slider or the zoom tool to increase thumbnail size. Leave the right-hand triangle on the fifth star. For example, in a folder of mixed file types, you might only want to display JPEGs. By default, images in the File Browser are sorted by Name.
Clicking the header one time will sort in ascending order, clicking a second time will allow you to sort the images in descending order. The triangle icon is pointed up. The triangle icon is pointed down. Use batch operations for saving multiple files, applying saved settings files to multiple images, and for copying and pasting settings between files. Source– this is the location folder of the files you wish to process. Settings– check this box if you wish to apply a saved settings file to the files selected for batch saving.
You can choose settings presets from the drop- down list at right. Conflict management: Use this drop- down menu to choose whether to override existing settings in the source files, or to simply append new settings. File renaming: Check this box if you wish to save a copy of the file with a different name.
Use this dialog to enter a naming convention. File Format: Choose the type of file format to save the batched files as. For NEFs, you can specify compression options. Destination: Choose the folder to where the batched files will be saved. Leave blank if you want to save the batched files into the source folder.
Capture NX2 will periodically check the contents of the Watched Folder, and when new files are detected, a batch process will be automatically performed on those files. Underneath the Watched folder options are controls that set the behavior of the application– you can choose to run batches immediately, or have NX 2 check the Watched Folder at a standard interval. Idea: You could create a folder on your computer where you drop images that you want to batch save as JPEGs.
The processing dialog will open. You can always process the RAW files separately if you want later on. Note: you can also right- click on the image thumbnail and use the contextual menus to choose the copy and paste commands. Notes on Batching: You can also access the batch commands by using the Batch Icon at the lower- left corner of the File Browser window, or by using the Batch Icon at the upper-right corner of the Edit List when you are viewing an opened image in the Edit View.
Why does batching in NX seem so much slower compared to other applications? Specifically, the goal of making RAW adjustments is to make the baseline changes to global color, contrast, and brightness upon which all other adjustments will be built. The Develop Section cannot leverage image cache files to speed up processing. Therefore, it is important to consider which adjustments can only be made in the Develop Step and consider making other adjustments in the Adjust Section of the Edit List.
However, because the Develop tools do involve the actual processing of RAW data, the results are usually higher quality than if you were to perform the same adjustment in the Adjust Section of the Edit List. Why not Noise Reduction? White balance, by comparison, is a fundamental parameter of how the RAW data are processed.
Before you jump in to the Develop Section, ask yourself what it is you are trying to convey in your image. It is also where you can access the White Balance Controls. Quick Fix: This area is new to Capture NX2 and is expanded by default, as shown in the image at right. Some of these tools are automatically applied. Controls There are four primary areas within the Camera Settings section: 1 White Balance Controls: Use these controls to override the as-shot white balance setting from your camera.
Evaluating WB is probably one of the first things you should do when examining your image before processing it. You can set this parameter to further fine-tune your WB setting using the lower pull-down menu. Move the slider to the left to make the image more blue cooler ; slide it to the right to make the image more orange warmer.
You can use white balance creatively to change the mood of an image. Take one image with the gray card in the scene, then shoot normally without the card. The Gray Point settings will appear. Move the mouse over your image– you should see an eyedropper icon appear. A note about gray cards: Lots of pocket gray cards are available, but a really handy one is the Whibal card, because it is very small and the gray color goes all the way through the card.
That way, if it were to become scratched, the card would not lose effectiveness. Left: Original image. Because you can control all the parameters in the Non-Picture Control dialog with Picture Controls, I recommend switching to the Picture Control dialog using the drop-down menu.
A D40 image and D image processed with the same Picture Control settings will have the same look, just as two images from different film cameras shot with the same kind of film would. Are you shooting a portrait, where you want to capture subtle tones, or a landscape, where you want saturated colors and strong contrast? Before you continue processing your NEF, you need to decide which preset for Picture Control gives you the best starting point for reproducing the feeling you had when you captured your image in the camera.
For images taken in bright sun in high-contrast conditions, Vivid may seem over the top. The Standard Picture Control preset has a moderate level of contrast, saturation, and sharpness. Images processed using Picture Control will appear brighter than those processed using Non-Picture Control.
The processing algorithm in the Picture Control software appears to boost midtones and increase saturation as compared to images processed without Picture Control. The one parameter I recommend changing is to set Sharpening to zero 0. Setting sharpening to zero allows you to apply sharpening at the end of the Edit List workflow without sharpening the image a second time. Other than turning off sharpening, the rest of the Picture Controls are entirely optional for most images.
The Quick Adjust Slider changes multiple parameters simultaneously. The Sharpening adjustment in Picture Control can be set from anywhere from zero no sharpening to nine high sharpening. You can control the sharpening settings by moving the sharpening slider right or left. The actual amount of sharpening applied will depend on the image, and is unpredictable. Any sharpening setting above 5 can result in artifacts halos in your image; so use it with care.
If you are using the Capture Sharpening presets included with this eBook, be sure to set the Picture Control sharpening to a value of zero. It is often too easy to over-sharpen. Doing so will disable the Contrast Slider. This flexibility can be useful if you are trying to extract the most dynamic range from your image. Changing this control affects primarily the midtones of your image.
Alternatively, setting the brightness control to -1 will darken the midtones in your image. A value of zero is the default setting for Saturation Control. The Preset you choose determines the starting point, the slider control allows you to fine-tune the saturation around that starting point. Because Picture Control Saturation 0 neutral saturation is based on in- camera settings, saturation cannot be adjusted as finely as you can with other NX tools, like the LCH editor. Setting the saturation value to -3 does not result in a grayscale image; the sliders are meant to be a fine-tuning and not a large-scale adjustment.
Moving the Hue slider to the left negative values shifts the hue towards magenta tones. If you move the slider to the right positive values , the hue shifts towards greenish tones. An interesting observation is that while reds and greens shift significantly with hue adjustments, the Hue 0 neutral blue tones are changed far less.
Color filters alter the contrast in black and white images– they lighten parts of the image that are the same color of the filter while darkening their complementary color. Orange Filter Applied 2 Your image will be modified.
In this example, the orange and red filters darken the blue sky while keeping the foreground light. A primary example of a toned image is a Sepiatone effect.
Not only will you be able to quickly access your saved settings, but you can upload them to cameras that support Picture Control. Type a name in the naming field and then click OK to continue. Follow the procedures for creating a settings file described in the Workflow section of this book.
This is not something that I recommend; but the utility is there if you want to use it. Use the Sample Image on the left hand side of the window as your guide. Choose your new preset from the drop- down list, and it will be applied to your NEF. At the time of this writing, only the Nikon D3 and D cameras support this feature. Transferring your custom Picture Control settings to your camera can be a real time saver.
For example, if you have developed a modified Picture Control setting in Capture NX2, you can then load it into your camera and save time with the post-processing of future images. Likewise, if you have modified Picture Control settings and saved them in your camera, you can load them into Capture NX2 for easy selection on your computer.
Repeat these steps to export additional presets. Eject the memory card from your card reader and insert it into your camera. You will see a list of the presets loaded onto the card. Choose a preset and click OK.
The preset will load, showing the custom settings. Click OK when you are done. The reverse of this procedure can be used to save presets from your camera to a memory card.
Why is this important? You can get much better results and faster performance by applying Noise Reduction later on in the editing workflow. If your camera offers Active D-Lighting Control and it was enabled at the time of shooting, the Active D-Lighting settings will override the contrast and brightness settings in Picture Control. For me, the most useful tools are the Exposure Compensation slier and the Highlight and Shadow protection tools. The saturation slider allows for a much more subtle adjustment of color intensity than what you can do in Picture Control.
In order to properly use the Quick Fix section, you should have at least a basic understanding of how to use the image histogram. Overexposed Underexposed Good Exposure Three examples of image histograms. Left: Right-shifted histogram indicates blown highlights and over-exposure. Center: Left-shifted histogram indicates potential underexposure and clipped shadows.
Despite the fact that exposure adjustments are a very powerful tool and unique to RAW files , you still must be careful. Severely over or underexposed images may Correcting an overexposed image.
Clockwise from top left: Original image, lose quality if you have histogram showing severe right-shift; Exposure Compensation slider moved to the to adjust the exposure left– a value of Note that there are still some lost highlights in the lower left of the image– strongly. However, the overall image is quite usable. In this image, the overall exposure is good, but the face still needs lightening with local adjustments. Or Left-shift too dark worse, you might have an image where highlights are pushing the right-hand edge of the histogram, Clipped highlights but the image is a little bit underexposed.
In this example left , not only are there blown highlights, but the overall image is slightly underexposed. The image histogram right confirms this. The image will turn black, and blown highlights will be in color the color represents the channel that is clipping– Red, Green or Blue. First, exposure was increased by 0.
Then, Highlight Protection was dialed in until the clipped highlights disappeared right. The corrected image below is ready for further processing. Strong amounts of highlight protection can sometimes cause color saturation to decrease. This effect can be fixed with the Saturation slider in Quick Fix. What this means is that you try to avoid blown highlights at all cost, even at the expense of some lost shadow detail.
This is very useful when you are applying minus negative exposure compensation to an image to recover highlights and then want In this image, the overall exposure looks OK, but the shadows are just a little dark to get the shadow details for my taste. Move the Shadow Peak showing dark tones Protection slider to the right to recover shadow details. I rarely go above Histogram looks OK overall. Adjust the Saturation slider to the right to compensate for the loss of saturation when using the Shadow Protection slider.
Notice how the peaks in the middle of the histogram got taller. The best way to adjust brightness and contrast is by adjusting Levels and Curves. You can make basic levels and curves adjustments in the Quick Fix palette. The positive side of this technique is that the adjustments are made on the RAW data. Principles of Levels Adjustment The Levels control can be used to adjust overall image contrast and brightness.
The Levels controls are three triangles sliders beneath the image histogram in the Quick Fix window. Normally, the black point slider is all the way to the left on the histogram. The tonal value the black point slider rests on gets converted to a tonal value of zero pure black. As tonal values fall to the left of the black point slider they are converted to pure black. White Point Slider: The white point slider is on the right hand side of the histogram. Tonal values that fall to the right of the white point slider are rendered as pure white tonal value of As you move the white point slider to the left, you convert tonal values to white.
You can do this easily with the levels tool by bringing the black point and white point sliders closer together. The middle slider affects the midtones of the image. Slide it to the right to darken midtones, slide it to the left to brighten midtones. Notice how the Curves Control bends when you slide the midpoint slider.
Brighter midtones Darker midtones Curves If you want to use the Curves tool, simply click a point on the Curve Control line and drag the point up or down. Dragging a point on the curve upward lightens its corresponding tonal values, dragging the curve downward darkens the corresponding tone values.
If you add multiple points to the curve, the steepness of the line dictates contrast between any two points. Steep lines mean high contrast, flat lines mean low contrast. Use the curves tool with care. Click points on the curve and then drag them to move. The steeper you make the line, the stronger the contrast will be in that part of the tonal range. Another reason to use the Saturation slider in Quick Fix is because it gives more control than the Picture Controls.
By default, the Saturation slider is set at zero unchanged. When you couple the Quick Fix tools with the Camera Settings, more often than not you can make all the global adjustments you need to your image.
Although it contains some useful tools, they rarely come into the equation when processing NEFs. Of those two tools, the Auto Color Aberration tool is enabled by default and I leave it on at all times.
The other tools in this set are for special circumstances and I rarely need to use them. Note: This operation is processor-intensive and will take some time to complete. Refer to your camera manual for instruction on how to create the reference image.
Make sure the folder you choose has a NDF file in it. If not, navigate to the folder containing a dust- off reference image and click Open. Note: This feature is processor intensive. Personally, I just try to keep my sensor clean and use the Auto Retouch Brush in the Edit List to eliminate dust spots.
Color aberration, also referred to as chromatic aberration, manifests itself as purple or red fringing around high- contrast areas in your images. This is especially common in the corners of images produced using wide-angle lenses. One of the nicest features of Capture NX2 is that it automatically removes color-fringing from your NEFs, regardless of the make and model of your lens.
The Auto Color Aberration tool is enabled by default; I never turn it off. Other RAW converters offer CA removal, but it is usually a manual process involving two different sliders. I find the NX method to be much simpler. Left: Image processed without Auto CA removal. Right: Image processed with Auto CA removal enabled. I find this tool to be hit or miss. But here it is, in case you want to try it out.
Light fall-off occurs when the image circle from your lens is not uniformly bright across the frame. Usually this happens when using Corner shading fast lenses wide-open.
The Vignette Control slider can reduce the effect of light fall-off; some cameras, like the Nikon D3, have an in-camera vignette control option, which enables this control automatically in Capture Before vignette NX2. Moving the slider to the right positive values brightens the corners of the image. Moving the slider to the left darkens the corners of the image. While de- fishing is no substitute for a rectilinear wide-angle lens, it can work in a pinch. Because global adjustments are the foundation for the local adjustments applied later in the editing workflow, it is critical that they be done early on in post processing.
Fundamentally, the Develop Section is not a place where you need to spend a lot of time; but it is a section that you should be thinking about first before you move on to making other adjustments in Capture NX2. Often times, the Picture Control presets get you where you want to be without further adjustments. The best part about the Develop Section in Capture NX2 is that it effectively takes over the majority of global adjustments to light and color that would otherwise have been made in separate Edit Steps in Capture NX 1.
Because the Develop Section is fairly easy to access, it offers a quick solution for getting your images prepared for further processing assuming they even need it. In the Adjust Section, you can apply many different kinds of effects to your image. Moreover, applying an Edit Step locally does not require complex masking routines, which makes using them easy.
Edit Steps are not adjustment tools in the traditional sense. Instead, they operate as containers that hold adjustments that you place in them. Edit Steps are saved to your NEF as instruction sets, and can be deleted from the Edit List at any time, making them a non-destructive form of editing.
The simple answer is that the only pre-defined editing palettes in Capture NX2 are the tools in the Develop Section. For those of you who are familiar with Adobe Photoshop, Edit Steps are conceptually similar to adjustment layers– the steps themselves are just placeholders until you define what adjustment you want to put into them. Notice the yellow border around the Edit Step– this indicates that it is actively selected.
Any adjustment placed in an Edit Step can have opacity and blending effects applied to it. The yellow box around the Edit Step should disappear. Right: Closing the Edit Step and deselecting it shows that it is no longer highlighted in the list. Note: The Develop Section also utilizes the Reset icon.
A useful feature to keep in mind when you are applying effects in Edit Steps is the Opacity and Blending settings. The blending modes change the way the effect appears in the image: Normal: Effect is applied to all channels at full- strength.
This is the default blending mode. Lighten: Applies the effect to areas of the image where the result is brighter than the original image Screen: increases the pixel values of the resulting Us the Blending Mode menu to choose one of six blending modes. Tonal values above neutral are lightened, tonal values below are darkened. Tonal values of exactly are left alone. Multiply: subtracts the tonal value of the effect to create a darkened final image Darken: the effect is only applied in areas where the With RGB mode, you can selectively apply the effects to any result darkens the image.
Other opacity options You can choose to apply the Opacity effect in all channels default , or in individual color channels RGB , or you can apply the effect in the luminosity brightness and chrominance color channels. All told, the opacity and blending modes offer a significant amount of flexibility for applying effects in Edit Steps. However, there are a few instances where you might want to take advantage of some of the other tools for adjusting global brightness, contrast, and color balance.
Again, it all depends on the feeling you are trying to convey with your image. Central to getting image contrast set correctly is the concept of defining the black and white points in your image. The image will turn gray.
The double threshold tool allows you to see anywhere in your image that has a tonal value of 0 black or white. Everything in between those values is rendered gray. Black threshold slider White threshold slider White areas are the lightest points in your image.
Black areas are the darkest points in your image. An easy way of setting the black point on your image is to use a Black Control Point. The Black Control Point allows you to set the darkest pixel value in your image, but it also gives you control over luminosity brightness.
The Black Control Point will also remove color casts from shadow areas. This is especially useful for portraits. The Black Control Point will be visible in the image. White Control Points not only establish the lightest point in your image, but they also remove unwanted color casts. What about the Neutral Control Point? It can be useful in JPEGs if you have a neutral gray object in the frame. That means that color shifts can occur Midtone slider when using this tool, making it useful for White threshold slider correcting color casts.
The histogram will show only the data from the selected color channel. An anchor point will be placed on the curve. The Anchor Point Tool lets you click on your image to place a point on the curve that corresponds to the selected tonal value.
You can also use this technique with the LCH editor if you want to only affect luminosity brightness data and protect the color data. Notice how the curves changed for each of the three color channels. Left: Contrast and color balance were adjusted with Auto Contrast. Right: Contrast was adjusted but color balance was left unchanged. Fortunately, you can use the Auto Levels tool to apply automatic levels and color balance correction to each image in a batch job.
Slide the sliders to the left to reduce the effect; slide the slider to the right to increase the effect. Top: Default settings. Bottom: Custom settings. Use it to control luminance and color. Simply put, this adjustment tool allows you to control Brightness and Contrast lightness , Saturation chroma , and Hue– all in one step. A unique aspect of the LCH editor is that it separates out luminance brightness information from chrominance color information. All the same icons are there– including the Levels sliders reset icons and the Auto Contrast icon.
The LCH window changes from the image histogram to something more akin to a color spectrum. Want to darken a blue sky? Click the line where the blues are and drag the point downward.
Want lighter reds? Click the line in the red part of the spectrum to add an anchor point and drag it upward. The resulting curve shows you which colors are affected by your adjustment. In the example above, yellows and your image and modify light greens are made lighter by dragging an anchor point upward on the curve.
I probably use this option the most to make saturation adjustments to Anchor Point Tool specific color ranges. In fact, you use this Master chroma editor in exactly the adjustment same way as the color lightness editor, but now you also have the option to increase or decrease saturation of any point on the entire color spectrum. In this example, 4 Use Anchor Point greens are boosted and blues are desaturated.
The LCH editor can help solve this problem by protecting skin tones from becoming oversaturated. Anchor Point tool But, if you want to make selective adjustments to the hue in your image, this is the place to do it. As with the Master Hue adjustment chroma editor, you can make overall hue changes or limit Hue Map them to certain colors. Rotation tool Moving the curve maps a color from the baseline value to the new point on the spectrum. Essentially obsolete with the advent of Highlight and Shadow Protection Sliders in Quick Fix, but can be applied in an Edit Step if desired, or if local application is needed.
Color Balance Basic controls for adjusting brightness, contrast, and color in an Edit Step. Most often used during soft-proofing to make global changes to color balance. Color Booster Allows you to increase saturation globally in a way that is not overpowering.
For example, how many times have you struggled to make an adjustment because correcting one part of your image ended up making other parts of your image look worse? Local adjustments are effects applied to certain parts of your image while leaving other parts alone.
Both methods are valuable and have their own specific strengths and weaknesses. By creating selections in Edit Steps, it means you can transform every effect in Capture NX2 from a global one to a local one. The ramifications of this transformation are huge. Need to brighten a face? Use a local adjustment. Capture NX2 selection tools make it possible to create special effects or simply make improvements to your image that you might otherwise have to do in another application.
By staying in Capture NX2, you can, in many cases, keep your image in the NEF format from camera to print and save time otherwise spent switching between editing applications. Note the opacity slider underneath the toolbar. You should see the entire image turn green.
Using the fill tool selects the entire image; the green color is the mask view 5 Select the Remove Tool showing the selected area. The green fill is removed. The Marquee and Lasso tools in Capture NX2 work a little differently than those you might be familiar with.
These tools alone do not define a selection, per se. Use the lasso to make free-form selections; the various Marquee tools are used to create defined shapes. Creating a Selection with the Lasso or Marquee. The selected area will be filled in green, showing that it is now an actively selected area. The fill is applied outside your selected area. The green mask is removed from the area defined by the lasso.
You can modify lasso selections by holding down the shift key add or option while using the lasso tool. This represents the area affected by the selection. When you choose an adjustment to place in the Edit Step, the mask view will disappear. There are three ways to view Edit Steps that have selections applied to them: Hide Selection: Selection mask is not shown, showing you the image as it would appear normally with the effect applied. Tip: You can toggle the different views by right-clicking the mouse in the image Clockwise from top right: Hide Selection view, Show Overlay, Show Mask.
Edit window and choosing the view you want to use. Selection created with the lasso tool only. Selection created with the lasso tool bright green and Base Mask applied. The Manual are for customers who have purchased our products. We may be unable to respond to inquiries from individuals who have not purchased our products. Please note that the manual and the contact information therein are subject to change without notice. The Manual is protected by Japanese copyright law and international copyright laws and treaties.
You must reproduce on each copy the Nikon copyright notice and any other proprietary legends that were on the original. Except as otherwise stated in this Agreement, you may not make or distribute copies of the Manual to others or electronically transfer the Manual from one computer to another over a network.
This Agreement is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Japan without regard to its conflicts of laws principles. In the event a dispute arises under or in connection with this Agreement, you hereby consent to personal jurisdiction of Japan and waive any objection that such forum is inconvenient. You further consent to service of process in any action arising from this Agreement by regular mail or other commercially reasonable means of receipted delivery.
If any provision of the Agreement shall be determined invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions shall not be invalidated and shall remain in full force and effect. This Agreement sets forth the entire agreement and understanding between you and Nikon, and supersedes and replaces any other agreements relating to the subject matter of this Agreement.
The failure of any party to insist upon strict performance of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement, or the exercise of any option, right or remedy contained herein, shall not be construed as a waiver of any future application of such term, provision, option, right or remedy, and such term, provision, option, right or remedy shall continue and remain in full force and effect.
The headings of the sections of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not constitute a part hereof or affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, the provisions of section 3 and section 4 together with any provisions that by their express terms apply to periods after termination of this Agreement, shall survive termination of this Agreement for any reason. Other products.
Tutorial nikon capture nx2 italiano free
By using our site, you agree to our collection of information through the use of cookies. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy. To browse Academia. Log in with Facebook Log in with Google. Remember me on this computer. Enter the email address you signed up with and we’ll email you a reset link. Need an account?
Click here to sign up. Download Free PDF. Brooklyn ClothingLab. A short summary of this paper. Download Download PDF. Odell, Ph. Odell All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission by the publisher, with the exception that owners of this e-book are permitted to print a single copy for personal use.
Odell, unless otherwise indicated. Trademarks All terms in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Aperture is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
U point and Nik are trademarks of Nik Software, Inc. Photoshop and Lightroom are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft, Corp. Disclaimer This book is not sponsored by Nikon Corporation or its affiliates.
Every effort has been made to make the information contained in this book as reliable as possible, but no warranty of fitness is implied. The author and publisher shall not be responsible in any way for any damages or loss of data arising from the information contained in this book.
Some used Capture NX, others did not, but they all had something to share about their experiences with post-processing and digital imaging. Rick Walker continues to be a great friend and a source of ideas for photography. His willingness to help others find their passion in photography is unsurpassed. Vincent Versace has helped me to better understand the creative side of Capture NX, and reminds me that despite all the sophisticated equipment, the print is what matters most.
Many of the chapter images in the book were captured while I was on a Nikonians photo trip. Most of all, I want to once again thank my wonderfully supportive wife, Elissa. Without her support, I never could have put this project together. First, the eBook format allows me to deliver my content around the world nearly instantly, thanks to the Internet.
Second, by producing an eBook, I can easily and quickly add supplementary materials and revise content without having to reprint copies. Beyond those two reasons, the electronic book format has some significant advantages over its printed counterparts. First of all, this book contains bookmarks in the table of contents.
Clicking a TOC entry will take you directly to that page. Clicking these links will take you either to a page in this book, or to a website on the Internet. This added level of interaction is something I hope makes this book easy to use. Can you print this book? I recommend using a print service instead of your inkjet printer, but the choice is up to you. Should a commercial print service deny you a printed copy due to copyright issues, refer them to the copyright page in this book.
I suggest printing two pages per sheet in landscape orientation; this will keep related topics together. What if you lose my eBook? Treat this book just as you would any other book in your library.
A listing of them is in Appendix 2. I also may post coupon codes for other products there from time to time. Registration is free, and you can access their moderated discussions and resource articles. To hear more of my thoughts on digital and film photography, tune in to The Image Doctors podcast at Nikonians.
For links to all the latest articles on Nikon gear and photography from around the world wide web, take a look at Nikonlinks. Keep in mind that Capture NX2 is a large toolbox with a variety of tools. Not every job you come across will require all of these tools, but they are there if you need them. Other RAW converters will only read white-balance WB settings from your NEF and interpret everything else tone, color, sharpness using their own default settings.
Often times, this means less work in post-processing, especially if your camera settings were optimal. Automatic Adjustments Capture NX2 implements many corrections automatically, saving time during editing.
If anyone knows the properties of the Nikon camera sensors, it is Nikon themselves. The RAW converter generally allows the photographer to make global changes to the image changes that affect the entire image , but then local changes like dodging and burning must be performed in a separate application on a RGB image file TIFF or JPEG.
Non- destructive editing is possible in other applications, but often involves doubling or tripling the file size. Which would you rather have– a 20MB file or a MB file? Again, the savings in storage requirements are profound. A single 20MB NEF file could easily contain the instructions for producing five different image variants of different sizes and qualities.
Here is an overview of some of the new features found in Capture NX2. At the end of the day, you may find yourself using Capture NX2 for the majority of your editing and relying on other applications less.
I always keep a copy of Photoshop around for the times when I need to add effects such as these to my images. Evans, Colorado.
Who wants to spend time in front of the computer when you can spend time behind the lens? Which one to choose? In fact, I strongly recommend that beginners shoot RAW. A digital RAW image is not actually an image at all.
It is a package of data produced by your digital camera. Some of that data comes from the image sensor. Other pieces of information include shooting information like shutter speed, aperture and lens focal length.
In and of itself, a RAW file cannot be displayed as an image. The images you see on your computer screen are RGB images. Just as a color print negative needs to be properly processed and converted into a positive print, the camera sensor data needs to be properly interpreted to produce an RGB image. Consider it the same as a choice between taking your film to the local drugstore for developing and printing or setting up a home darkroom. While the automated printing machines at most photo labs did a decent job overall, there were situations where the automated settings were clearly not appropriate.
I once went out to the Mojave desert to photograph the Hale-Bopp comet. At the time, I was simply shooting print film and I had it processed at a local budget lab. Sure enough, the machines in the lab were fooled by the excessively dark background essentially black and adjusted the exposure to a middle gray value. All my prints came back looking grainy and gray, when I knew the sky should have been printed dark.
I had no way to go back and change the prints. You can think of your digital camera as being a self-contained photo lab when you shoot in JPEG mode. The resulting JPEG file will have some, but not much, latitude for adjustments and corrections later on in your computer. It is fairly compact, it can be compressed, and if produced properly it can make excellent prints. But there are some significant limitations to the JPEG file that make it less useful for photographers wishing to get the maximum quality from their cameras.
This means that when you save them, the JPEG compression algorithm which makes the files smaller actually throws away image data. Every time you save a JPEG, some data are thrown away. Therefore, if you wish to use JPEG as your digital negative, it is imperative to use the highest possible quality setting and always save your processed images as copies. Overwriting the original JPEG file results in unrecoverable data loss.
JPEGs are 8-bit color. On the other hand, a bit image offers the photographer potentially 65, steps of tonality. Is that overkill? What if you set the white balance wrong, or accidentally have noise reduction set too high and lose image detail? L-R Original image. JPEG image corrected using standard tools. Especially to those new to photography, who might not be experts at dialing in the optimal camera settings for a particular scene, shooting JPEG is a liability.
The images below are an example of what happens when I make a mistake which happens a lot, according to my wife. The as-shot image was overexposed by at least 1. So what is a photographer to do?
Tutorial nikon capture nx2 italiano free
Do you recommend it? Italiano Italiano essenziale Italiano. I’ve made this a sticky so other folks can ebenfit form this. This hutorial how a application works : compared to the lastone. Plus the RAW conversions are just gorgeous.