Good comparison of Capture NX2 against LR3

[eric rose]

http://ishootshows.com/2010/01/22/lightroom-3-vs-nikon-capture-nx-2/

[Fox Paw]

Interesting. Thanks, eric.

[eric rose]

I just did a quick experiment myself. I took the same NEF image and saved it to TIFF, 16 bit - non compressed using first View NX2 and then LR2 (don't have LR3). There is a huge difference in tonal depth, sharpness and color fidelity. The View NX2 conversion was leaps and bounds better than the LR2. Bright parts were blown out with LR2 but not with View NX2 as well.

I can see I will be converting all my NEF files using View NX2 from now on. I didn't realize how crappy LR2 was until today.

The original files are from my Nikon D700. I will try the same experiment with my D70s as well.

[ann]

you can take a raw file and use a variety of software and none will look alike.

The thing about capture, nik is using nikon's "numbers" , others may open the file, etc. but they are back engieering the numbers which is not the same and of course gives a different look.

I didn't really respond to your other post very well as i don't use LR and just let it go at that ; this is a good piece of software imho and wait till you understand the control point uses. no more layers.

[eric rose]

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CbBns01zO0k/TGxhaLQz73I/AAAAAAAAAcs/duHE0fTAQW8/screen_lr3_lr2_vnx2.jpg

Here is the screen shot of the converted files, LR3 - LR2 - View NX in that order left to right. I downloaded LR3 since it was suppose to be so much better than LR2. We will see. Anyway you can see that the histograms for LR 2&3 are the same but quite different from View NX2. The color in LR3 is worse than LR2 but is sharper by a bit.

I would use Capture NX2 but for 2 reasons, I already own LR and from what everyone has to say the database in Capture NX2 sucks. Since I have to deal with 1000's of images this is important to me.

On the other hand, quality is paramount so if I find that converting to TIFF using View NX2 and then working on it in PS CS5 messes up my images I might have to give Capture NX2 a try. Nikon's history with software support is not stellar so I hate to part with that much money and not have support. Now if someone wants to send me a key for Capture NX2 ......... Just joking.

[Matt Needham]

I didn't realize how crappy LR2 was until today.

Oh yeah, Adobe sucks. Doesn't everyone know that? NOT! ;)

[eric rose]

I tried Capture NX a while back and figured I'd go broke before I figured it out. LR is like crack.

[Matt Needham]

Choosing processing software is like choosing film developer. Which particular one you choose probably isn't as important as just picking one, and sticking with it long enough to really understand and get a feel for it.

[eric rose]

For a hobbyist maybe, but for a working pro it's about quality and being able to do it in a timely manner. If a program is easy to use but doesn't give me all the quality I need then I have to rethink using it. But then again it boils down to a cost/benefit analysis.

[ann]

this product will work with any type files as long as they are tiff or jpeg only nikon for raw. this is not a nikon product, nik will provide the support and they are very good. they also have some good video tutorials on their website

[eric rose]

Are you saying Capture NX2 is not a Nikon product? I am sure they didn't develop it, but they sell it and brand it. Now I'm confused.

[ann]

what i am saying is that NIK software along with Nikon has produced that product.

http://www.niksoftware.com/cepnx/usa/entry.php?view=intro/capturenx.shtml

i have been to several demos/workshop using this product and the fellow doing the demo is from nikon.

nik also has several plugins for LR as well as PS

[Matt Needham]

You can blame the tools, or just learn to use them. Adobe is the industry leader for a reason.

[eric rose]

Matt I think you are missing the point I am trying to make. I guess I am not articulating it well enough. I agree Adobe is an excellent product. I have used it for years and have taught many others how to use it as well.

Currently I am using CS5 and LR3/LR2 (just picked LR3 up yesterday). You are right about learning how to use the tools to their best advantage. If best practice is to use Capture NX2 plus CS5 or some combination of the three to squeeze out every bit of quality in the image and ultimately achieve the image you are looking for, then that is the best way to go. If you have time that is. LR or CS5 will get you most of the way there and for most people that is good enough. However trying to make one size fit all is usually a compromise. Maybe that is ok for some, but not for me.

Fortunately these days I have to luxury of time. The clients I take on (I'm choosy) are willing to pay extra for that little bit extra that makes a photograph stand out. I feel sorry for today's wedding photog that has to shoot the wedding Saturday, download all the files that evening, do their PS magic and then have a DVD ready for the client either Sunday or Monday morning. It's unfortunate that people value speed and availability over quality these days. In these cases LR with a bunch of presets is the way to go.

We should appreciate that different people have different needs from their software/tools based on their environments and not denigrate those that choose to be different.

[ann]

eric,
left you a message on your other thread about the confusion with capturenx2 and nikonviewx2
ann