Nikon RAW processing

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Hi.

I have quite recently purchased a Nikon D300, and I am still trying to figure out things. I have been using Ubuntu with GIMP so far, but now I am considering a Mac for image processing.

I wonder if anyone knows if Aperture uses Nikon's codec for processing RAW images. I have tried Nikon's own Capture NX2, and I wasn't very impressed, I found the interface almost appalling. The people at the store where I bought my camera said that Nikon will not release their RAW codec, so other program manufacturers will have to guess about it. I have tried several free alternatives, with what I consider to be more or less disastrous results. The best one so far has been an add-on to GIMP, but the contrast is too high and the details are not good. Using JPEG gave much better results.

I have read a bit about Aperture, and this program seems interesting, both aesthetically and functionally. Does Aperture also guess about the Nikon RAW codec, and in that case, does it guess well?

Regards,
Sveinung
 
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I have no problems with NEF and aperture.
 
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I use Light Room 2 for my Raw processing...I didn't have to do anything to get my .NEF files to work.
 
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Of course not, you wouldn't have to in Photoshop either (the suite, since Camera Raw will process them just fine, and that's actually what I use for the most part).. but aperture works just fine and dandy without doing anything special either. Then again, I believe that iPhoto opens .NEF's too.
 
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Lightroom and/or Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS4 (Adobe Camera Raw through Bridge) are my choices.
 
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Of course not, you wouldn't have to in Photoshop either (the suite, since Camera Raw will process them just fine, and that's actually what I use for the most part).. but aperture works just fine and dandy without doing anything special either. Then again, I believe that iPhoto opens .NEF's too.

I shoot with a D700 and when I first upgraded to CS4 I had to download an update in order for it to recognize the .Nef files. But when I bought LightRoom 2 it just worked, which is what I expected.

I have tried loading raw files from my D700 onto my mother in laws macbook pro and it did not reconize the files in iPhoto. But that was shortly after she got it back in January so I don't know if an update has fixed that or not.
 
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That is because (if I remember my timelining correctly) the 700 came out after cs4, which meant it needed an update. Lightroom didn't :) There have been multiple updates to handle newer .nef files for various products, including iPhoto and Aperture.
 
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That is because (if I remember my timelining correctly) the 700 came out after cs4, which meant it needed an update. Lightroom didn't :) There have been multiple updates to handle newer .nef files for various products, including iPhoto and Aperture.

Thanks for clearing that up, I'll have to try and snag her macbook again before my Imac arrives and update Iphoto and see if it works now.

I really like using Iphoto on her macbook for basic family snapshots and stuff. It does a great job for what it is.
 

JMO


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Yes PS is good for editing RAWs and I've heard from a professional photographer that Capture One is light years ahead of PS as far as editing RAWs although I haven't tried it yet.
 

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