Last night I downloaded Nikon’s Capture NX software to demo it for the NEF (RAW) files I’ve been working on, and I LOVE it. The only thing I DON’T love, however, is how long it takes to render the files. My word, it’s brutal… it takes so long to render I can’t tell if I somehow missed a setting change or if it’s still rendering. I read about the slowness in forums, but I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this slow.
It’s worth the wait, though — the amount of detail I get back is amazing. I just hope it doesn’t get too frustrating.
Here’s an example of the detail I’m talking about. A photo processed by Capture NX:
Now, view it larger: View On Black
Here’s a photo processed from RAW in Adobe Camera Raw, then edited in Photoshop:
Now, view it larger: View On Black
The top photo looks sharper, no doubt about it. My shutter’s slow in the top one, too, but it still looks sharper. In the bottom photo the slow shutter gives a bit of motion in Lauren’s hand, but there’s far less detail in the foreground and overall.
I think my trial period lasts for 60 days, but I’m pretty sure I’ll buy the product key to own it at the end of the trial. I’ll still use Photoshop, but Capture NX will likely replace Adobe Camera RAW for me.
I am SO GLAD it’s Friday. This week has been incredibly work-intensive and I am really in need of a break. Bring on the weekend!
