Converting Nikon RAW files

For some time now, in fact since I owned my D70, I almost always capture in RAW+JPEG. Of course on the D300 this means each exposure consumes ~20Mb, but hey storage is cheap!

Anyway, I do this for three basic reasons:

- most of the time the JPEG is fine

- if the JPEG is not fine for some reason eg compression artifacts, colour balance etc, I can use the RAW

- using the Nikon software, currently NX, you can convert from NEF to TIF or 16 bit, with the settings the camera used to make the JPEG.

So since most of the time I am happy with the white balance and profile etc used by the camera to make the JPEG, this works really well.

No other RAW converter can do this even Bibble, Adobe etc.

Even better, you can adjust the following parameters in the NEF file without changing the underlying data:

white balance
color space
EV
sharpening
contrast
saturation

Nice!

DX or FX lens?

Now that Nikon have released the D700 with its FX (full frame sensor) its becoming obvious that in a couple of years most serious DSLRs will be full frame. But, everyone knows that its the glass thats important.

This means that if you buy a lens and you think you'll still be doing semi/serious photography for at least another year or two, you really need to consider if you buy FX capable lens or not.

But knowing whether a lens can do FX is tricky! Would that Nikon had adopted a consistent naming scheme...

Into this breach steps Thom Hogan and his page which lists current lenses and their FX / DX capability.

Of course I have considered getting the D700... who wouldn't! But its a big big spend. Not only do I need the $3000 camera, then I need glass to do it justice.

I LOVE my Tokina 12-24 on my D300, example picture here. The FX equivalent would be 18-36, so the nearest equivalent would be ummm well there isn't one at the moment that I would want to buy. Its only a matter of time before Nikon fix this of course.

More pictures from Yosemite

Quick highlight recovery from RAW files

On a recent trip to Yosemite to capture the waterfalls, I used an ND4 on my D300 to give a slower shutter speed. In some shots the mixed (full sun and shade) lighting caused the highlights to blow.

The RAW converter supplied, Capture NX has highlight recovery capability of up to 2 stops.

Here's the original jpg (I always shoot RAW + basic jpg).


and here's the detail of the blown area


photoshop levels shows the damage


Here's what it looks like in Capture NX


First save the file as .tif with no adjustment.

Then we need to recover the highlights and save as a different file. We'll combine them later.

Drill down into RAW adjustment


and move the slider to -2


gives the following result


Save as .tif, and then open both files in photoshop. On the file that was converted with no changes, drag the layer onto the the file that we converted with the recovery ie put the straight conversion over the recovered highlights layer.

Add a layer mask, and then paint on the mask to selectively reveal the recovered layer below. I use a brush with about 30% opacity and 30% flow. Zoom in and use a brush size to allow you to gradually build up the effect. I found 50 pixels about the right size.


And here's the final result

Upgrading from a Nikon D70 to a Nikon D300

Having taken the decision to get a Nikon D300 as an upgrade and replacement for my D70, I am seeing quite a few differences as you would expect.

In no particular order:

1. The screen. The D300 allows you to zoom right in
2. File sizes. I always used raw+jpeg on the D70. I surveyed the files sizes generated from a trip to Switzerland (a small sample of pictures) and found that NEFs averaged 5.29Mb with a standard deviation of .29Mb, while the jpeg averaged 746Kb with a standard deviation of 52Kb. I don't have enough history on the D300 (yet), so I took these numbers from the manual: 14 bit cmpressed NEF - 16.7Mb, jpeg (normal) - 2.9Mb. So the 'combo' file size has gone from about 6Mb to about 20Mb.
3. CF card required. If the combo file size has gone from 6Mb to 20Mb then you need 3.5x card size to get the same number of photos per card. I got a 2Gb so I should get ~100 per card. The odd thing is that Nikon's own numbers on page 402 don't add up. ie how is that 14 bit lossless NEF at 16.7Mb fits 75 on a 2Gb card, the same as uncompressed 14 bit NEF at 25.3Mb. Longer term I am going to shoot 14 bit NEF compressed, so I'll get some history.
4. Grid lines. You'll probably want to turn these on - page 281 (Framing grid)
   
5. Display more information about the pictures - choose your options - page 250 in the manual
6. Bracketing. There's no autobracket ie one press takes all the pictures required. Set up bracketing from page 118

More as I find them

Getting started with the Nikon D300, and useful links.

My Nikon D300 has arrived, along with its 421 page manual. There's a bewildering array of options, and the manual doesn't tell you _what_ a feature does, only what features and settings are available.

So I'm collating some links and additional information. After going through these links I mostly get it, apart from the autofocus system.

Still need persuading? Read the DPReview.

Have a look at the Nikon D300 special site.

DWM on Nikonians has created a spreadsheet of all the available options. No explanations though.

Get any firmware and software updates from Nikon Europe.

The D300 supports a lot of older Nikon and Nikkor lens. See which ones here on Nikonians.

PDF manual here. It has printable and non-printable versions - to get the printable version you will need your D300 serial number.

If the official manual doesn't do much for you, you can get a third party one, such as the one by Thom Hogan. Thom also has an excellent review of the D300.

Thom has quite a go at the menu system, and I can see why. The way of selecting things changes depending on what you are selecting. Try changing the Photo Information and NEF 12/14 bits, by way of comparison.