Photoshop / Nikon Capture

[T50JOHN]

Hi everyone,

I am considering to invest on a software for post processing my pics.

Not sure I am asking the right question but.....

How is Nikon Capture compare to Photoshop? Are they the "same"?

Currently I do have a original copy Photoshop element but discover that it do not have some of the useful thing I read from some website.

What is the price like for both?

Thanks

[bcoolboy]

Originally Posted by T50JOHN Hi everyone, I am considering to invest on a software for post processing my pics. Not sure I am asking the right question but..... How is Nikon Capture compare to Photoshop? Are they the "same"? Currently I do have a original copy Photoshop element but discover that it do not have some of the useful thing I read from some website. What is the price like for both? Thanks

HI T50john,

Nikon Capture is different from PS in that NC is proprietary and is intended for optimum use with pictures taken with a Nikon DigiCams (that does not mean though that you cannot use NC to processing pictures taken with other manufacturers digicams). PS is an all-encompassing image processing SW. It can be used for general and specialized purpose digital image processing and is more flexible.

There are some things that NC is built to perform faster and easier specially for pictures taken in NEF format. This does not mean that PS cannot do the same (maybe in most cases even better because its more flexible) but PS needs a lot of specialized skills before you can use it optimally. Especially the powerful PS CS ! NC is relatively a more intuitive and easier for new and advanced user to understand and use, especially if you use a Nikon DigiCam.

It's your call..

cheers,
bcoolboy

[jumbocrab]

Photoshop CS is very much more expensive as compared to Photoshop Elements. So you should consider very carefully whether you need the additional functions. For a newbie, Photoshop Element is actually quite powerful already. I suggest you try to master PS Elements fully first before deciding whether you want to upgrade.

If you want to fully optimise your D70 raw, then Nikon Capture is a relatively cheaper way to go. It only costs about $180.

[deadpixel]

When comparing Photoshop and Nikon Capture, it's not a straight forward case of saying this is better than that or "if you only do this, then you should get that."

Nikon Capture is a proprietary application design to let you tweak the best out of RAW images taken with Nikon cameras. It allows you to adjust the exposure and the white balance settings. It helps you to fix vignettes and curvetures from images taken with Fisheye lenses. It enables you to remove minor dust bunnies in your photos and it is very good for the adjusting of hues and saturations.

If you would like a RAW handling application that can be used with more cameras, look to the new Bibble 4.0. I've been trying out the pro version and am very impressed with what I'm seeing.

Photoshop gives you more than just simple image adjusting features. It enables you to manipulate selective areas of your photos, create cutouts to be combined with other images and of course it allows you to stack multiple images to gether and create virtually any effect you want. You'll be able to straighten crooked ties, open closed eyes and closed opened mouths. Make a rainy day out of a sunny one and even create works of art. But all these take practice.

Photoshop can also open RAW files but I find that I prefer Nikon Capture's conversion better so I tend to convert it in NC4 and open the image in Photoshop through the NC4-Photoshop interface.

The price difference between the two should be a ready indication of the vast difference in their capabilities. NC4 goes for around SG$190 while Photoshop CS is usually sold at >SG$1000. However, if you have PS Elements, you might try getting this cheaper full version through this link:

http://store.adobe.com/store/product...ml?id=catNikon

Cheers,

Matt

[T50JOHN]

Thanks everyone.

Looks like I am comparing different thing.

Need to think again........

[espn]

Nikon Capture is dedicated solely for Nikon images (NEFs/JPEGs).

Just a simple screen capture of the functions available -




Btw, Blurblock, this image was captured as an example to show people the options of Nikon Capture, and not meant to be classified as my personal gallery on clubsnap forums. Don't take it that I'm using CS gallery as my personal gallery images, they're just a storage for my own usage/purposes. Thank you for your kind rating

[T50JOHN]

Thanks espn.

I am looking more for the following function.

http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/articles...6_balance.html

I don't think Nikon Capture can do that and I can't find such function in PS element. Can any kind person show me how to perform such task with PS element or Nikon Capture?

I ran throught my CDs and found original Ulead Photo Express and Photo Impact 8. I have not install them. Can these perform such task?

Thank for helping......

[johnyu]

Originally Posted by T50JOHN I am looking more for the following function. http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/articles...6_balance.html I don't think Nikon Capture can do that and I can't find such function in PS element. Can any kind person show me how to perform such task with PS element or Nikon Capture?

That particular technique uses layer + mask + curve. NC has curve, but not layer nor mask. Having that said, you have to keep in mind that there're in general many approaches to acheive similar results in post-processing photos. In this particular example, a carefully constructed curve alone can also recover the shadow details, but with less control.

An overly simplistic analog is NC is an auto Honda Civic while PS is a Formula One. You can get a lot of milage with NC alone. With PS, you can do a lot more, but you need to invest cosiderable amount of time to master the skills.

I think there're 3 specific issues you need to be aware of:

1. NC doesn't manage memory and CPU resource as effective as PS. If you don't have a lot memory and a Giga Hertz machine, NC crawls. It's usable, but productivity suffers.

2. There's this contentious issues on which Raw converter is better; some people think PS Camera Raw (CR) is better, and some think NC is. PS CR seems to have better algorithm and fine controls to squeeze slightly more details from the NEF. But PS CR ignores the custom curve loaded on the camera body. This is a show stopper if you use custom curve extensively.

3. NC's noise reduction tool, particularly the one for moire noise, works pretty well to remove the noise introduced by D70 at high ISO or on repetitive patterns. If you use PS, you either need to master some advanced techniques with the color channels or pay for one of those plugin (e.g. Neat Image) which doesn't seem to be as easy to use as NC's.

[espn]

Acherly, I oni use PS to do my DI stuff, my RAWs are always processed in NC. Stuff I do in PS would be framing/watermarking, slight contrast adjustment and resizing. That's just me.

[photogene]

For more productive and creative work, I'll recommend photoshop.

[T50JOHN]

Thanks to all.....

I guess I will try to master PS element (since I have it).