First Impression of Nikon Capture NX 2

In a phrase - Blown away twice, off my chair and down the stairs!

Sticking to my conviction that software such as Aperture 2 and Nikon Capture NX 2 should serve only as an insurance policy in photography, a claim was finally made today by my dad to salvage his photo gallery off his recent Brazilian trip on a Nokia N78. No big deal. About a hundred images.

Now, if you are familiar with Adobe Lightroom, or Photoshop and the likes, we are naturally talking about a rather steep learning curve to just cover the very basics. But with Nikon Capture NX 2, I was happily enhancing his first image in a few minutes!! The U-point technology is really that intelligent and intuitive like the brochure claims. I was shocked at how easy it is turning out to be to turn overexposed, "dead" camera phone images into restored professional images, ready for A4 printing.

Mind you, I never bothered even exploring Nikon Capture NX 2 after I acquired it, save a default installation on my laptop. I think this is my second time running this program this morning! Now, this is what I call professional post processing standards for idiots. Anyone can perform the work in minutes, compared to hours/days required by other equivalent software products.

At least, I can now say that the Nikon Capture NX 2 win Apple Aperture 2 by miles in ease of use!

New Kid on the Block for Animating Your Best Shots

I just came across this site that may well be the best way to show off your image portfolio to anyone. Its called Animoto. And it rocks! Check it out [here].

Nikon Capture NX Any Good?

My thorough review of it beckons me to put it on hold for the time being. Its lack of batch processing workflow feature simply turned me off completely. And its inability to help me sort all my tons of images and GB of raw data intelligently outweighs its Nikon secret image processing algorithm found in the software.

I am looking at a slightly bigger picture here and the software I will use have to deliver to that context as well.

Perhaps, its all the same among other software like Aperture, Lightroom etc. Choosing one can be a matter of personal preference.

Starting Point of Apple Aperture 2

Frankly, I do not know where to start! It's a monster to use and a gargantuan to yield some usefulness from my first user experience. Hopefully, with the many tutorials found on Apple's web site, I can get some headway in the coming weeks.

Check back soon for what I manage to learn...at $299, it better be worth all these trouble!

New Addition to the Family - Aperture 2

Like a tug of war, I am clueless as to which software is most suitable for image post processing. Every web reviews and forums says against the other while some claim to use all! Top on the list is Adobe Lightroom, Nikon Capture NX and Apple Aperture and Adobe Photoshop (if you feel loaded).

OK. So, I decided to jump in on what my instinct tells me - Apple Aperture 2. It's, I hope, a worthwhile decision. Now, I am ready for some real image post processing. Maybe, my old copy of Adobe Photoshop 7 can also come in handy too...

Adobe TV Teaches Color Grading Videos!

Thought you never ask! Here's the deal how its done.

Is Nikon Capture NX worth The Money?

As you know, i am no big fan of post processing work. In fact, the post processing done on the Nikon D90 is so well performed that i wonder if its necesssary in the first place.

But again, i cannot ignore the fact that there are just time when a well composed image is worth salvaging. And that's when Nikon Capture NX comes in handy. I just got the brochure recently and am running through the facts and figures as i write.

From my initial assessment, it certainly look more intuitive to use as compared to the Apple Aperture.

Nikon D90 Tethered Mode Shoot with Free Software

Remember the article I ran about using Aperture to shoot in tethered mode with the Nikon D90? Well, here's some good news to those who just don't see the need to shelf out cash for Apple's imaging software!

Go free with [Sofortbild]! Free only if you own a mac that is...sorry windows guys and gals.

Nikon Updates View NX and Transfer Software Again

Routine updates available today from Nikon - View NX 1.3 and Nikon Transfer 1.4 [here].

Patch up and go! 

However, be warned...Nikon sites have been up and down erratically for the last few days.

Side Track #1 - Creating A Photo Slideshow DVD

I know this has nothing to do with our Nikon D90 but may be relevant to some of you who choose to show off your work (maybe to prospective clients?) on a DVD instead of some online image carousel service.

Hence, if the formula below is applicable to you

Nikon D90 + Mac OS X + Macbook (with DVD Writer) = Sleek Automated Happiness to Create DVD!

click [here], otherwise click [here].

HDR Revisit Finally! - Photomatix Pro

The fundamental ground for good High Dynamic Range (HDR) images consists of a combination of appropriate software - Aperture/Photomatix Pro, stable tripod (or forego tripod use by shooting brackets at 4.5 FPS - see my previous posts), "ideal" composition, "good" weather condition and auto-bracketed Nikon D90.

With my recent installation of Photomaxtix Pro on my Macbook Pro, its finally time to begin. Get the full copy of Photomatix Pro for only $99! If you are like me, a novice in HDR, head towards [here] for a debrief before embarking on your first HDR shootout!

The above image will soon look quite familiar to you...

Aperture 2 Introduction

As shared, we will go through Aperture 2 in what many call post processing work on their images. For this exercise, please shoot in NEF RAW format that we can be on the same page when end results is concerned. JPEG has already been compressed 75% so don't expect post processing to be meaningful for such image format.

Let's begin. Step 1 - update your Aperture to the latest iteration - 2.1.2 if you have not done so. Step 2 - Grant permission to Aperture to import your shots into Aperture the moment you connect your Nikon D90. Note that its a two-step process. Aperture will attempt to grant you an overview of what's in your Nikon D90 but you will need to manually need to hit the import button to really get it in. The tab you will be working with is shown on the right here - Projects, Metadata and Adjustments.

Step 3 - To enhance your image, the most direct way is to simply navigate to the Adjustment tab and start playing with the sliders found on each of the seven key areas

• Raw fine tuning
• White balance
• Exposure
• Enhance
• Levels
• Highlights and shadows
• Color

This should get you started with some room to experiment and play. Obviously, as your library grows in Aperture, you will begin to manually classify all your images into projects and smart albums. What I really like is how flexible the sorting can be achieved in Aperture but ideally still lacks the auto face-recognition sort introduced in iPhoto '09 (Keynote Macworld 2009) yesterday.

In my future article about Aperture, I would run through what I have learnt about the detailed adjustments you can introduce to your image besides playing with the sliders found in the Adjustment tab. That's where it then gets more interesting.

About Aperture 2 or Nikon Capture NX

As previously mentioned, you can use any platform you are familiar with, and I am sticking to Apple's Aperture 2. Its in my opinion stronger (more capable) than even Nikon's own in-house make - Capture NX. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom would be a strong alternative in the Windows platform. At one point of time, editing my photos from my work after my shoot is considered cheating and I strive to keep that balance in mind.

In fact, its solely to the objective of "rescuing" those minority valuable work I hope to keep and not simply put them in my trash bin. Many pros consider Aperture their left hand while they shoot with their right. I would simply like to attest to this fact and how, with such a tool, can I hone in my work as an amateur photographer.

I have seen the opposite true where these bunch of "photographers" spend hours after hours tweaking each shot they took religiously. I call them "publishers". Well, this is a conscious choice. So far, none of the image on my Nikon D90 gallery has been "touched" by Apple's Aperture or Nikon's Capture NX. But when I begin work, a new gallery will be opened to share with all the "results" of such editing work.

Nikon unveils My Picturetown for iPhone, free app

Nikon has released its first “iApp” for the use of iPhone and Nikon’s photo storage and sharing site, My Picturetown online, most importantly, it’s free!

The “My Picturetown for iPhone” enables users of Nikon’s My Picturetown get access to online images stored in their Picturetown account via their iPhone. Additionally, they can also view, create and upload photos as well as tagging and accessing EXIF data directly from their iPhone.

Nikon’s My Picturetown is giving up 2GB of free photo storage online with the option to purchase up to 200GB through the Gold Account. The app is already up for downloading from Apple’s App Store.

Mypicturetown Free Upgrade to 20GB

Free Upgrade to 20GB today! Login and click upgrade storage to get your storage space bumped up to 20GB! I just did!

Nikon Transfer and ViewNX Upgrade Available

The bundled software that comes with my Nikon D90 is outdated. Do take some time to bump it up when possible to version 1.3, available for both operating systems - Windows and Mac.

Visit Nikon's site for immediate downloading [here]

ViewNX 1.2 Change log for those techie to munch over

• Image display support for NRW-format RAW images captured with the P6000 has been added. However, these images cannot be developed or edited.
• A GeoTag icon has been added to the toolbar.
• Based on the GPS information embedded with capture, shooting location can now be indicated on maps using Web Mapping services. In addition, GPS data can now be added to images captured with cameras that do not offer a GPS function or those to which geotag information has not been attached, by confirming shooting locations on the map.
• A myPicturetown icon has been added to the toolbar. Files can now be uploaded to myPicturetown by simply clicking this icon.
• IPTC information can be copied and/or pasted. Select the image containing the XMP/IPTC information to be copied, and then select Copy IPTC Information from the Edit menu. Select the image(s) to which XMP/IPTC information will be pasted choose Paste IPTC Information from the Edit menu. XMP/IPTC information copied to the clipboard will be saved to the selected image(s).
• File and camera information for a particular category (File Info 1, File Info 2, Camera Info, etc.) displayed in the Metadata palette can now be copied via context menus*.
• Sharpness, Contrast, Highlight Protection, and Shadow Protection adjustment functions have been added to the Quick Adjustment palette.
• Fine Adjustment, and Tint adjustment functions have been added to the White Balance section of the Quick Adjustment palette.
• When Use Gray Point is selected for adjusting white balance from the Quick Adjustment palette, the size of the point can now be selected from 3 pixel sizes.
• In Full Screen display mode, file order / total file number is now displayed in the bottom bar.
• In Full Screen and Image Viewer modes, the zoom ratio is now shown.
• Two separate image rotation icons, Rotate 90° CW and Rotate 90° CCW, are now available in the toolbar. A Rotate 180° has also been added to the context menu*.
• Full screen slideshows of all images can now be displayed when no images or just one image is selected in the Thumbnail area.
• When a window is displayed on the secondary monitor in a multiple-screen environment, the display profile can now be changed to that of the secondary display profile.
• Map Datum and Altitude Reference items have been added to the GPS information displayed in the Metadata palette.

* - A context menu is the menu displayed when the mouse button is clicked while holding down the CONTROL key.