New - NX Studio

[Ann_JS]

Well, I played with NX Studio for a while and then . . . I scurried back to ACR!

The NX UI is not efficient.
Too many vital controls are hidden in the Prefs and require a restart every time before any changes to the Prefs become available to the User.

The Adjustments Panel is interminably long and needs excessive Scrolling.

There are no KBSCs.

NX seems to have been designed for those who shoots JPGs instead of RAW.
There doesn't appear to be a way to import my own xRite-engendered Camera Profiles.

NX Studio makes heavy use of the camera's internally recorded Settings and Picture Controls (which are something that I never use). It also wants to honour Active D-Lighting (something that is applicable to JPGs); and seems to base operations on other settings included in the camera's EXIF (all of which I inevitably ignore!).

NX also lacks many of the advanced tools (including Color Grading and a Smart Object workflow into Ps) which ACR now provides.
Neither did I get the impression that NX is any faster than ACR.

Bottom Line:
NX offers no competition to ACR.
My previous impression of Nikon's Software has now been re-confirmed.

My copy of NX Studio has now taken a trip to Never-never Land via the Uninstaller.

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[Palouse]

My copy of NX Studio has now taken a trip to Never-never Land via the Uninstaller.

What a coincidence—I did the same thing to LR/ACR/PS/ and all things Adobe, several years ago and have never looked back. To each their own.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Based solely on the stuff I've seen written about this new product, it seems to me that it might be one of the better programs that is available for free. I have no interest in even trying it out, but I'm very happy for everyone for whom it meets their needs.

 

[Palouse]

Based solely on the stuff I've seen written about this new product, it seems to me that it might be one of the better programs that is available for free. I have no interest in even trying it out, but I'm very happy for everyone for whom it meets their needs.

Yup, you and I are waiting for NX4, or some such!

 

[Mike Buckley]

Yup, you and are waiting for NX4, or some such!

The only thing I'm waiting for is my second Pfizer shot on Tuesday. I'm even done with wine for the evening.

 

[Clix Pix]

Years ago when I got a new Nikon camera, I installed the software which came on a CD and after experiencing frustration and numerous difficulties with it, decided that while Nikon might be good at making cameras and lenses, software was really not their forte, and I promptly discarded the software and after that if there were a software CD in the box when I was buying a new camera, I simply ignored it and never bothered installing it.

 

[Mike Buckley]

An article at PetaPixel (that I haven't read) about the new product: https://petapixel.com/2021/03/05/nikon-nx-studio-review-a-good-start-that-will-get-better/

 

[Palouse]

The only thing I'm waiting for is my second Pfizer shot on Tuesday. I'm even done with wine for the evening.

We get our second on the 15th. Now to decide on a wine for that evening . . .

 

[Palouse]

I used Nikon SW exclusively until DXO came out. I still use NX to verify my NEF conversions, especially for skin tones. I still use Nikon Transfer. Fast and simple, and free.

 

[Ann_JS]

Perhaps I should explain why my Processing requirements are very different from those of many people here.

My first problem with NX Studio is its lack of flexibility and Customisation .— especially Customized Camera Profiles.

I never use ACR's (or anyone else's) Camera Profiles because I have made a complete set of Profiles for each of my cameras and also (for each camera individually) for every regular and odd-ball light-source that i have been able to find.

I use xRite's ColorChecker, followed by DNG Converter, to build these personalised Camera Profiles and I have imported them all into ACR.

Now I simply Batch-select all of the images from a shoot and apply the appropriate Camera Profile for the camera which was used, and the light-source under which the images were shot, and that provides my starting point.
Thus I mostly start the image processing with my Colour Balance and White Point in need of minimal tweaking.

Then I multi-select images which may need similar brightness, contrast or changes to some of the other controls and Sync the settings for the whole group.

This is probably not the way that most people like to work but it is actually very fast and I can easily process over a thousand RAW images this way in a day into a reasonably complete and usable state.
(Return from a trip with over 12,000 new Nefs, and you can understand why this workflow is helpful!)

When shooting, I simply use Neutral and leave all Picture Controls (especially Sharpening!) set to the Minimal or Off position.

ACR suits my own (perhaps rather idiosyncratic?) ways of shooting and processing because I always Process with the intention of storing my files still as RAW Nefs. I Keyword them and save them as Nefs with xmp Sidecars

When I need to use one of them, I re-open the NEF in ACR, make any additional tweaks that seem necessary and then "Open Object" (as a Smart Object and ProPhoto RGb 16-bit) directly into Photoshop.

I make final adjustments and refinements in Ps; apply (as the last step and always in a separate Layer) the exact kind of Sharpening needed for my Output purposes. That is because Press, Printer and Web require entirely different kinds and degrees of Output Sharpening

I then Save the file (in the appropriate format and Color Space) and can now Export it into a Page Layout program (I use InDesign) for the Press; or for Printing on my inkjet; or for inclusion in a Web Site that I am building for a Client; or for Posting on the Internet.

I realise that mine is much more of a Production-oriented workflow than many Photographers will wish, or need to adopt; but, for the past 40 years, I have been in the rather unusual position of being the Photographer, the Art Director and the Production Manager for everything that we have produced.

Perhaps this also explains why I find that ACR provides me with the more complex editing tools and capabilities that I need; and why ACR also offers me a far more complete, versatile and industry-integrated Workflow than NX Studio seems able to provide so far.

 

[Clix Pix]

For Nick and other Mac users: No need to use Nikon Transfer with a Mac; just simply put your memory card into the card reader and click on the drive/folder icon to drag-and-drop, copy the images right to your desktop. Done! From there you can do whatever you want with the images, import them into Photo Mechanic or Fast Raw Viewer to cull them first if that is your preferred method, or simply go right into DXO PhotoLab 4 to review and start editing....

 

[JLH]

I have used Nikon's "Free" software for many years in what limited use I make of such things. I downloaded and installed this new software on one of my computers as soon as I got the email from Nikon with the link. I have not used it much other than just poking around to get a sense of how it "feels". So far I am firmly convinced that it is easily worth twice what I paid for it. No buyer remorse for me!
Seriously, the test of any software is simple: Does it do what you want it to do in a manner that makes sense to you? I am not so into "Post" as some here are. Nikon software does, for the most part, everything I have needed, just some basic lighting and color tint adjustments as well as cropping and file conversions. So for me, its a easy choice to update to this. I do have LR, Skylum Luminar and other programs on another computer and dabble in all of them to some extent for various work. I am an expert in none of them however so my opinion is based only on my own personal use..

 

[Palouse]

For Nick and other Mac users: No need to use Nikon Transfer with a Mac; just simply put your memory card into the card reader and click on the drive/folder icon to drag-and-drop, copy the images right to your desktop. Done! From there you can do whatever you want with the images, import them into Photo Mechanic or Fast Raw Viewer to cull them first if that is your preferred method, or simply go right into DXO PhotoLab 4 to review and start editing....

You have obviously never used Nikon Transfer. I can transfer to exactly where I want them to go (not cluttering up the desk top) and I can send a second copy to a backup location. I can copy only new files, I can rename files instantly, and I can read them with any program.

 

[Palouse]

Perhaps I should explain why my Processing requirements are very different from those of many people here.

My first problem with NX Studio is its lack of flexibility and Customisation .— especially Customized Camera Profiles.

I never use ACR's (or anyone else's) Camera Profiles because I have made a complete set of Profiles for each of my cameras and also (for each camera individually) for every regular and odd-ball light-source that i have been able to find.

I use xRite's ColorChecker, followed by DNG Converter, to build these personalised Camera Profiles and I have imported them all into ACR.

Now I simply Batch-select all of the images from a shoot and apply the appropriate Camera Profile for the camera which was used, and the light-source under which the images were shot, and that provides my starting point.
Thus I mostly start the image processing with my Colour Balance and White Point in need of minimal tweaking.

Then I multi-select images which may need similar brightness, contrast or changes to some of the other controls and Sync the settings for the whole group.

This is probably not the way that most people like to work but it is actually very fast and I can easily process over a thousand RAW images this way in a day into a reasonably complete and usable state.
(Return from a trip with over 12,000 new Nefs, and you can understand why this workflow is helpful!)

When shooting, I simply use Neutral and leave all Picture Controls (especially Sharpening!) set to the Minimal or Off position.

ACR suits my own (perhaps rather idiosyncratic?) ways of shooting and processing because I always Process with the intention of storing my files still as RAW Nefs. I Keyword them and save them as Nefs with xmp Sidecars

When I need to use one of them, I re-open the NEF in ACR, make any additional tweaks that seem necessary and then "Open Object" (as a Smart Object and ProPhoto RGb 16-bit) directly into Photoshop.

I make final adjustments and refinements in Ps; apply (as the last step and always in a separate Layer) the exact kind of Sharpening needed for my Output purposes. That is because Press, Printer and Web require entirely different kinds and degrees of Output Sharpening

I then Save the file (in the appropriate format and Color Space) and can now Export it into a Page Layout program (I use InDesign) for the Press; or for Printing on my inkjet; or for inclusion in a Web Site that I am building for a Client; or for Posting on the Internet.

I realise that mine is much more of a Production-oriented workflow than many Photographers will wish, or need to adopt; but, for the past 40 years, I have been in the rather unusual position of being the Photographer, the Art Director and the Production Manager for everything that we have produced.

Perhaps this also explains why I find that ACR provides me with the more complex editing tools and capabilities that I need; and why ACR also offers me a far more complete, versatile and industry-integrated Workflow than NX Studio seems able to provide so far.

No need to explain, We all have our own needs and preferences too, and our well researched options.

 

[Mike Buckley]

No need to use Nikon Transfer with a Mac; just simply put your memory card into the card reader and click on the drive/folder icon to drag-and-drop, copy the images right to your desktop. Done!

When thinking of workflow, that's an extra step for which there is no need and no benefit that I can think of off the top of my head. It's fine if one doesn't mind taking that extra step to take it, but there really is no justification for taking it if the goal is to streamline one's workflow while also maintaining effectiveness. By the way, the same thing you suggest can be done using Windows, and it would also be an extra step with no need or benefit when working in that environment.

 

[drr1531]

NX Studio makes heavy use of the camera's internally recorded Settings and Picture Controls (which are something that I never use). It also wants to honour Active D-Lighting (something that is applicable to JPGs); and seems to base operations on other settings included in the camera's EXIF (all of which I inevitably ignore!)...

Aside from being free, the use of Nikon "picture control" settings is the only advantage to the Nikon software. So if one wants SOOC results with RAW files it's really the only option. Or someone who shoots RAW+jpeg and wants to start editing a NEF file that looks like the jpeg version.

Early on I reasoned that no one knew more about converting NEF files than Nikon so I used the Nikon product (I forget what it was called) as my RAW converter and output TIFF files for pixel crunching with other programs. The software back then was actually written by Nik and used their control point feature. Like any software one of the big challenges was getting used to the interface. But ultimately as someone stated above Nikon is in the camera business. They stink at writing software. After they parted ways with Nik things went downhill IMO. At any rate we each have our own needs/requirements and whatever works is fine. When I started doing high volume shoots I switched to LR for RAW conversion. Never did really use the in camera "picture control" settings so didn't lose anything with the switch.

 

[Geof]

This new SW seems intended for the casual Nikon user, not professionals as it is missing some features as Ann has pointed out. But this SW also seems to be a step forward for casual users as it combines the View and Capture programs into one program and it has 'camera like menu structure". It also retains the color control points which I have found to be quite useful on certain occasions. I still prefer LR but I can afford the monthly fee.....for folks hit financially because of the pandemic this is a nice solution and upgrade.

 

[Yorkterrier]

I downloaded it and noticed it replaced View NX-i but retained Capture NX-D. I have got so used to having all the adjustment windows in NX-D undocked open on a second monitor that I might find it hard to use. I also have not compared whether everything on NX-D is on NX Studio yet. It certainly looks ok for basics editing as well as it being free

 

[Clix Pix]

You have obviously never used Nikon Transfer. I can transfer to exactly where I want them to go (not cluttering up the desk top) and I can send a second copy to a backup location. I can copy only new files, I can rename files instantly, and I can read them with any program.

Right, as I said in my other post I haven't used ANY Nikon software for years. It's probably significantly better now than it was in the early days but I was soured on the bad experience I had with it. Aside from that, I don't "clutter up the desktop" by simply dragging-and-dropping one folder...... I only have five items on it right now anyway. I may not have made that clear that I'm dragging-and-dropping a folder, not each RAW image! After the folder (with the images inside) is on the desktop I then immediately rename the folder from "DSC xxxxx " or "CLR xxxxx". (each camera has its own file name designations so that I know later which I've used for a given series of shots) to the current date plus a general topic. I then have the choice of where I want to go from there: run them through Photo Mechanic first for culling, stick them into DXO PhotoLab 4 for editing, or sometimes I just want to do a quick-and-dirty processing and stick the folder into Luminar AI. Occasionally I will stick them into FastRaw Viewer or RAW Power rather than PhotoMechanic or I'll use Affinity Photo for a change of pace.

 

[Clix Pix]

When thinking of workflow, that's an extra step for which there is no need and no benefit that I can think of off the top of my head. It's fine if one doesn't mind taking that extra step to take it, but there really is no justification for taking it if the goal is to streamline one's workflow while also maintaining effectiveness. By the way, the same thing you suggest can be done using Windows, and it would also be an extra step with no need or benefit when working in that environment.

I am retired, I have plenty of time on my hands and I hardly consider clicking on a folder and dragging-and-dropping it from the card reader to the desktop is a huge "extra step." Sure, if I were a wedding photographer, a portrait photographer, a sports photographer or someone else with an employer or a client base and time was of the essence in promptly processing and editing the images to deliver to them, that would be a much different scenario.

I prefer not to immediately ingest my image files into some program; I prefer to have the choice and the control over what I'm going to do with the images and where they'll go.