You must download the files from your camera to your computer with Nikon View or Nikon Capture. Then you just open them with PS2. If it won't open them, it means you don't have Adobe Camera Raw installed in the PS2 plugin folder. You can download it from the adobe web site. Once you are there, there is a link to "understanding digital camera raw."
if you're using Nikon Capture, you can open NEF files in that and then from within Capture, open them in Photoshop.
If you're using Photoshop, you can either access Camera Raw from Bridge (part of the PS CS2 package) or use the Open dialog from Photoshop.
If you're particular files don't open, you may not have the latest version of ACR installed. If that's the case, do what Craig suggests above or in Photoshop or Bridge, go to Help>Updates.
I keep seeing references to having to use Adobe Camera Raw with PhotoShop, buthave not found that necessary with PhotoShop 7.0. Granted, it is an older product, but when we installed NikonView, a plug-in from Nikon was also installed in PhotoShop which opensthe .NEF files. We are currently using the latest NikonView which is version 6.2.7.
When we open a .NEF file in PhotoShop, we are prompted with a screen which shows a thumbnail and gives the option to change the exposure or white balance. When we open an image from a D1X, we have set the plug-in to use a 4020 by 2616 image as opposed to the standard normal size of 3008 by 1960.
If you have added PhotoShop after installing NikonView, I suggestion reinstalling NikonView. We have found no problem with NV 2.6.7 on older Windows 98/MEor Vista. The instructions state that you have to first uninstall an older version of NV and then to use the registry sweeper included in the download from Nikon.
QUESTION: Does NikonView support later versions of PhotoShop? Or, are we just lucky that our older computers kept us from upgrading to the latest version?
One good thing about the download from Nikon's web site. It was the fastest download we have ever had at 5 mbps which is the maximum speed for our current connection, beating a previous 3 mbps download from IBM several years ago when our download speed was limited to 3 mbps.
Doesn't the Nikon View plug in have quite a bit of limitations? If I remember correctly, you're limited to white balance and perhaps an exposure adjustment?
That is true, the NikonVIew plug-in limits one to only adjusting the exposure in increments of 1/3 EU and the white balance by the major settings, i.e. sun, cloud shade, flash, etc. My preference would be to have the finer adjustments for the white balance. But, if one is using PhotoShop, does one really need anything more?
With ACR, you have a whole bunch of other controls to work with. Controls like Shadows, Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation as well as other controls that can eliminate, or add vignetting, remove chromatic aberrations, reduce noise, and more.
Many of these things you can do in Photoshop (though the controls in ACR work in a slightly different way--for instance, I never use the contrast or brightness control in PS, but I use it all the time in ACR), but the real advantage is that you can make changes in ACR, getting your image to look as best you can, non-destructively.
I've found that using the Exposure control along with Shadows and Brightness, can go a long way to optimizing the image right in ACR.
Plus you have other controls in ACR like image size, bit-depth, color space.
And ACR is being constantly updated for new cameras and improved camera profiles.
Also, by using ACR (and probably other converters as well) you can apply the settings to as many pictures as you want. Say that you've take a series of images under the same lighting conditions. Optimize one of them in ACR and then apply those settings to the rest with just on mouse click. That's a real time saver.
Discussion
6 repliesYou must download the files from your camera to your computer with Nikon View or Nikon Capture. Then you just open them with PS2. If it won't open them, it means you don't have Adobe Camera Raw installed in the PS2 plugin folder. You can download it from the adobe web site. Once you are there, there is a link to "understanding digital camera raw."
If you're using Photoshop, you can either access Camera Raw from Bridge (part of the PS CS2 package) or use the Open dialog from Photoshop.
If you're particular files don't open, you may not have the latest version of ACR installed. If that's the case, do what Craig suggests above or in Photoshop or Bridge, go to Help>Updates.
When we open a .NEF file in PhotoShop, we are prompted with a screen which shows a thumbnail and gives the option to change the exposure or white balance. When we open an image from a D1X, we have set the plug-in to use a 4020 by 2616 image as opposed to the standard normal size of 3008 by 1960.
If you have added PhotoShop after installing NikonView, I suggestion reinstalling NikonView. We have found no problem with NV 2.6.7 on older Windows 98/MEor Vista. The instructions state that you have to first uninstall an older version of NV and then to use the registry sweeper included in the download from Nikon.
QUESTION: Does NikonView support later versions of PhotoShop? Or, are we just lucky that our older computers kept us from upgrading to the latest version?
One good thing about the download from Nikon's web site. It was the fastest download we have ever had at 5 mbps which is the maximum speed for our current connection, beating a previous 3 mbps download from IBM several years ago when our download speed was limited to 3 mbps.
That is true, the NikonVIew plug-in limits one to only adjusting the exposure in increments of 1/3 EU and the white balance by the major settings, i.e. sun, cloud shade, flash, etc. My preference would be to have the finer adjustments for the white balance. But, if one is using PhotoShop, does one really need anything more?
Many of these things you can do in Photoshop (though the controls in ACR work in a slightly different way--for instance, I never use the contrast or brightness control in PS, but I use it all the time in ACR), but the real advantage is that you can make changes in ACR, getting your image to look as best you can, non-destructively.
I've found that using the Exposure control along with Shadows and Brightness, can go a long way to optimizing the image right in ACR.
Plus you have other controls in ACR like image size, bit-depth, color space.
And ACR is being constantly updated for new cameras and improved camera profiles.
Also, by using ACR (and probably other converters as well) you can apply the settings to as many pictures as you want. Say that you've take a series of images under the same lighting conditions. Optimize one of them in ACR and then apply those settings to the rest with just on mouse click. That's a real time saver.