HELP

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HELP

Postby sayward07 » Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:09 pm

We took some family pictures today with my Nikon D60 and my brother in law asked me to take them in RAW (which I have never done beofe) Now I have put them on my computer and can't get them to open, because it says that the program I am opening them in does not support that format.
I then tried to open them in Photoshop elements and got the same message. They are still on my camera...is there anything I can do???
Thanks for any help!

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Re: HELP

Postby floridabob » Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:41 pm

What version of Elements are you using? The more recent ones all have a raw conversion program built in. Also there was software that came with the D60 that would load up the proprietary program by Nikon that would allow access to the raw files. Give it a try.
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Re: HELP

Postby marmart » Sun Nov 23, 2008 5:48 pm

I think there is a porgram that Nikon has called Nikon Capture that converts raw images. Your book should tell you how to do it. I have the D70 and I know there is something there about Raw images.

Don't worry!

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Re: HELP

Postby sayward07 » Sun Nov 23, 2008 6:08 pm

I'm using PSE6.... Do you know how to find the built in RAW conversion program?
Thanks

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Re: HELP

Postby rkligman » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:31 pm

Boy, did I choose a good time to log back in after being gone for so long? View NX is what you want. It's free and will not only show you the images but if you click the Convert toolbar button then it will save the image out as JPG.

http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/ni ... aqid=16111
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Re: HELP

Postby sayward07 » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:58 pm

Thanks-
so what was the point of shooting them in RAW if I am just going to have to convert them to JPEG to even be able to see them on my computer - sorry I'm slightly new at this.

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Re: HELP

Postby Funtolearn » Sun Nov 23, 2008 8:02 pm

I think you can make adjustments in that program before you save them. If you did not get that perfect picture you may be able to make some adjustment to the raw format to make the picture better. The Raw format has a lot more information to work with then the jpg.
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Re: HELP

Postby MG - Admin » Sun Nov 23, 2008 11:48 pm

If you do decide to use a program to convert the images to JPG so you can view them, by all means, don't delete the RAW images. The latest version of Elements should be able to view the RAW files, and if not, there are editing programs such as the ones mentioned above that will allow you to take advantage of the RAW files for post processing.

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Re: HELP

Postby mikemullett » Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:00 am

sayward07 wrote:Thanks-
so what was the point of shooting them in RAW if I am just going to have to convert them to JPEG to even be able to see them on my computer - sorry I'm slightly new at this.


The majority (all!) of cameras process and apply corrections to JPG files; Colour balance, colour temperature etc.
RAW is a format that carries out NO pre-processing whatsoever, also RAW viewers like Adobe Bridge have subtle corrections such as Vibrance & Recovery which other photo programmes do not have. RAW files are usually much larger than the corresponding JPG. Most pros shoot in RAW preferring to choose what corrections to apply.

Hope this helps

. . . Mike

PS: Each camera manufacturer has its own format of Raw: Nikon is *.NEF; Olympus *.ORF. Not sure of the others. The conversion Rik has listed above will only process Nikon RAW files , which is of course what you want. I only mention this in case others download the file and cannot view their camera specific RAW's.
A useful explanatory link: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/u-raw-files.shtml
There's no such thing as problems, only challenges
Nikon D5300 DSLR, PSP, Photoshop CS6, Premiere Elements 8, Adobe After Effects. Have just built a Win 7 Core I5 machine, 8G ram, 1TB hard disk

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Re: HELP

Postby im42n8 » Mon Nov 24, 2008 7:58 am

The RAW image is the digital equivalent of a film negative. You should probably invest in a program that will allow you to take advantage of the RAW format (for a long term solution, esp for management of your images.). Capture NX2 from Nikon would work very well for you. So would ACDSee Pro. Both cost about the same. Lightroom would work very well too but is a bit on the pricey side. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Depending on what you want to do with the images, these softwares can do some pretty significant corrections and/or enhancements to get the most out of your image before you convert them to either JPG or TIFF format. Lightroom, for instance, allows you to get rid of the blemishes/problems created by dust on the sensor or lens. You can apply this correction to all of the images taken in that same session vs doing each one separately (it can save HOURS of work!). The programs should be able to easily adjust the exposure of an image to plus/minus 4 f-stops!

Final processing is easily done on an exported JPG or TIFF file.

Your camera came with a software suite ... but I can't find anything that describes what that is. One of the items should be a program that lets you view the NEF files, do some minor corrections on them (exposure, tone, ...) and to export them to (at least) JPG.

If you shoot in JPG, it means that the camera has done all the processing for you. You lose a lot of information in the process and limit your flexibility of adjustments you might need to make to the image. However, JPGs are still usable images. It's just that the flexibility of correcting problems with lighting, exposure, white balance, etc is just not there. (which doesn't mean you can't do it on a JPG, it just means that its more work, more time, and more knowledge about what you're doing to do it right!).

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Re: HELP

Postby Frankie » Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:58 pm

sayward07 wrote:Thanks-
so what was the point of shooting them in RAW if I am just going to have to convert them to JPEG to even be able to see them on my computer - sorry I'm slightly new at this.


It seems like a lot of work when you first start shooting in RAW and the pictures don't look as great as jpg when you first view them because they're unprocessed, but hang in there. The RAW pictures give you so much more data and flexibility in post-processing that once you get used to it you will really appreciate the RAW format. The compression that occurs with jpg really does make a difference.
I just scanned the posts - I'm on my way out - so I hope I'm not repeating anyone, but you should be able to install the Nikon plug-in with Elements. It should be a simple download from the Adobe site. Another thing to remember when you are shooting in RAW is that the files are very, very big so be sure to bring enough memory cards with you. I bought a separate memory drive to hold my RAW photos.

Good luck,
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Re: HELP

Postby Nelson » Mon Nov 24, 2008 10:09 pm

If you don't want to be bothered with converting RAW files, but your brother-in-law does, then note that your D60 is able to shoot in a mode that outputs both RAW and JPG images. The main disadvantage is that you need more memory and disk storage. (I work for a disk drive company, so that's easy for me to say! :) ) A secondary disadvantage is that it could affect continuous shooting speed, if you use that feature much. But something to be aware of perhaps.

One main advantage of RAW, to me, is that you can correct slight errors in exposure after the fact. A RAW file stores 12 bits of information per pixel, or 4096 discreet tonal levels, while a JPG stores 8 bits, or 256 levels. If you shoot only in JPG then those other four data bits of are lost. This can manifest itself in a washed out sky with no details in clouds, for example. But a RAW file will still have those details, and thay can be coaxed out.

WsW-Wyatt-Earp

Re: HELP

Postby WsW-Wyatt-Earp » Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:13 am

The ability to adjust white balance to me is worth shooting raw. I have shot jpg only a few times. When I forget to change my white balance before shooting - its a life saver! I don't like letting the camera "decide" what white balance to use.

As said above - it takes a bit to get used to the extra step in processing but its worth it later on ...

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Re: HELP

Postby Nelson » Wed Nov 26, 2008 6:12 pm

WsW-Wyatt-Earp wrote:The ability to adjust white balance to me is worth shooting raw. I have shot jpg only a few times. When I forget to change my white balance before shooting - its a life saver! I don't like letting the camera "decide" what white balance to use.

As said above - it takes a bit to get used to the extra step in processing but its worth it later on ...


Yes, good point. I too have "been there, done that" in forgetting to change white balance setting, thus ruining the JPG images. The AWB setting on my camera does a reasonably good job, but the engineers still haven't figured out how to deal with user error.

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Re: HELP

Postby Frankie » Sat Nov 29, 2008 3:35 pm

Something else that's fun to do if you're shooting in RAW is to try HDR, combining different exposures of the same scene when you have a lot of contrast - like the ground and sky in a landscape photo. It's amazing what you can capture in a scene. I use Photomatix Pro to combine the different exposures, but some of the Photoshop programs also have that capability.

Frankie

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