RAW, Nikon NES and Photoshop

[JRRKAR]

I am just starting to shoot RAW with my Nikon D100. The file format is saved in .NEF which I assume is a Nikon format. I can open these files with the Nikon Viewer and edit them in Photoshop 7.

I know how to convert the pictures to jpeg without any corrections using the Nikon Viewer. But if I want to edit them in Photoshop, it looks like I can only save to RAW, PSD, or TIFF format. So my question is, how do I edit the RAW (NEF) photos, then save them to a jpeg to share with others?

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[boydski]

Hi Jeff,

I seem to remember my D100 saving RAW images as *.nef, but that's just my decidely poor memory at work.

The easiest software to convert from Nikon RAW to JPG would probably be the Nikon View 6 software that likely came with your camera. From the Nikon Viewer, select an image, right click and select "edit" and it should bring up the image in Nikon's image editor. You can make basic color, contrast and exposure corrections and then save as Jpegs of various sizes.

Other, more expensive options would be Adobe's Camera Raw, which comes with newer versions of Photoshop (CS, CS2 or CS3) or Adobe Lightroom, which I find quite useful. :14:

 

[Matt S.]

Photoshop shouldn't restrict the format you save as except in some weird cases. For example, if you open a .gif (indexed color) you have to change it to RGB mode before you can save it as a jpeg. Do you have layers, adjustment layers, anything like that in the edited image?

There's probably something simple hanging you up here.

I think (?) you can get a free download of the Adobe Camera Raw plugin which will work even on older Photoshops.

You can also try File/Save For Web though it isn't the best for saving out large jpegs from raw files. For one, it just doesn't like huge jpegs and can slow down. It also purges EXIF data.

 

[JRRKAR]

The Nikon file format was NEF not NES. I was the one writing from memory at work. Thanks. I corrected the typo.

I do not have any layers, adjustment layers or anything like that. I just opened the file in Photoshop 7, made a few brightness corrections and tried to save it as a jpeg. I een tried to save as a PSD, close the file then reopen it...thinking if I tried to do a "Save As" in that format, it may give me some other options. But that didn't work either.

I'll try to make some corrections in the Nikon Viewer and save it that way as well.

I'll probably look to see if I can get a download of the Adobe Camera RAW sotware or upgrade to CS or above.

 

[HowardE]

Check on the adobe website for the NEF format reader (RAW viewer). I always shoot in NEF, and can open in Photoshop and save as a JPEG no problem.

Here's a link to the Adobe "Camera RAW" page http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html

 

[JRRKAR]

Thanks for the link. I currently have Photoshop 7 and am having difficulty finding the correct version of Camera Raw for Version7. Any help???

 

[Matt S.]

Looks like it was not free, and has been discontinued too. They really want to force you to upgrade. Too bad.

http://forum.pbase.com/viewtopic.php?p=40967

 

[HowardE]

Thanks for the link. I currently have Photoshop 7 and am having difficulty finding the correct version of Camera Raw for Version7. Any help???

Guess you'll have to use the Nikon software to convert to JPEG, then use photoshop.

I have CS2 so...

 

[Parrothead_Diver]

...I just opened the file in Photoshop 7, made a few brightness corrections and tried to save it as a jpeg....

If these are all the corrections you are making, might I suggest that you get a copy of Nikons Capture NX.

It is for editing Nikon Raw (.nef) files and gives you MUCH more control over the RAW data than is available within Photoshop with the RAW Converter.

Plus once you have made the changes it has the "Save As" - "JPG" that you are looking for.

You can find more info here. The cost is around $159 I believe.

 

[tx51210]

If these are all the corrections you are making, might I suggest that you get a copy of Nikons Capture NX.

It is for editing Nikon Raw (.nef) files and gives you MUCH more control over the RAW data than is available within Photoshop with the RAW Converter.

Plus once you have made the changes it has the "Save As" - "JPG" that you are looking for.

You can find more info here. The cost is around $159 I believe.

I agree with Parrothead, Capture is a good investment and upgrading to a newer photoshop is also a worthwhile expense. You already have a decent investment in your camera, get the most of each image with good software. It will save you time, reduce frustration and yield higher quality results. Someday there will be one piece of software that can do all image handling, but right now most pros rely on multiple pieces of software to handle different aspects of their image processing, editing and storage.