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Nikon Capture NX

U point technology is a real advance in color control but to me it belongs in a normal imaging application - a good one. Nikon have tried to make Capture NX more than just a RAW conversion utility, but Nikon Capture 4 was already very complicated so adding a whole new set of controls, drop down menus and control points doesn’t make it any easier to use. Attempts have been made to improve the appearance and usability of Capture NX over Nikon Capture 4 but it still feels too much like lots of different parts, not quite joined together in any really coherent way. Nikon, have tried with some success to clean up the interface by only allowing you to have open the control box you’re actually using - if you make an adjustment to noise reduction and then select another control on the drop down menus on the right, the noise reduction panel disappears. While this may avoid the endless floating toolboxes of Nikon Capture 4 it’s still not entirely successful. In fact the design of the right hand panel is very similar to that in RAWShooter but Nikon have stuck with large pop out boxes for each control rather than RAWShooter’s simple sliders - the RAWShooter version is much, much better.

Control points come in several varieties - This is a neutral control point - placed on a black, white or gray area it adjusts the global color balance. There are also, black and white control points which also act globally, plus color control points which act only on the area selected, and red eye removal control points where you select the problem area and then adjust size. In all case you can then adjust the correction with the sliders or numerically in the control box.

If you’re a serious Nikon user, especially if you shoot landscapes or portraits, then Nikon Capture NX is worth the price and the time needed to get to know it. However for most people it’s just so much more complicated than it needs to be, and it’s relatively expensive - For anyone new to digital photography the excellent Adobe Photoshop Elements costs half as much, is a proper imaging application and includes Adobe Camera RAW and the best skin tone color adjustment control around, plus you’ll find it far easier to use. For more serious users, Bibble offers a much better interface for a lower price, and performed best with D70 files.

For pro’s, U Point alone is probably worth the money - even if you’re not a Nikon user - it really is that good.

RAW processing results with Nikon D70 NEF files are very good, not the absolute best in terms of sharpness and detail, but very close. Where Capture NX is the best is in the control it gives you over the final image, especially the extra color control offered by U Point, but it’s hard work, and much slower to use than most others, so I’d strongly recommend you download Nikon’s 30 day free trial before you get the credit card out.

Test Images         Nikon D70

Updates :  Nikon have announced a major updates to Capture NX. Improvements include full support for Intel based Mac OS X computers and for Microsoft Vista, plus “several usability updates based on software testing and customer feedback. Capture NX now sports a simpler user interface that has added improvements such as resizable palettes” 

© David Gold
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