However as I have mentioned earlier, NX-D is not user-friendly and insufficient in many aspects. I use NX-D to produce a globally exposure-adjusted, colour-corrected, noise-corrected, high quality 16-bit TIFF to feed into other post-processing applications that are better for detailed adjustments, such as Lightroom. Personally I find it easier to perform my edits on a well-exposed image with a neutral colour palette. Of course, I should emphasize that realistic colours does not automatically mean it looks good to everyone! It really boils down to a matter of preference. It is especially good at colour reproduction, where none of the competition could quite get the kind of accurate true-to-life colours as NX-D could. Against all these paid options, NX-D performs surprisingly well. I have spent nearly two years experimenting with the various RAW conversion tools – ACR, Capture One Pro, Photo Ninja, DXO OP, etc. For those initial steps of detail extraction, colour interpretation, global exposure adjustment, and noise reduction – it is a great tool. Updated on 5 October 2016 to include more details about the Picture Controls and adjust some grammar.Ĭapture NX-D is a great RAW converter for Nikon NEFs, no matter how you feel about its in-sufficiency for everything else.

Also included amended recommendations for noise reduction. Updated 25 November 2016 to include reader observations and suggestions.

Updated 2 December 2016 for revised recommendations. Updated 22 June 2017 for information about astro noise reduction. Clarified recommendations for colour profiles. Updated 2 August 2017 for recommendation about colour noise reduction. Updated 29 April 2018 regarding recommendation for colour moire reduction.

Nikon capture nx d tutorial