Thank you Don & Stephen. On session 1 with NX, my thoughtss would not have been printable, but then probably not sensible to start with the most difficult file I have. On session 2 I am pleased to say I have achieved a far more satisfactory rescue of a Harebell taken with FZ7 than I had previously with DPP (which in turn always scored over PSE4)...so who knows what I may achieve with a Nikon.

Main problem is that I can't get the hang of what is nailed down and what is still open and/or whether different approaches can be cumulative...but I can see it is worth the effort to learn & glad I decided to start learning before camera arrived:)

Chris,

I think the user interface of NX lends itself very well to OS X, notice the arrows are exactly like those used under 'get info' when right-clicking a file. It must have been written by a group of Apple enthusiasts!

Remember editting a Nikon NEF will not change the original RAW data, NX I believe for Nikon is the only RAW edit and conversion software to provide non-destructive editting.

Shall I e-mail you some NEF's so you can enjoy NX ahead of your D80 being delivered.

I hadn't notice the faintest resemblance to Mac OS except for the actual image window, but am pleased it runs well and without so far having had to shut down anything else. I see it is 10.4.10 that NX1.3 needs, which is already pretty unfamiliar (on other folks boxes) to me dragging heels on 10.3.9, was going to skip to 10.5 when I have to.

Maybe if you send me one .NEF it will make sure the camera arrives ;) Ta

The resemblance to the OS... notice the use of arrows on the edit list is identical to those used in Mail for various accounts and mailboxes. The same arrows are used in file properies referred to as 'get info' when right clicking.

See images (below)
First is Mail application embedded in OS X and second is NX. Same arrow, same function.

Hi ,
Have read most of this post and Don has made some excellent contributionsfor users of NX, and is to be congratulated for his efforts.
Can I say there are versions 1.1, 1.2 and the newer 1.3.
I downloaded v 1.3 for use with D300 and D3, and if it has not already been discussed, if you use v1.3 you will find it different to v1.2, if you want to work on a NEF (raw file).
In v1.2 you click on the Left HS of the screen, in the middle ,entitled "camera settings". In v1.3 this has been moved to the RIGHT HS, and you need to click on the "edit list"; when this drops down, you will need to open "base adjustments", this will reveal "camera adjustment" and "raw adjustments" to enable you to carry out changes to the raw file.You can work on D1X, D2H and D2X files with v1.3 , can not speak for D40/50/70/200 files.
If this has already been mentioned , will moderator please delete as no point in cloging up system.
regards Subzero.

Before Capture NX Nikon users had Nikon Capture, known to most as a dog of an application. Most did not like the user interface and others thought it used memory in a poor fashion as was unnecessarily slow. Capture NX was heralded as a redefined Capture but once released some users thought is was the same application with a few new features. When using the camera adjustment on the LHS upto 1.3 was thought to use the old Capture engine and anything from the top toolbar was said to be the new NX including control points.

V1.3 could be 100% NX with the older Capture engine being discontinued.

I have only seen this for myself a few minutes ago so cannot comment if I like it or not but I never used any camera adjustment from the LHS camera settings menu but used the tab for camera settings information.

Well mentioned Subzero. It will help save confusion for those that start with v1.3.
I have not seen the screen for v1.3. I have downloaded it but have not put it on in case I end up the same as I did with v1.2 which I had to kill.

I have done a few more today for Chris on the Gradiant Tool so I thought I should add them to our library.

I will do the selective area bit next but that may be in a couple of days time.

Don

I didn't know what you meant at first Stephen; this swivell triangle is the method that has been used for first identifying then going within folders with sub-folders in OS 10 since it started if you use 'list view' as I always do and a huge improvement on all the double clicking I have to do when revisiting Microstation the only OS9 prog left.

But this is the first prog I have ever come across with a drag bar on the side and bottom of windows rather than the top :mad: , so hope the mac programmers are not going to try borrow back.

You are doing a marvellous job Don, thank you

NX crop and control points
 

Playing with Stephen's DC-3 shot, I wondered why turning crop on/off was also affecting colour. He comments:
"Control points must reference their position by x,y co-ordinates in the frame. If that frame is changed i.e. cropped then the position of a control point changes and has an undesired effect. I have noticed this in all versions of NX with all types of control points. From the edit list you should see the neutral control point is one of the last entries and crop one of the first. When you remove the crop notice the control point move."

If his theory is right, one needs to be a bit careful about peppering control points when intending to crop??

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...1&d=1196511794

At this time the idea remains theory. However I have always cropped an image before working, after-all composition is the first step in creating a photograph.

There does seem to be some dust on my D2Hs :eek: , its only a backup camera and for poor weather. My workflow edits NEF's, save as TIFF (as an intermediary) then finish in Photoshop where all those nasty dust spots are removed before saving as JPEG.

Of course dust spots can removed using NX but I find photoshop easier and I need to use photoshop to finish my photos.