14 DAY TRIAL // Nikon have always been criticized for not bundling their Capture raw conversion software with their digital single lens reflex camera and they finally seem to have come to their senses; but don't get your hopes too high as it only applies to two models.
Nikon UK recently announced that the yet unreleased Capture NX 1.3 will be available as a weapon of choice in the RAW "war" for D3 and D300 clients.
At first, the new cameras will come with a product key that will unlock a downloaded trial version of NX available from the web site. Starting December 2007, the D3 and D300 packages will contain a CD-ROM with the aforementioned software. Up until now, users could only use the Capture software for a 30-day trial period, after which Nikon politely suggested a purchase.
Although the .NEF files generated by Nikon cameras can be processed with the supplied Picture Project software, the workflow is tedious and there are not nearly as many options compared to the Capture and Capture NX software.
Those who didn't want to spend around $150 for the Capture software, relied on third party raw converters, including the Adobe Camera Raw. Unfortunately, only the proprietary software achieves the best results with the NEF files, most problems with third party applications being related to noise, highlight recovery and sharpness.
The Capture NX software can be used with JPEG and TIFF format images from any source, and its patented new U Point technology offers photographers a dramatically simplified way to edit their pictures by enabling them to enhance specific areas of a picture selectively, without the use of masks, selections, or layers.
The 30-day trial version for Nikon Capture 1.2 has been certified by Softpedia as being 100% CLEAN and is available for download here.
The D300 and the D3 will be available at the end of November 2007.