Nikon says: "Photoshop, you don’t need it"

I think Nikon’s mindset was that a photographer needs something like a Super Chromega enlarger, which their software apparently betters. All of the fussing happens on the customers’ end, after they deliver the pictures. It’s a film-based view of the world.

That’s certainly true of many of their professional customers, who wouldn’t want to be caught over-manipulating an image. However, they are (were, now) a little shortsighted, forgetting that for some people the performance (to borrow from Ansel) is more than burning and dodging, while you count alligators.

And one long alligator ’cause it’s kinda dense…

Wouldn.t it be wonderful if some of the comments here and in other forums helped N* excec to reassess their policy?

I believe that Nikon has pulled this article from their web site. The backlash has caused them to quiver a bit anyway.

Perhaps Adobe should buy Nikon next?

AdobeMacroNikoMedia

Has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?

If you see dave’s post I think the rank outsider rename alternative to AdobeMacroNikoMedia may be simply: deebs!

with lots of LOL!

Perhaps Adobe should buy Nikon next?

don’t think that’ll fit adobe’s business model, and in any event i don’t think the mitsibushi group–the current owner–is ready to let this little gem go.

what is interesting to note, is that in this rapidly evolving technology market, SONY has come to recognize that a western business model may suit their business approach better than their former insular approach and have therefore hired an american trained UK-er as their new CEO.

i’m not sure if nikon’s recent FLUB was enough to push them to this threshold, but a few more like this and they may have no other choice.

it pains me to see nikon’s strategy so at odds with their customer’s needs–but the market will eventually settle this for them.

yeh – I echo the sentiments.

All the signals I see from N* look too much like very poor stewardship of a giant in the industry.

On the encryption issue, they are still pretty fast on their feet… although I’m not sure if that means dancing, backpeddling, or treading water:

Nikon Advisory – For Immediate Release

The Nikon D2X professional Digital Single Lens Reflex camera has received widely positive acclaim for its overall performance and image processing quality. Recently, speculative statements which appear to be based on misunderstandings and misinformation about the D2X camera’s “encryption” of certain white balance data have propagated on the internet.

The purpose of this advisory is to clarify this matter with facts and explanations.

The Nikon D2X is capable of producing high quality images that can be saved in a variety of file formats, including the proprietary Nikon Electronic Format (NEF), standard TIFF and several levels of standard JPEG compressed files.

The NEF, a Nikon proprietary raw file design, was introduced with the Nikon D1 Camera and Nikon’s original Capture software. The combination of Nikon camera, in-camera image processing, NEF file format and in-computer image processing with original Nikon Capture software was developed as a system that faithfully saved image files that represent the camera settings made manually or automatically by the photographer at the time a picture was taken.

Nikon’s preservation of its unique technology in the NEF file is employed as an action that protects the uniqueness of the file. At the same time, Nikon makes available a software developer kit (SDK) that, when implemented appropriately, enables a wide range of NEF performance, including white balance, for Nikon photographers and their productive use of the NEF file.

Since the inception of the system, Nikon has always provided photographers with choices about how they might use the system’s performance and enjoy high quality images. Nikon’s choices for opening and processing NEF files have been and continue to include:

* Nikon Capture software
* Plug-in for Adobe’s Photoshop
* Nikon PictureProject software
* Nikon View software
* Availability of Nikon Software Developer Kit (SDK) and the software that has been developed using the SDK

Through use of the Nikon Software Developer Kit, authorized developers can produce software by applying creative concepts to their implementation and adding capabilities to open Nikon’s NEF file and use NEF’s embedded Instructions and Nikon’s Libraries. Nikon photographers reap benefits from independent developers’ approaches, because it allows the photographer to open and process their NEF images.

After a developer’s software is created using the Nikon SDK, a NEF file can be opened, edited in either TIFF or JPEG format, and then saved in formats available in the developers’ software. This process has been available since the first Nikon SDK for NEF.

With each introduction of a new Nikon digital Single Lens Reflex model, Nikon updates the available SDK selection to provide new information; this is the situation with the D2X, D2Hs and D50 models. As stated above, application for the Nikon SDK is possible for bona fide software companies that send Nikon a written application for the SDK. Once approved, the SDK is provided to the developer at no charge and they are authorized to use it.

Nikon has provided its confidential SDK software to many software developers. With the Nikon SDK, developers may design excellent and creative compatibility between the NEF and their software, all without compromising the integrity of the NEF’s original concept, and ensuring that work done by the photographer during the picture taking process can be incorporated into the rendering of the image.

The trilogy of performance, from Camera-to-NEF-to-Capture, has evolved though several generations of Nikon Digital SLR models, improving along the way. As a proprietary format, Nikon secures NEF’s structure and processing through various technologies. Securing this structure is intended for the photographer’s benefit, and dedicated to ensuring faithful reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions through consistent performance and rendition of the images. Discussions propagated on the internet suggesting otherwise are misinformed about the unique structure of NEF.

Nikon’s Camera System, NEF and Capture software are a tightly knit system, and they are all developed through the cooperative efforts of Nikon’s design teams, and this collaboration results in achieving the highest image quality.

Nikon strives to provide photographers with excellent picture taking performance, compatible Nikon in-system image processing performance and by extension, compatibility with additional software developers’ products, with the ultimate goal of delivering a high level of integrity for a photographer’s creative vision.

Nikon continues to welcome dialogue with bona fide software developers.

Nikon continues to welcome dialogue with bona fide software developers.

If they are true to their word, let’s hope this will result in a faster integration into the Adobe Camera Raw software.

All said and done, we simply don’t want to have to run two different software applications to work on our images.

Chris.

As a proprietary format, Nikon secures NEF’s structure and processing through various technologies. Securing this structure is intended for the photographer’s benefit, and dedicated to ensuring faithful reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions through consistent performance and rendition of the images.

IOW, the guys who broke the encryption better get lawyers, stat. Sounds like the DMCA is going to get another workout.

the way i read the statement is nikon has just drawn a line in the sand.

"bonafide"
you’re either with us..or you’re ginst us.

Well……….. with this Activation/Re-activation fiasco, it looks like I’ll be sticking with v7 and using Nikon Capture for basic RAW. She-e-e-e-sh!

ID,

good idea. Just downloaded the free trial version.
No installation problems. NEF works fine, but not
as fast as expected.

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann

Gernot: I think you may be the only person, besides me, to think this is a good idea (ID. Awe, get it? THH.).

ID,

thanks for the feedback (yes I remember…).
I’m using PhS7 merely for improving images and converting them to CMYK, if necessary. So far no need to upgrade.

The camera is Nikon D100. Mostly I’m taking photos inside with accurate lighting. For this purpose 3000×2000 pixels, aRGB(98). Lowest JPEG compression, which is sufficient for portraits, otherwise uncompressed TIFF.
The exposure control is somewhat tricky (between underexposed and clipped highlights in 8 bpc mode). I hope this problem can be avoided by NEF.
The speed is not convincing, but I did the first tests just now on an older PC with only one HDD.
It seems that e.g. for USM adjustments not only the preview is updated but the whole image.

I’m considering NikonCapture as a reasonable tool,in addition to PSh.

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann

I’m using a CP5700, works well for me. Used all variations, ‘fine auto’ and one custom preset seems to be the easiest ticket for 80% of what I do. Sometimes gallery shoots require NEF, no flash, bracket, a little painstaking, but if the gallery is empty not too much embarassment futzing around for 5 minutes to get the shot and always get a pure white swatch in the shot, so post work is about ten seconds. Yeah NEF is slow on the write, but……………… can’t get everything, even got the fastest card around.

Well this software combo will work for me.

Hopefully the merger will MM will help them solve the activation thing. Haven’t had a problem with MMStudio at all or with XP activation despite adding RAM, changing video cards etc. Tried really hard too.

I guess the ‘it’ Nikon was referring too was actually activation.

ID,

further tests: Nikon Capture is fast enough on a modern PC with enough RAM and two harddisks.
My simplified workflow (for the rare cases where I need RAW, e.g. accurate shots of machinery):
Do basic optimizations by NC, save by 8 bits per channel and move to PhS. Thanks for your suggestion.

Best regards –Gernot Hoffmann