9 replies to this topic

[Mickminer]

Hi all, I’m new here. I’ve had a digital before but fairly new with the 810. I’ve never really shot raw before but now that I am, I’m shooting raw + jpg. When I download my shots, the jpg is clear and bright, while the raw photo is dull, sometimes looking overexposed. I’ve also switched off the jpg and shot raw only. As before, the images look dull. I understand the ability of raw is huge in Lightroom as compared to a jpg image. Why are the downloads all dull and need Lightroom work? I don’t really want to have to fix every single image.
I’m hoping someone can help me with this, maybe I have some settings wrong. There’s sure a lot of them to get wrong. Thanks up front.

[ScottinPollock]

Because they are unprocessed. The in camera JPEGs are processed by the camera profile that is selected (which includes sharpening, contrast, noise reduction, color saturation, and more). 

 

But once processed, the data pool that was used by the in camera processing is thrown away, making additional processing quite difficult without artifacts. This is why RAW is most desirable, but does require some work in post. Note that Nikon's software is able to apply the in-camera picture profiles to a RAW image with a single step.

[Merco_61]

What camera profile does Lightroom assign as standard? It should be possible to set a standard profile that makes for less work in post. Do you use Lightroom or Lightroom Classic?

 

The processing recipe the camera applies to .jpg files is there in the .nef, but hidden in the maker notes that Adobe doesn't use. That is why you have to assign a camera profile yourself. AFAIK, the only current software that uses this information are ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D.

[Mickminer]

Thank you Scott and Merco. When you say I need to set a standard profile, i think one of you is saying I can do this in my nikon and the other is saying I can also do this in Lightroom. Not sure where to find this function. Maybe one or both can assist. Thank you. By the way, I’m new at Lightroom and very unfamiliar with its function. I’ve been spending some time in YouTube, which is great for learning new software.

[ScottinPollock]

Profiles are in camera processing settings. To the best of my knowledge, you can only assign the exact same settings to a RAW file with Nikon's software (although I have not used Adobe software in many years).

 

I suppose it is a good enough starting point, and Nikon Capture NX-D is a very good RAW developer, and although I find its interface ugly, I got good results from it.

 

But a couple of years ago I stumbled on to DxO Optics Pro (now named PhotoLab). Their vast database of lens/camera corrections, smart lighting, and the best noise reduction I have seen have made it my number 1 tool for post. Their default "Standard" preset is many times all I need.

 

If you're not getting the "pop" you'd like to see in your images using LightRoom, you might want to give their free trial a spin. With that said, millions of folks use LR and get great results so it obviously is doable.

[Merco_61]

If you use Nikon's own software, the Picture Control you set in the camera is what will be applied as a starting point. You can, however, change the Picture Control after the fact in Capture NX-D as long as you have a raw file to work from. You can make your own Picture Controls with the Picture Control Utility 2 application.

 

Lightroom doesn't use this information, but Adobe have made something they call Camera profiles that emulate the Picture Controls quite well, at least in Classic. I am not sure how things work in the new Lightroom as I don't use LR any more. You set the Camera Profile in the Develop module, I think it is in one of the panes highest up in a standard install.

 

I think you can build a good workflow around Capture NX-D without buying any new licenses. I would do it like this.

1. Copy your files to a folder using Explorer/Finder.
2. Open the folder in Adobe Bridge to sort and cull before editing, move files for editing to another folder.
3. Open this folder in Capture NX-D and edit, export to .tif as a last step to lock all your edits in place.
4. If necessary, use a pixel editor like Photoshop to make local edits to the photos.
5. Import the .tifs in Lightroom and add keywords and other IPTC informations as needed to make them easy to find later. Digital Asset Management (DAM) makes life much easier when your photo archive grows.

The reason for the Bridge step is that using other raw converters than ACR always has been clunky in LR.

[ScottinPollock]

Open the folder in Adobe Bridge to sort and cull before editing, move files for editing to another folder.

Yuk... it's no secret I have not been a fan of Adobe bloatware since the early days of OS X. So... if I may offer an alternative to Bridge for culling, and that is FastRawViewer. It is stupid cheap at $20, blazing fast, shows real RAW histograms and hilight/shadow recovery, has a great interface that uses mouse or keyboard, and the developer is amazing regarding bug fixes, camera support, and feature requests.

[Mickminer]

Thank you all. I am going to try a few new things as you’ve listed. Hopefully I’ll get a little more adept at this with some practice.

[Snorky]

I’m new at Lightroom and very unfamiliar with its function. I’ve been spending some time in YouTube, which is great for learning new software.

 

There are many excellent Lightroom tutorials online. Have you come across this one:

 

How to Use Lightroom Classic: A Complete Tutorial for Beginners

 

Always wash your hands after handling RAW files.

[Mickminer]

Thanks Snorky, I’ll check it out.