Nikon NX2 User Manual

SOFTWARE

User's Manual

Notices

© 2008 Nik Software, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form, by any means, without Nik Software, Inc.’s prior written permission.

Nikon reserves the right to change the specifications of the hardware and software described in these manuals at any time and without any prior notice.

Neither Nik Software, Inc. nor Nikon will be held liable for any damages resulting from the use of this product.

While every effort has been made to ensure the information in these manuals is accurate and complete, we would appreciate it were you to bring any errors or omissions to the attention of the Nikon representative in your area (addresses are provided separately).

Protected by U.S. patents. Patents pending in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Trademark Information

U Point is a registered trademark of Nik Software, Inc. Nik and the Nik logo are trademarks of Nik Software, Inc. Macintosh and Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Intel, Pentium, Xeon, and Core are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. All other trade names mentioned in this manual or in the other documentation provided with your Nikon products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Chapter 2

Chapters at a Glance

Chapter 1 Notices & Trademark Information

Chapter 2 Chapters at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 3 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 4 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 5 System Requirements & Installation . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 6 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 7 Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 8 Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 9 The Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 10 The Folders Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Chapter 11 The Metadata Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Chapter 12 Activity Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Chapter 13 The Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Chapter 14 Bird’s Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Chapter 15 Edit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Chapter 16 Photo Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Chapter 17 The Color Picker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Chapter 18 File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Chapter 19 Edit Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Chapter 20 Adjust Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Chapter 21 Filter Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Chapter 22 Batch Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Chapter 23 View Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Chapter 24 Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Chapter 25 Help Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Chapter 26 Appendix: Short-cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Chapter 27 Appendix: Supplied Color Profiles . . . . . . . . 247

Chapter 28 Appendix: Additional Notices. . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Chapter 29 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Chapter 30 Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Chapter 2 — Chapters at a Glance 1

2 Chapter 2 — Chapters at a Glance

Chapter 3

Chapter 1 Notices & Trademark Information

Notices Trademark Information

Chapter 2 Chapters at a Glance

Chapter 3 Table of Contents

Chapter 4 Introduction

RAW File Format Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Camera Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

U Point® Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 5 System Requirements & Installation

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Color Management Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Running Capture NX 2 in Trial Mode or Activating

Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Upgrading From Capture NX Version 1 . . . . . . . . 14

Nikon User Support Information (U.S.A.). . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 6 Getting Started

Launching Capture NX 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Convert Capture NX Version 1 Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Welcome Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Open Recent Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Open Recent Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Don’t Show Again. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Drag an image here to open it (Macintosh Only)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Browsing and Opening Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using the Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using Open Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Using ViewNX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Using Nikon Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

File Format Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

NEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

TIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

JPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Workflow Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Printing a Single Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Printing contact sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Batch Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Applying a series of enhancements to a folder of

images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Adding XMP/IPTC data to a series of images using

an XMP/IPTC preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Converting NEF RAW files into JPEG or TIFF files . . .33

To convert a folder of files from NEF RAW to JPEG

or TIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

To convert selected files from the Browser. . . . . .35

Chapter 7 Preferences

General. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Open With Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Place Open With TIFF File In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

D1X RAW Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Default Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Default Save As . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Keep all Steps Active in Edit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Folder for Temporary Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Color Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Default RGB Color Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Use This Instead of Embedded Profile . . . . . . . . . .40

CMYK Separation profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Printer Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Use This Profile when printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Use Black Point Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Levels & Sampling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Levels & Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Dropper Sample Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Selection Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Chapter 3 — Table of Contents 3

Cache Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Browsing Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Editing Cache . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

XMP/IPTC Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Available Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Field Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

New . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Duplicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Export . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Label Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Available Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Manage Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Add. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Workspaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Default Workspaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

My Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Reset Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Add. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Chapter 8 Interface

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Bird’s Eye. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Edit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Photo Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Image Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Workspaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Multi-Purpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Creating Custom Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Working with Multiple Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Additional screen Sub-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Swap Workspaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Image Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Image Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Zoom Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

File Size. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Color Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Soft Proof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Window & Palette Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Minimizing & Maximizing Palettes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Docking & Undocking Palettes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Grip Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Resize Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

Finding Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Chapter 9 The Browser

Browser Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Opening a Folder of Images in the Browser . . . . . . . 68

Using the Folders Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using Open Folder in Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using Nikon Transfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Navigating Within the Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Filtering Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Filter by Label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Filter by Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

File Type to Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Sorting Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Sort By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Then Sort By. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Labeling and Rating Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Add Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Add Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Browser Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Browser View Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Thumbnail Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Thumbnail List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Opening Images from the Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Chapter 10 The Folders Palette

Favorite Folders Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Adding Favorites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Deleting Favorites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Folder Structure Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 11 The Metadata Palette

File & Camera Information Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

XMP/IPTC Information Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Adding Image Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Copying and Pasting IPTC Information . . . . . . . . . 83

Creating XMP/IPTC Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Loading XMP/IPTC Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

4 Chapter 3 — Table of Contents

Managing XMP/IPTC Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Chapter 12 Activity Toolbar

Workspace Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Launch Nikon Transfer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Chapter 13 The Toolbar

Tool Options Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Direct Select Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Hand Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Zoom Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Rotate Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Straighten Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Crop Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Crop Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Show Crop Assistance Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Black Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Black Control Point Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Neutral Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Neutral Control Point Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Show Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Color Picker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

White Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

White Control Point Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Color Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Color Control Point Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Show Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Protect Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Color Picker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Red-Eye Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Auto Retouch Brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Selection Control Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Lasso and Marquee Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Lasso Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Polygon Lasso Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Rectangle Marquee Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Oval Marquee Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Edge Softness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Selection Brush Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Brush Hardness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Pressure Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Selection Gradient Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Linear Gradient Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Radial Gradient Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Gradient Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Fill / Remove Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 14 Bird’s Eye

Chapter 15 Edit List

Introduction to the Edit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Show/Hide Triangles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Apply Checkbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Reset Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Delete Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Original . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Last Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

(Current) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

New Version… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Edit Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Batch Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Develop Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Camera Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Quick Fix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Camera & Lens Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Adjust Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Selection Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Adjust & Filter pull-down menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Link Icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Enhancement Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Opacity Mixer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Working with the Edit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Deleting Steps and Enhancements. . . . . . . . . . . 148

Copying and Pasting Steps and Enhancements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Linking Enhancements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Swapping Enhancements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

New Step Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Chapter 16 Photo Info

Histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Double Threshold. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Clear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Watch Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Add Watch Point Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Color Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 3 — Table of Contents 5

Sample Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Chapter 17 The Color Picker

Color Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Color Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

RGB Selection Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

HSB Selection Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

LAB Selection Boxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Last Selected & Previous Picks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Color Eyedropper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Swatches Show/Hide Triangle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Swatches Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Chapter 18 File Menu

Duplicate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Delete. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171

Rename . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171

Select All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Deselect All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Flip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

Rotate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173

90 Degrees CW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

90 Degrees CCW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Straighten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Size / Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Resample Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Don’t Resample Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176

Fit Photo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Open Image…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Open With… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Open Folder in Browser… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Open Recent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Launch Nikon Transfer… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Launch Camera Control Pro… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Save. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

JPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Save As…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

NEF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

TIFF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

JPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162

Revert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Protect File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Page Setup…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .163

Print… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

Page Display and Page Forward and Back Buttons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164

Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165

Page Layout Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166

Color Management Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

Print to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

Exit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .168

Chapter 19 Edit Menu

Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .170

Chapter 20 Adjust Menu

Light > Levels & Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181

Channel Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183

Curve Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183

Black and White Output Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184

Black, Mid Point, and White Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . .184

Show Before / After Histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Auto Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Set White Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Set Neutral Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Set Black Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Add Anchor Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Reset Current Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Reset All Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Temporary Cancel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Light > Contrast / Brightness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

Light > Auto Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

Auto Levels Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187

Correct Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Correct Color Cast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Light > D-Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Faster (HS) Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Better Quality (HQ) Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188

Color > LCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Master Lightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Color Lightness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Chroma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Color > Color Balance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

6 Chapter 3 — Table of Contents

Red . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Green . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Blue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Color > Color Booster. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Protect Skin Tones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Color > Saturation / Warmth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Warmth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Focus > Gaussian Blur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Focus > High Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Focus > Unsharp Mask. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Delete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Correct > Distortion Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Fill Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Correct > Color Aberration Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Red — Cyan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Blue — Yellow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Noise Reduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

Sharpness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Edge Noise Reduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Color Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Apply Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Convert to Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Chapter 21 Filter Menu

Photo Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Enhance Photo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Black and White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Sepia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Tinted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Add Grain / Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Grain Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Grain Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Grain Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Contrast: Color Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Contrast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Colorize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Blending Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Black and White Conversion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Filter Hue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Color Filter Strength. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Third-Party Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Chapter 22 Batch Menu

Run Batch Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Batch Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Watched Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

File Naming Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Processing Queue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Copy Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Paste Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Save Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Load Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Copy IPTC Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Paste IPTC Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Save XMP/IPTC Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Load XMP/IPTC Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Chapter 23 View Menu

Selection Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Hide Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Show Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Show Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Show All Control Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Show Active Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Show Watch Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Show Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Show Focus Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Show Lost Highlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Show Lost Shadows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

View at 100% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Fit to Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Zoom In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Zoom Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Full Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Hide Palettes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Compare Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Compare in Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Chapter 3 — Table of Contents 7

Compare in Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235

Compare with Original. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

Chapter 24 Window Menu

Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Reset Workspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Bird’s Eye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Edit List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Photo Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Cascade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Tile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Chapter 25 Help Menu

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239

Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239

Show Welcome Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

Update Capture NX 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

About Capture NX 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240

Chapter 26 Appendix: Short-cuts

The Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

The Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242

Photo Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242

File Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243

Adjust Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Filter Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Batch Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Apple Specific Shortcut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Chapter 28 Appendix: Additional Notices

General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Nikon Message Center Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251

Camera Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .252

White Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Color Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Exposure Compensation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253

Image Dust Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

Vignette Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Opening Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .255

Saving Images. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256

Size / Resolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257

Color Management Preferences (Windows). . . . . .257

Color Management Preferences (Macintosh). . . . .257

Levels & Curves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258

D-Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259

Unsharp Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259

Color Aberration Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Batch Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259

Chapter 29 Index

Chapter 30 Contact Information

Life-Long Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265

Chapter 27 Appendix: Supplied Color Profiles

Standard RGB Profiles Supplied in Capture NX 2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Profiles with a Gamma Value of 1.8 . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Profiles with a Gamma Value of 2.2 . . . . . . . . . . . .247

Technical Data for RGB Profiles Supplied with

Capture NX 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249

Capture NX 2 and Adobe Photoshop Color

Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250

8 Chapter 3 — Table of Contents

Chapter 4

Introduction

Capture NX 2 contains a wide range of improvements designed to make it an even more complete and powerful photo editing application specifically designed for photography. The interface and tools in Capture NX 2 provide you with a new intuitive approach to the art and science of image editing that saves you valuable time and effort. Capture NX 2 is the latest version in a long line of quality tools from Nikon designed to speed up workflow for photographers. With Capture NX 2 you will work with industry leading tools that deliver quality and performance you expect from a photo editing application.

RAW File Format Benefits

Unique among image editing software, Capture NX 2 provides you with the ability to achieve the highest quality results for processing NEF (Nikon Electronic Format) RAW files as well as powerful tools that can enhance any image.

Shooting RAW has a number of distinct advantages over shooting and saving processed files such as JPEG and TIFF files. The RAW format records important archival information about the conditions under which the image was captured. This information can be used by Capture NX 2 to make unique adjustments to enhance the image after capture. The following are some of the camera settings and RAW adjustments that can be controlled within the Develop section of the Edit List palette:

• Color mode or Picture control (depending on the camera model)

•White balance

• Tone compensation

• Saturation

•Sharpening

• Exposure compensation

•Hue adjustment

• Color moiré reduction

•Image Dust Off

• Auto color aberration

• Active D-Lighting (depending on the camera model)

Chapter 4 — Introduction | RAW File Format Benefits 9

Camera Relationship

Capture NX 2 was designed to support JPEG and TIFF files and to provide unique features that fully support Nikon digital cameras, allowing you to change many of the settings selected in your camera. After opening a NEF RAW file within Capture NX 2, you can view the shooting, camera, and exposure information of the file within the Metadata palette.

U Point® Technology

A key feature in Capture NX 2 is U Point technology. The controls powered by U Point technology enable you to modify sections of a photograph directly or control where an enhancement is being applied selectively, all without having to go through the time-consuming process of creating a selection normally required in other software applications.

U Point technology has been widely recognized as one of the most revolutionary technologies in the market today and now that technology powers even more tools in Capture NX 2. U Point technology provides precise and direct control to a variety of tools within Capture NX 2, providing powerful yet simple photographic manipulation. U Point technology powers Capture NX 2’s series of control points: the color control point, the black, neutral, and white control points, the red-eye control point, and the new selection control point. These control points provide you with the ability to create color and tonal enhancements, fix issues, or selectively apply photographic enhancements within any image, all being applied directly to the image and with immediate feedback.

The U Point-powered control points found within Capture NX 2 enable you to work with your images without the need to perform a complicated series of operations in a particular order.

Control points work by identifying an object based on a number of criteria. When you place your first control point, U Point technology identifies the unique elements of the object on which you place a control point, including its position, color, saturation, and texture. By identifying these elements, and in conjunction with the Size slider, the control point can determine the boundaries of the object in order to affect only that object and objects with like elements. With every control point that you apply to the image comes greater control over specific objects in the image. The additional control points ensure that the adjustments you make are being applied to the current object only, and placing a control point on an object with default settings prevents other control points from affecting that object. Through a unique mixing function, the effects of the control points are applied throughout the image so as to create a natural-looking, professional result.

U Point technology powered tools are designed to make enhancements fast, professional, and of the highest quality. The results will be nothing short of amazing.

10 Chapter 4 — Introduction | Camera Relationship

Chapter 5

System Requirements & Installation

System Requirements

Windows

Preinstalled versions of Windows Vista 32-bit Home Basic/Home Premium/

Processor Pentium 4 or better RAM 768 MB minimum (1 GB recommended) Hard-disk space 200 MB required for installation

Screen resolution

Macintosh

Processor PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Xeon, or better RAM 768 MB minimum (1 GB recommended) Hard-disk space 200 MB required for installation

Screen resolution

Business/Enterprise/Ultimate editions (Service Pack 1) or Windows XP Home Edition/Professional (Service Pack 2)

1024 × 768 pixels (1280 × 1024 or higher recommended) with 16-bit color (32-bit color recommended)

Mac OS X (version 10.4.11 or 10.5.2)

A Please note: Capture NX 2 is not compatible with the Case Sensitive or Case Sensitive,

Journaled disk formats.

1024 × 768 pixels (1280 × 1024 or higher recommended) with 16-bit color (32-bit color recommended)

For the latest information on this application, visit the following sites:

For users in the U.S.A.: http://www.nikonusa.com For users in Europe and Africa: http://www.europe-nikon.com /support For users in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East: http://www.nikon-asia.com

Chapter 5 — System Requirements & Installation | System Requirements 11

Installation

Windows

To install Capture NX 2 into the Windows operating system, follow these steps:

Place the Capture NX 2 setup CD into your computer’s CD or DVD drive. Open the CD through the

My Computer icon on your desktop, and double-click on the setup icon that appears within the window that is displayed to begin the setup wizard.

If you downloaded Capture NX 2, locate and double-click on the setup file that was saved to your computer to begin the setup wizard. (Product keys can only be purchased over the Internet in some countries and regions.)

Capture NX 2 will check to see if the Microsoft .NET Framework is installed and available on your

computer. If not, the Capture NX 2 setup wizard will attempt to download and install the appropriate version of the .NET Framework, which is required for Capture NX 2.

Follow the steps in the installer to select the appropriate location to install Capture NX 2 to.

Once the software has been installed, follow the steps for color management found in the “Color

Management Options” section later in this chapter.

At the last screen, select which file types to associate with Capture NX 2. Those file types associated

with Capture NX 2 that are then opened from within the Windows Explorer will be opened directly into Capture NX 2.

Macintosh

To install Capture NX 2 into the Macintosh operating system, follow these steps:

Place the Capture NX 2 setup CD into your computer’s CD or DVD drive. Double-click on the CD icon

that appears on your desktop and double-click on the setup icon that appears within the window that is displayed to begin the setup wizard.

Follow the steps in the installer to select the appropriate location to install Capture NX 2 to.

Once the software has been installed, follow the steps for color management found in the “Color

Management Options” section later in this chapter.

Complete the installation process.

12 Chapter 5 — System Requirements & Installation | Installation

Color Management Options

Once the setup wizard has installed the files onto your computer, you will be provided with options to set up your color management preferences. The color management settings provided within the setup wizard enables you to set the default functionality for Capture NX 2 and can be later changed within the “Preferences” dialog.

To determine how Capture NX 2 manages the color of opened images, follow these steps:

Select how the working color space is determined when a file is opened in Capture NX 2. You are

provided with two options to set the working color space:

Use the color space of the file to be opened as the working color space

When selected, Capture NX 2 will always use the profile embedded in the image that is opened as the working color space.

If Capture NX 2 cannot determine the profile of the embedded image, the profile identified as the default RGB color space will be used as the working space for that image.

Always use the default RGB color space as the working color space

When selected, Capture NX 2 will automatically convert the image from the color profile embedded in the image to the color profile selected in the Default RGB Color Space pull-down menu.

Select the color space to be used as the default working color space.

Click on the Default RGB Color Space pull-down menu and select the desired color space to be used either if Capture NX 2 cannot determine the embedded profile or if the Always use the default RGB color space as the working color space option is selected.

Complete the installation process of Capture NX 2.

Running Capture NX 2 in Trial Mode or Activating Product

Upon first launching Capture NX 2 after completing the setup process, you are presented with the Capture NX 2 splash screen. The Capture NX 2 splash screen presents you with the options of either running Capture NX 2 for 60 days with full functionality in trial mode or entering your product key.

To run Capture NX 2 in trial mode, click on the Continue Trial button from the Capture NX 2 splash screen. The Continue Trial button will be accessible for the entire 60 days of the trial mode. At the end of the 60 day trial, you will only be able to access the Purchase Product Key, Enter Product Key, and Exit buttons.

To activate Capture NX 2, click on Enter Product Key and enter your name, company (optional), and product key. You may enter a product key and active Capture NX 2 at any point.

If you purchased Capture NX 2 from a camera store or retailer, the product key may be found on the CDROM case. If you purchased Capture NX 2 as an electronic download, the product key will be found in the email you received as a receipt of the purchase. Do not lose this key. It is required when installing or upgrading this software and cannot be replaced if lost. (Product keys can only be purchased over the Internet in some countries and regions.)

Chapter 5 — System Requirements & Installation | Installation 13

Upgrading From Capture NX Version 1

When upgrading from Capture NX version 1, follow the installation instructions as listed previously in this chapter. Both Capture NX version 1 and Capture NX 2 can be installed on the same computer at the same time.

When activating an upgrade version, your Capture NX version 1 product key will be requested. First, enter your name, company (optional), and Capture NX 2 product key. You will then be prompted to enter your Capture NX version 1 product key.

After entering both the Capture NX 2 and Capture NX version 1 product keys, your copy of Capture NX 2 will be activated and the application will open.

Nikon User Support Information (U.S.A.)

Thank you for choosing Nikon, and welcome to our family of digital imaging products.

We are confident your Nikon product will meet and exceed the high level of quality, reliability, and innovative design you have come to expect from Nikon.

Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We value your feedback and want to be sure you are completely satisfied with your purchase. To assist us in ser ving you better, we ask that you please register your product on-line at www.prodreg.com/nikon.

If you have any questions or suggestions about Nikon Digital Imaging products, please call the Nikon Digital Imaging Hotline:

1-800-NIKON-UX (1-800-645-6689)

Technical Support - 24hours a day, 7 days a week

Other Services - Monday through Friday, 10am to 10pm EST.

Technical support for your Nikon Digital Imaging product is free. Support for computer related issues is free for either six or twelve months from the date of your first call to Nikon, depending on your product. Please ask our customer service representative for details. Also, visit6 our technical support web site at www.nikontechusa.com for FAQs, software updates, manuals, and solution forums. Information on other exciting Nikon products is available at www.nikonusa.com.

Technical support and repair services are only available in the United Sates, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. If you are in this service area but cannot reach our toll-free number, please call 1-631-547-

4311. Software and other items cannot be shipped outside of this service area.

Thank you for choosing a Nikon Digital Imaging product.

14 Chapter 5 — System Requirements & Installation | Nikon User Support Information (U.S.A.)

Chapter 6

Getting Started

Launching Capture NX 2

In the Windows operating system, Capture NX 2 can be opened by navigating to the start menu, selecting the programs menu, rolling over the Capture NX 2 menu item, and selecting Capture NX 2.

In the Macintosh operating system, double-click on the Macintosh HD icon on your desktop and navigate to the “Applications” folder. Double-click on the Capture NX 2 folder, and then double-click on the Capture NX 2 application icon.

Convert Capture NX Version 1 Labels

If you labeled images on your computer using Capture NX version 1, Capture NX 2 provides you with the opportunity to convert those labels to the system used by Capture NX 2 and ViewNX. When Capture NX 2 is launched, it will check for any existing Capture NX version 1 labels stored on your system. If Capture NX version 1 labels are found, the Convert Labels dialog is displayed.

Click on Ye s to begin converting the labels used by Capture NX version 1 into labels compatible with Capture NX 2 and ViewNX. Selecting this option will not remove the labels from your system and images labeled by Capture NX version 1 will continue to be accessible within Capture NX version 1.

A Please note: If you have many images labeled by Capture NX version 1, this process may take some time.

Click on No to prevent Capture NX 2 from converting your labels. If you do not wish to see the Convert Labels dialog the next time Capture NX 2 is launched, check the Don’t Show Again checkbox.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Launching Capture NX 2 15

Welcome Screen

Upon launching, Capture NX 2 will display the “Welcome” screen, which lists the last files and folders that you accessed.

Windows Macintosh

q w

q Open Recent

Image

w Open Recent

Folder

e Don’t Show

Again

r Drag an image

here to open it (Macintosh Only)

The Open Recent Image section contains a list of the most recent images that were opened within Capture NX 2. The last image edited can be found at the top of the list, with the remaining images you have edited listed in chronological order. Click on the image name to open the image within Capture NX 2.

The Open Recent Folder section contains a list of the most recent folders accessed within the Browser palette, with the most recent folder displayed at the top. Click on one of the displayed folders to open that folder within the Browser palette.

The Don’t show again checkbox enables you to prevent the “Welcome” screen from being displayed after launching Capture NX 2. Check this box to prevent the “Welcome” screen from appearing when Capture NX 2 is launched. To access the “Welcome” screen again, navigate to the Help menu and select Show Welcome Screen. You can then uncheck the Don’t show again checkbox in order to display the “Welcome” screen whenever Capture NX 2 is launched.

The Drag an image here to open it section is available only in the Macintosh version and enables you to open an image by dragging it from the Macintosh Finder onto this section. In the Windows operating system, you can drag an image from the Windows Explorer into the Capture NX 2 window to open the image within Capture NX 2.

16 Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Welcome Screen

Browsing and Opening Images

Capture NX 2 provides you with a number of ways of locating and opening images in order to enhance them.

Using the Browser

To open an image using the browser, follow these steps:

Open the Folders palette, the Browser palette will

automatically open. Click on the folder within the Folders palette that you wish to display within the browser.

Locate and double-click on the image that you wish to open.

Using Open Image

To open an image using Open Image…, follow these steps:

Navigate to the File menu and select Open

Image….

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Browsing and Opening Images 17

Within the dialog that is displayed, locate an image

to open, and click on the Open button.

Using ViewNX

To open an image from ViewNX, follow these steps:

Select one or more images to open into Capture NX 2.

Click on the Open with Capture NX button within the ViewNX interface.

Using NikonTransfer

To open a folder of images transferred to your computer using Nikon Transfer, follow these steps:

Within Nikon Transfer, navigate to the “Preferences” tab.

Click on the pull-down menu for the Open destination folder with other application after

transfer option.

Select Browse….

Select Capture NX 2 from the displayed “Select program” window and click OK.

After the next transfer is completed, the folder identified in the primary destination folder will be displayed within the Capture NX 2 browser. You can then open one or more images by double-clicking on them within the browser.

18 Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Browsing and Opening Images

File Format Differences

Capture NX 2 supports three different file formats: NEF, TIFF, and JPEG.

NEF

The NEF, or Nikon Electronic Format, was designed as the archive file format for your images. The NEF file format saves the complete contents of the Edit List palette along with the original image. All changes made to the image are stored separately within the file, enabling a non-destructive image editing workflow. NEF allows for relatively small file sizes with no loss in image quality. Within Capture NX 2, NEF images remain nearly the same size as the original image file, regardless of the number of enhancements that are applied within the image.

A Please note: The file size of NEF files may increase slightly after being saved in Capture NX 2 due to the inclusion

of a full resolution, high quality JPEG preview. This JPEG preview ensures that other applications can accurately display the current state of the image. This file size increase will occur only after the first save within Capture NX 2, while subsequent saves may cause small file size variations due to the inherent nature of the JPEG compression used on the embedded JPEG preview or due to the size of the JPEG preview having been changed with the Crop or Size / Resolution tools.

There are two different types of NEF files: NEF RAW files and converted NEF files. NEF RAW files are created by a camera using the RAW file type option. Converted NEF files are files that started off as either TIFF or JPEG files, but were saved as NEF using Capture NX 2 or a previous Nikon Capture application.

Both NEF RAW files and converted NEF files benefit from the ability to store enhancements separate from the original image details.

A Please note: Only NEF RAW files support changes to settings made within the camera and other RAW specific

enhancements.

NEF RAW File Support

NEF RAW files are generated by all Nikon Digital SLR cameras as well as some COOLPIX cameras. Capture NX 2 provides support for NEF RAW files from the entire line of Nikon digital cameras that produce NEF RAW files.

For the latest information on supported digital cameras, visit the Nikon website for your area.

For users in the U.S.A.: http://www.nikonusa.com For users in Europe and Africa: http://www.europe-nikon.com/support For users in Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East: http://www.nikon-asia.com

TIFF

TIFF is commonly used as a standard for high-quality image reproduction. Saving your image in TIFF will result in a file that contains the final state of your image as shown within Capture NX 2, with full image quality. Once an image is saved in TIFF and closed, you will not be able to change the edits previously applied to the image within the Edit List palette.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | File Format Differences 19

JPEG

The JPEG file format is one of the most widely used file formats. This file format enables you to save a greater number of images using the same amount of hard disk space as the other file formats. To create such a small file size, a form of compression is used that irreversibly affects the quality of the image. Because of this compression, it is recommended that you only use the JPEG file format when a small file size is required.

Workflow Suggestions

While there is no single workflow optimized for every image, there are some basic guidelines to consider. When using Capture NX 2 to edit images, the following order is recommended:

Start with characteristics that affect the entire image, such as removing digital noise, fixing color

casts, and reducing tonal issues (such as brightness of contrast issues).

20 Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Workflow Suggestions

Next, modify elements that affect only localized areas, such as blemishes and small distracting

elements.

Then, apply effects that add a style or mood to the image.

Finally, prepare the image for output by resizing and sharpening.

Following these simple guidelines can help improve the quality of your images and provide a more structured approach to enhancing your images.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Workflow Suggestions 21

Printing

Capture NX 2 provides you with a full range of printing options. The print function is both easy and powerful, enabling you to create high quality, fully color managed prints. You can select Print… from the

File menu at any time to print the current image, or you can select multiple images from within the Browser palette to create a print package. Print packages are essentially a collection of images printed at

the same time, often with more than one image appearing on the same page. Print packages make the most of your printer and paper, enabling you to create proof sheets so that you can review and select images based on the output, rather than the computer screen.

Printing a Single Image

Capture NX 2 provides you with a variety of different printing options for a single image.

Printing an Image to Fill the Current Page

To print an image so that it fills the entire page, follow these steps:

Navigate to the File menu and select Print….

Ensure the Use Output Resolution checkbox is

unchecked.

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Click on the Select Layout option and choose 1

Photo on Page.

If the image’s orientation is different from the paper

you will print to (such as when you print a landscape oriented picture), check the Rotate to Fit option.

If desired, check the Crop Photos to Fit option to

ensure the entire printable surface is utilized. If the image’s aspect ratio is different from that of the paper, some image detail may be cropped away.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Printing 23

Review the settings within the “Color Management”

tab and then click Print.

Printing an Image Using the Settings Found Within the Size / Resolution Dialog

To print an image using the size and resolution settings made with the Size / Resolution tool, follow these steps:

Ensure that the appropriate size and resolution are

set for the image by navigating to the Edit menu and selecting Size / Resolution…. If necessary, modify the settings and click OK.

Navigate to the File menu and select Print….

24 Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Printing

Check the Use Output Resolution option. If the

image is larger than the page, click on the Page Setup button and select the appropriate paper size

that the image will fit upon.

If the image’s orientation is different from the paper

you will print to (such as when you print a landscape oriented picture), check the Rotate to Fit option.

Review the settings within the “Color Management”

tab and then click Print.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Printing 25

Printing contact sheets

To print a series of images as a contact sheet, follow these steps:

Open the Browser palette and select the images you

would like to print. To select multiple files, hold either the Shift key and click on the first and last images of a range, or hold the Ctrl (Windows) or command (Macintosh) keys while single-clicking on each additional file you want to add. To select all of the images in the current folder, navigate to the Edit menu and click on the Select All option, or use the shortcut Ctrl + A (Windows) or command + A (Macintosh).

Navigate to the File menu and select Print….

Ensure the Use Output Resolution option is not

selected.

26 Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Printing

Click on the Select Layout option, and then in the

provided pull-down menu, choose the number of images you would like to display on a single page. Alternatively, you can use the Select Picture Size option and select the size of each picture. Capture NX 2 will automatically tile the available images to fit onto one or more pages.

Click on the page backward or page forward buttons

to review the available pages.

To add information about each picture, such as the

file name, shooting data, or date shot, click on the Metadata… button.

Review the settings within the “Color Management”

tab and then click Print.

For more information on the various options available in the “Print layout” window, please see “Print…” in Chapter 18, “File Menu”.

Chapter 6 — Getting Started | Printing 27

Batch Processing

Batch processing is the automatic application of one or more enhancements to a series of images. Typically, a photographer will use a batch process to apply a predefined series of adjustments to several images at once. Capture NX 2 contains even more methods of batch processing than before. You can select a folder of images and select a series of enhancements to apply to those images, you can add an XMP/IPTC preset to a series of images, you can set up a live edit batch process, or you can set up a watched folder.

Applying a series of enhancements to a folder of images

Enhance an image that is representative of the images that you would like to apply a batch process

to.

Navigate to the Batch menu and select Save

Adjustments…. This will call up the “Save Adjustments” dialog and let you create a settings file.

Check each of the checkboxes for the enhancements

that you would like to apply in the batch process and provide a name for the settings file. Click OK.

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