Nikon Capture NX 2 Upgrade from Capture NX 1.x

by Nikon

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001B010PC
• Item model number: NX2 Upgrade
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 12, 2008

Product Description

Amazon.com

Nikon's Capture NX 2 software is a full-featured, nondestructive photo-editing program that gives photographers all the tools they need to quickly and easily edit their photographs. Also available in a full version, the upgrade software--which requires a valid serial number from v1.x--offers such editing features as color control points, selection control points, an auto-retouch brush, and shadow/highlight adjustment.

Enhancing the hue, brightness, and saturation of an image is as simple as placing a color control point on your image, then adjusting the length of the sliders. For example, color control points are a remarkably convenient way to change the color of flowers to look better against green surrounding foliage. As an alternative, editors can take a dull gray sky and add blue to change the mood of a captured scene. The selection control points, meanwhile, let you selectively edit photographs without manually outlining or masking the area for editing. Simply place a selection control point anywhere on the photograph, and then choose from almost any adjustment, including D-Lighting, Unsharp Mask, or Noise Reduction, while limiting the 'reach" of that adjustment to just the selected area.

Capture NX 2 also adds an automatic retouch tool to its image editing toolbox, allowing users to seamlessly remove blemishes, dust, and other distracting elements from photographs while maintaining the integrity of the image. And thanks to the shadow/highlight adjustment, you can easily open up shadows or recover blown-out highlights. Highlight recovery is most effective for RAW (NEF) files; however, it will work with JPEG and TIFF files as well.

The software's redesigned v2 interface includes such features as customized workspaces, an improved toolbar function and layout, improved edit list functionality, a redesigned image browser with a favorites folder, and improved image resolution adjustments. The software's holdover features from v1.x range include black/white/neutral control points, color management control, color aberration control, distortion control, a color booster, contrast/brightness adjustment, a saturation/warmth adjustment, black-and-white conversion, straighten and crop tools, and much more.

Finally, Capture NX 2 features award-winning U Point technology for precision selection and application of enhancements without complicated selections or layer masks. Designed to closely match the way photographers work with their images, Capture NX2 is easy to learn and creates the highest-quality results. Note that the software fully integrates with all Nikon software, including Camera Control Pro 2, Image Authentication Software, Transfer, and ViewNX.

Capture NX 2 System Requirements

Windows

• Preinstalled version of 32-bit Windows Vista Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Enterprise/Ultimate (Service Pack 1) editions or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 2) editions
• Pentium 4 processor or better
• 768 MB RAM minimum (1 GB or more recommended)
• 200 MB free hard disk space for installation
• 1,024 x 768 or higher monitor resolution (1,280 x 1,024 recommended) with 16-bit color (32-bit color recommended)
• CD-ROM drive; Internet connection; approved memory cards for importing/exporting custom picture controls

Macintosh

• OS Macintosh OS X v10.4.11 or 10.5.2
• PowerPC G4, PowerPC G5, Intel Core Duo, Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Xeon, or better processor
• 768 MB RAM minimum (1 GB or more recommended)
• 200 MB free hard disk space for installation
• 1,024 x 768 or higher monitor resolution (1,280 x 1,024 recommended) with 64,000 colors (16.7 million colors recommended)
• CD-ROM drive; Internet connection; approved memory cards for importing/exporting custom picture controls

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well priced alternative, June 12, 2008

By 

Richard Welty (Averill Park, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nikon Capture NX 2 Upgrade from Capture NX 1.x (Electronics)

I own several Nikon cameras including one DSLR and have been using Capture NX for postprocessing work for some time. Capture NX has always represented fair value for the money (by comparison with Photoshop CS3, which triggered significant sticker shock when I priced it.) However, Capture NX wasn't perfect, there were a number of frustrating aspects to it.
I've been using the free trial version of Capture NX2 for two weeks now and I have to say, it fixes most of the problems of the previous version. Simple things like the autoretouch brouch make it much easier to clean up sensor dust spots, something that was a pain in the older version.
I'm still having problems with color profile setup for my HP photo printer, this still seems to be an area that needs work. But I certainly will purchase the upgrade and flip my trial copy to a paid copy when the upgrade option becomes available.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential tool for Nikon digital photographers, August 24, 2008

By 

Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nikon Capture NX 2 Upgrade from Capture NX 1.x (Electronics)

I have been using Nikon Capture NX since its first release, and it just keeps getting better. Nikon Capture NX2 is a major upgrade from NX 1.X, and it is a worthy and significant improvement.

Basically, Nikon Capture NX2 is a full-featured digital photograph processing program that provides a "digital darkroom" for digital photographers who want to manipulate digital photographs. Its real strength is its ability to process NEF (Nikon Electronic Format) photographs, (also sometimes called RAW) and it does this better than any other program. Basically, if you shoot in NEF format (rather than say, JPEG) the various settings of the photograph (i.e. exposure setting, white balance setting, sharpness setting) are done in software within each image. Capture NX2 allows the photographer to change these settings AFTER SHOOTING. The changes one makes to NEF images in this manner are non-destructive; that is, the changes do not degrade the image with compression loss as is the case when changes are made to JPEG images. Put simply, Capture NX2 gives the digital photographer much more power and flexibility than an elaborate darkroom gave to film photographers--those fortunate few that had one at all. Capture NX2 probably has more features for processing NEF images than any other program, and this is its particular strength.

But it does not end there. NX2 has many other features. It allows batch processing of images, and simultaneous processing of such images according to particular settings. So, for example, if you took a couple of hundred shots in NEF, and decided upon certain white balance, sharpness, and exposure modifications for these images, rather than having to process each image individually, NX2 will allow them to be processed as a batch. The software is easy and intuitive.

Nikon Capture NX2 also continues the development of it U Point technology. This is an easy and intuitive way to manipulate the color of images that is far simpler and easier to learn than Photoshop's layer mssks.

Capture NX2 has many other features such as aberration adjustments, vignetting adjustments, blemish and dust corrections, etc. All very useful at times.

One feature of the NX2 upgrade is an improved workflow menu. The Nikon design team clearly listened to its user base, and there were a few complaints about the placement of some of the menus in the earlier version of NX. I think that the workflow for Capture NX2 will please almost everyone--the tools are right there for us to use, and I found that I was able to go right to work without reference to the manual. Good job Nikon.

Nikon Capture NX2 appears to run in a very stable manner in Windows Vista. Using my Intel 1.6 Dual Core notebook computer (4GB DRAM) the program is stable, snappy, and quick. Vista users will appreciate this program. Users should know that NX2, like its predecessors and in common with most digital imaging programs, runs better with more DRAM. While it requires at least 1GB DRAM, it improves remarkably if you upgrade to at lest 2GB. I run 4GB DRAM.

This is an essential tool for any Nikon digital photographer who shoots in NEF format, and with such a powerful tool available, I never shoot in any other format. This program is a winner!

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch out Photoshop, July 3, 2008

By 

Peter R. Dinella (North Granby, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nikon Capture NX 2 Upgrade from Capture NX 1.x (Electronics)

Here I am, a Photoshop user for 7 years and raving about Nikon Capture NX 2. How did this happen? It's Adobe's fault. They sent me looking elsewhere after Bridge CS3 totally crashed on my computer. Bridge is junk software, as one internationally, well recognized Photoshop guru called it in a public forum. He was right.

So, I started looking. I got Capture NX free when I bought a Nikon D300. I tested it, compared it, and liked it. I bought the NX 2 upgrade and I couldn't be happier. Life is much simpler now.

So, what is my workflow? I use NX 2, and, if I need CS3, I use it. But I will not upgrade to CS4. NX 2 doesn't do everything, but if CS disappeared, I'd have no problems except for panoramas...but there are alternatives other than CS3.

Look, Photoshop is geared for designers; Capture NX 2 is geared for photograpers. Adobe, as far as I concerned, is not concerned about software screwups that impact only photograpers. They are big and they are non-responsive.

Finally, I dumped Adobe's Lightroom after testing their Lightroom 2 beta. Much ado about nothing. That's another reason I went for NX 2.

So, if you want to free yourself from Adobe's every-18-month upgrade and make great photos in half the time, go with NX 2.