NEF Conversion - why the differences

[myarhidia]

I have 3 ways in which to convert a NEF file into a JPG.
- Adobe Photoshop CS
- Nikon Capture Editor 4
- Rawshooters Essentials 2006.

Now one would think......or at least I would think, that if I used any of the above programs to open a NEF and saved it as a JPG with no adjustments to the image whatsoever, then I should end up with 3 almost identical JPG files.

That is not the case.



As you can see there are significant differences between the 3 images, notibly
- white balance
- contrast
- sharpness.

Can anyone explain why there is such a difference considering there is no PP done to any image.

NOTE: all were converted on the same computer / monitor.

thanks

[gstark]

In many cases, the editing software provides a number of options that relate to the image quality whn you're saving as jpg.

This would certainly explain such things as sharpness, as the levels of compression and the amount of data being saved would certainly be affected by those settings.

So the issue that you should be looking at first, I would expect, is where were those options set - in each editing program - when you converted those images?

[myarhidia]

In many cases, the editing software provides a number of options that relate to the image quality whn you're saving as jpg.

It's not that. As soon as I open the file it looks different in each application, even before I save it.

[big pix]

check your preferences for each application........ they could have different settings

[terminator]

From what i`ve found all raw converters have their own default settings.
These settings vary from program to program.
Nikon Capture is the only program that uses the base settings as shot with Nikon cameras ie White balance, Sharpness, contrast etc.
All the other programs try to emulate these settings.
Someone correct me if i`m wrong.

[Nnnnsic]

Actually, it usually comes down to the colour settings the program uses.

Adobe will use Adobe Gamma which isn't too handy for matching a whole lot of anything.

I don't use the other two at all so I can't say what they'd use as I use Photoshop and Capture One with my images.

Try Capture One and see what you get.

[timbo]

Adobe will use Adobe Gamma which isn't too handy for matching a whole lot of anything.

I'm genuinely curious as to why you say this Leigh, as Adobe RGB is generally regarded as having the widest practical gamut range in the RGB realm, and is recommended by most pre-press professionals prior to CMYK conversion for offset printing. I realise that this isn't anywhere near as wide a gamut available as if one were printing directly from RGB images to, say, an Epson inkjet printer, but still thought it the most practical when you don't want to 'dumb down' your colour curves.

What gamma do you generally work with?

[Pauld]

myarhidia


I had a similar problem between Nikon Capture and Adobe Camera Raw. You will find that ACR unless you have changed the default settings will automatically make adjustments to the RAW file upon opening which may be why you are seeing the difference.

ACR 3.3 under CS2 has an automatic tab under exposure, brightness, contrast etc which automatically trys to adjust the image to minimise blown highlights and shadows.

My suggestion if you are using CS and ACR 2.4 is to find an exposure, brightness and contrast setting in ACR that match Nikon Capture and save them as your default setting in ACR. If your using CS2 and ACR 3.3 just turn the auto adjustments off and save this as your default.

I have had no experience with Rawshooter so I can not give any advice on it.

Hope this helps.

[gstark]

In many cases, the editing software provides a number of options that relate to the image quality whn you're saving as jpg.

It's not that. As soon as I open the file it looks different in each application, even before I save it.

What colour spaces are the apps loading the images into? Are they using the one assigned to the image, or the one assigned to the app? That will probably explaing the immediate differences that you're seeing.

But as for the sharpness details that you showed us in the example, I still hold that my suggestion would provide many clues.

[myarhidia]

myarhidia


I had a similar problem between Nikon Capture and Adobe Camera Raw. You will find that ACR unless you have changed the default settings will automatically make adjustments to the RAW file upon opening which may be why you are seeing the difference.

ACR 3.3 under CS2 has an automatic tab under exposure, brightness, contrast etc which automatically trys to adjust the image to minimise blown highlights and shadows.

My suggestion if you are using CS and ACR 2.4 is to find an exposure, brightness and contrast setting in ACR that match Nikon Capture and save them as your default setting in ACR. If your using CS2 and ACR 3.3 just turn the auto adjustments off and save this as your default.

I have had no experience with Rawshooter so I can not give any advice on it.

Hope this helps.

Pauld,
your comments triggered a memory which I went back and investigated. If you install PS before you install NC, NC will install a plug-in under photoshop called Nikon NEF Plugin.8bi. When PS opens an NEF file, this plug overrides the ACR plugin which gives me a host of options not normally available. I renamed the extention on this file (so it does work as I had disabled it), restarted PS & now both PS & NC look almost identical. There is a minimal colour difference and the sharpness is spot on in both.

So I'll do some playing around with the ACR plug in, even though I had it set to camera default it obviously wasn't working.

thanks for the insight.

[digitor]

Here

http://www.rawmagick.com/compareall1.htm

is an interesting illustration of the differences between some popular raw converters.

Cheers

[NikonUser]

Not sure if this has been completely covered in the other answers (it's been a long week... finding it hard to concentrate...)

But Nikon Capture will look at the settings you used in the camera and will use them as the default image parameters

ACR (and I assume others) do not recognise the settings you have in the camera and therefore either have their own default settings or ones you have previously set yourself as default. Certainly the 'auto' buttons on ACR are nothing like the defaults you will get in Nikon Capture.

As an example... your Nikon Capture image is a lot sharper than the others. If you camera is set on (for example) med-high then that's what Nikon Capture will apply (unless you change it) whereas ACR will use it's default (20 if I remember correctly) which is a very mild sharpening.

ACR also offers a tab where you can tweak the colour responce (Hue and Saturation) as it's designed to cater for a lot of cameras. NC is designed only for Nikon.

Hope that makes a little sence and helps you out
Paul

[moz]

http://www.rawmagick.com/compareall1.htm
is an interesting illustration of the differences between some popular raw converters.

They look selected to show the product at its best to me, and they left out DCRaw and the various programs that use that as a base. Not that i have the time or interest to make my own comparison...

[Grev]

I use rawshooter, pro agb colour space, nothing applied, just correct white balance and exposure if in need be.

That's my usual workflow anyway... And I don't find much differences as dramatic as yours through other converters, I have all the other ones you mentioned as well.