Can Lightroom or other RAW converters match Nikon Capture NX color?
Asked 7/15/2010
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I like Adobe Lightroom’s workflow, but with Nikon RAW files I’ve struggled to get color and white balance that look as good as Nikon Capture NX. Lightroom’s camera profiles help, but they still don’t seem to fully match Nikon’s rendering.
Have other Nikon users had better results in Lightroom or Adobe Camera Raw? Are custom or third-party camera profiles worth trying? I’m also open to other RAW converters if they offer better Nikon-like color and white balance.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
16y ago
2 Answers
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The Adobe Camera RAW/Lightroom white balance presets have too much magenta in them (for Nikon cameras, anyway). This can skew the overall color balance, but it can easily be gotten around by creating your own presets that leave the magenta/green balance at zero.
The latest versions of the RAW engine and DNG spec support DNG profiles, which go a long way towards allowing you to get the color rendering you want. Many folks like the DNG Profiles that emulate Nikon's color modes, so you may give those a try. I was never a big fan of the Nikon color rendering though (too much cyan in skies, not to mention red/orange and blue/purple crossover problems). My preferred approach is to use a Macbeth Color Checker chart to create a custom DNG profile (which can be further tweaked to taste, you don't have to take the wizard-generated profile as-is).
Also often overlooked are the Hue/Saturation/Luminance adjustments, which can give you further control and may be more intuitive to some. And if you find yourself repeating certain adjustments on many images, you can make a preset of them.
I think once you get the hang of the options available in the ACR/LR raw engine, you should be able to get pretty much whatever color rendering you want.
Originally by user291. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user291
16y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—many Nikon shooters get better results outside Capture NX, but it often takes some setup. One common complaint is that Adobe’s default white balance for Nikon can lean too magenta. A simple fix is to create your own Lightroom/ACR preset that keeps the magenta/green tint neutral, then adjust from there.
Custom DNG camera profiles can also help a lot. Profiles that emulate Nikon picture styles are available, and a custom profile made with a ColorChecker/Macbeth chart is often the most accurate approach if matching color matters to you.
If Lightroom still doesn’t satisfy you, DxO is another option mentioned for stronger Nikon-like color, excellent noise reduction, and very good lens/body optical corrections—assuming your camera/lens combination is supported. Bibble was also reported as a satisfactory alternative by one user.
So: you probably didn’t give up too soon, but Lightroom may need custom profiling and preset tweaks before it gets close to Capture NX color.
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