How can I open Nikon D600 RAW (NEF) files before official converter support is available?
Asked 9/14/2012
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I'm shooting RAW+JPEG on a Nikon D600, but my usual RAW software doesn't support its NEF files yet. Is there any practical way to open or convert these files without writing my own decoder? Even a basic approach that gets usable image data would help until official support arrives.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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You might try simply altering the EXIF data in the images so the camera model is something your conversion software supports.
I just did some experimentation with an image from my D300 that proved successful. Changing the model field from NIKON D300 to NIKON D900 (fictional, for now) made AfterShot Pro reject the image, but changing it to NIKON D700 worked fine. I don't imagine the raw formats among the cameras are all that different, and a quick eyeball comparison of the original and altered files as ASP displayed them didn't show any visible difference.
EDIT: Just found a D600 NEF and did the same experiment. Worked fine.
The D600 doesn't appear to break any ground when it comes to how the images are stored, so find its closest supported relative and use that.
Originally by user6508. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6508
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. A practical workaround is to use a RAW converter based on dcraw, since dcraw-derived tools may already open D600 NEF files. One example mentioned was Image View Plus More.
Another workaround is to edit the camera model metadata in the NEF so unsupported software treats the file as if it came from a similar supported Nikon body. Community testing showed this can work: changing the model tag to a supported Nikon model allowed conversion software to open the file, and the D600 format did not appear significantly different in that test.
If you try the metadata trick, choose a closely related supported Nikon model and compare the output carefully for color, exposure, and artifacts. It’s a temporary solution, not guaranteed to be perfect.
So the best short answer is: use a dcraw-based converter first; if needed, try changing the EXIF/model tag to a similar supported Nikon body as a stopgap until native D600 support is added.
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