What software can I use to edit Nikon D5100 RAW files, and what can RAW do better than JPEG?
Asked 12/25/2011
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I shoot with a Nikon D5100 and want to brighten some underexposed photos. Picasa can open my RAW files but doesn’t really let me edit them. What software should I use to process Nikon RAW/NEF files, preferably free if possible? Also, what kinds of adjustments are easier or give better results with RAW compared with JPEG?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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It's not the there are things in JPG that you can't edit (but you can with RAW). It's just that with RAW, there is more data in the image to work with. If you have dim, underexposed images, you'll be able to brighten them up with generally better results if you start with a RAW file rather than JPG. If your shots are well exposed to begin with, then it doesn't matter so much.
Most photo editing programs will alow you to do pretty much the same things with either JPG or RAW. For example, Adobe Camera Raw, which is the RAW editing program for Lightroom and Photoshop, you can do the same thing to RAW and JPG files, with a slight difference in how you adjust white balance or temperature. With many images you may get better results with a RAW file, but the parameters you can adjust are the same.
Free with the camera is View NX2, which handles data transfer, but also allows you to do some basic editing of RAW files.
Also with the camera is Capture NX2. It does more comprehensive editing. I believe you only get a trial of the software with the camera.
If you want a free RAW editor, try Raw Therapee. I've never used it, but friend rave about it.
But if you only have a few dark images, see what you can do with View NX2. It will allow you to adjust exposure and brightness.
Originally by user4191. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4191
14y ago
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For free, start with the Nikon software that came with your camera. Nikon users can also try Capture NX2, which was noted for good NEF support and a full-featured trial. Paid options mentioned were Adobe Lightroom / Camera Raw and Apple Aperture, both with trial versions.
RAW doesn’t give you completely different editing tools than JPEG; most editors let you adjust similar things on both. The advantage of RAW is that it contains more image data, so edits such as brightening underexposed photos usually hold up better and with higher quality than starting from JPEG. White balance/temperature adjustment is also typically more flexible with RAW.
For Nikon files specifically, Nikon software can better read camera settings stored in the NEF file, such as white balance and picture control, which can help reproduce the in-camera JPEG look more accurately.
So: if you need a quick free solution, use Nikon’s bundled software first. If you want to compare workflows, try Lightroom/Camera Raw or Nikon Capture NX2 trials.
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