Workflow around Capture NX2

[hynek]

Hi,

I'm starting out with dLSR photography. After having gotten the best pictures out of Capture NX2 (I'm shooting RAW only), I decided to buy it instead of Lightroom. So far, I really like it and it complements nicely with The Gimp (I definitely have no 1.000+ € for PS so it has to suffice).

Now I need some decent software for managing the growing pile of pictures and am starting to regret my decision. ViewNX is very basic and doesn't even support tags. I've tried Zoner which has two big and one minor drawbacks:

1. It shows my NEFs in pristine state not honoring the edits CNX2 adds to it.
2. I can't start CNX2 from the viewer (or I just haven't found the option. I've set CNX2 as default for .NEF, but the "Open" menu item appears only in gallery mode.
3. It duplicates RAW editing. Don't need that.

So how are the other CNX2 users out there managing this? I've thought about the worst case and getting additionally LR and using CNX2 only for my best shots but that would be really expensive and LR doesn't show my edits too so it wouldn't solve anything.

Can someone help me? I just want a workflow where I can easily import my pics from the cam, screen them, edit the nice ones, add labels/tags and manage all pictures in the form they really look like (ie after the edit). VNX+CNX2 lacks the manage part...

[deepspring]

CNX2 is an excellent program, it may lack management abilities, but it makes up for it in it's editing abilities.

My work flow is as follows:

1. Import photos from SD card using Nikon Transfer, with NT set up to create a new folder based on the date. NT automatically starts CNX2 when the transfer is complete.
2. When CNX2 is loaded, I use the file browser to select which photos I want to edit, and mark them with a rating so I can remember which ones I want to edit and filter out the ones I don't want to edit.
3. I start editing, setting Camera Settings and Quick Fix settings, as well as any color corrections. I apply any Color Efex plugins. If needed I crop and/or straighten the image. I apply Unsharp Mask last. NOTE: CNX2 has a hidden sharpen setting in the Advanced settings for the Picture Control section under Camera Settings, I recommend setting it to zero if you are planning to use Unsharp Mask later.
4. When I've finished editing I save the file and continue on to the next one.
5. When I've finished editing all the files, I select all the ones I edited and use the Save As option to save the files in batch to 100% quality JPEG files.

[hynek]

Yeah, the editing power of CNX2 is undisputed. I'm a total newbie to post processing (haven't used anything ever...only Gimp for occasional cropping) and I'm really happy with the results. The the reason why I got it in the first place.

I do a similar workflow for now: I review the pictures in VNX because CNX2 feels a bit sluggish and hasn't (or I haven't discovered it yet) a quick full screen preview.

My question is rather what to do after that...My preffered way would be to export the best top JPEG and save them along with the NEFs, add keywords and save it in some kind of catalogue/directory. The question now is how to browse these catalogs? How to refind pictures? Ideally I'd have a browser which shows JPGs if available and NEFs when not.

I already accumulated quite a bit pictures since I got my cam (mid 12/2009) and have problems now to refind them easily. In LR, this whole process is nicely integrated so I wouldn't have to think about it at all.

I hope it's clear what I'm looking for. %)

[edward gage]

Hi,

Like you I also decided to purchase Capture NX2 instead of Lightroom and in general I really like the workflow.
However I found that I needed to buy Photo Mechanic by CameraBits to manage my folders and browse my photos while editing.
Download the trial and give it a go. I think it should do most of what you need.
I view all photos through this software and then when you select a JPEG or NEF to edit it opens it in NX2. Any changes you make here are then reflected in the viewing screen of Photo Mechanic. It is certainly a lot more comprehensive than viewNX.
Hope this helps.

Ed

[hynek]

This is a really odd thing: Many people recommend PM but after having a look at it, I don't understand. It looks like from the 90s and is missing functionality like displaying blowouts which I really miss.

Could you elaborate on what makes PM so good despite its pretty high price tag? (Compared for example to Zoner, ACDSee or IDImager)

[edward gage]

I agree it looks quite dated.
It does what I want it to, and I found myself quickly becoming dependent on it during the trial period and hastily bought it when I found myself with a large portfolio session to work through ASAP and the PM trial had just expired.
Also NX2 is system intensive and I find PM, which will invariably be open the same time a lot, to take up little system resource and is pretty efficient.

I didn't have the time or inclination to spend ages trialing a selection of different products and purchased PM because a) it was being recommended on a lot on forums and to me personally which gave me confidence, and more importantly b) in the 30 days I used it on the trial it did what I needed with no fuss. That was good enough for me.
Of course this is all personal opinion and I concede there could be cheaper / better options out there.

Good luck!

[hynek]

I agree about the slimness. However it does hardly anymore than Picasa does. I'm still unsure about my workflow...look through, develop good photos to TIF/JPEG and put the NEFs somewhere in an archive? Photography is hard.

[lcaamano]

I've been struggling with these same issues since last summer. I've tried many things including PM. I really liked the Nikon Transfer, ViewNX, CNX2 workflow and if it had a good catalog DB that'd be it. Unfortunately, it doesn't as you've found out.

Today I'm using IDimager Pro v5 to ingest and catalog and CNX2 to edit and convert to JPG. When I'm looking for pictures I have several choices depending on how fresh they're in my head: 1) Picasa, 2) ViewNX or 3) IDImager. I use viewNX when I know where the pictures are and I want to quickly view them on the second monitor full screen, Picasa for the nice full screen slideshow or to quickly browse around when I'm not sure where they are. If I don't find them with Picasa, then I'd use IDimager's powerful database query.

IDimager looks weird if you haven't used DAM software before but I'm learning more and it seems very promising. It has tools to solve issues I don't know I have yet. :-)

[hynek]

To my own surprise, I ended up at PM which is lean and fast and supports a RAW workflow effortlessly.

Thanks to everyone for the answers!