Raw Converters

[blitz]

I want to start playing with RAW now that I feel I am getting my head around my Nikon any recomendations as to the better ones?

[incisor]

i found

capture nx2 is very good

lightroom is good if you want file management as well

capture one has some nice features but isnt as good overall as capture nx2 or lightroom imho

bibble i did not like much at all.

[dmdigital]

If you use Apple (and Aperture) then the RAW converter there is good, Capture NX2 as Inc has mentioned and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) with Lightroom or Photoshop is now a very good product. ACR 6.x is very good with the camera lens profiling for RAW conversion. It used to be NX2 was the best but now days ACR is its equal.

[Chucaro]

I agree, Nikon Capture NX2 is the way to go.
I use it in my workflow to open all the NEF files and adjust exposure if it is required.
Once that I am happy with the nef file than I save is in Tif and do the rest of the PP including preparation for printing in PSCS3

[incisor]

what colour space settings do you use in your camera and in nx2 arthur?

[Chucaro]

what colour space settings do you use in your camera and in nx2 arthur?

My setting is:
Adobe RGB
Raw on 14 bit
Picture control in standard (vivid for images to be abstracts)

I do all my PP in RGB and only convert them to sRGB for internet display.
The reason why I upload in sRGB it is because the amjority of the monitors cannot read the color scale in RGB.

[blitz]

As it's free I downloaded Google Picasa - it's basic but I am getting the hang of basic photo manipulation. Will look at the others and cost when I feel confident I am not going to waste my money

[Chucaro]

At the end all depends what are you going to do with your photography.
If you are going to sell your work then consistence between your sample and the printed image it is very important.
To be able to do that you need software that is going to be compatible with your printing lab and also you need a reasonable good monitor.
The monitor do not have to be expensive for that, a good Samsung will give you good results.
If you are going to print your work then things become expensive with good quality monitor and printer.
I cannot justify invest on a monitor and printer and prefer to rely on my printing service provider.

[blitz]

At the end all depends what are you going to do with your photography.
If you are going to sell your work then consistence between your sample and the printed image it is very important.
To be able to do that you need software that is going to be compatible with your printing lab and also you need a reasonable good monitor.
The monitor do not have to be expensive for that, a good Samsung will give you good results.
If you are going to print your work then things become expensive with good quality monitor and printer.
I cannot justify invest on a monitor and printer and prefer to rely on my printing service provider.

truth is I dont know yet. when I was much younger I used to put my photos in comps, got several kicked out because they reckoned they were taken by a professional - which made me both mad and I thought cool at the same time. really I just want to see what it does at this stage and see how it goes from there.

[LSD_AUTOMOTIVE]

I use Lightroom 3.4 and have no complaints, I've heard great things about ACR also.