D2x to K10d, software issue

[chals]

Hi,

I signed up here today because I am going to sell my Nikon D2x and buy a K10d.

But I really like Capture NX. I have this question:

Is it possible to save a DNG to a TIFF-file, do some editing like USM, local adjustment on the TIFF (in Capture NX) and get the same quality as if the DNG-file was edited and saved in Photoshop?  ( I dont have photoshop)

Cato

[arbutusq]

I used to use NX with my D70 and if you save your RAW file as a Tiff without sharpening in your raw converter and do the rest of the PP in NX the results should be great.  I found NX gave incredibly good results when working on NEF's and Jpegs, comparable ti PSCS2 but with the added advantage of Control Points.  IF NX handled PEF files I would use it exclusively.  IF you use a program such as Bibble you can set it to automatically export the file to NX when you have done the basic adjustments.  It becomes as convenient as Bridge and PS.  Hope this helps....

[chals]

Thank you, so you think there will be no loss in quality doing it this way. like sending it a way from Laboratory or camera  unsharpened? If so I can save some money, not neccesary to bye Bibble. And I can choose the Pentax way of sharpening (wich has dull edges I have heard) or the Nikon way. Cato

[manual_focus]

You can review this tutorial on PhotoLab
http://pentaxworld.com/fo...ic=413.0;attach=707;image

I don't have experience with Nikon's NX.  Pentax's PhotoLab has some basic sharpening tools but not as sophisticated as USM.  Luckily the K10D images don't require that much sharpening, regardless of what DPreview has stated.

You can convert the Pentax RAW (PEF or DNG) files with PhotoLab and save them as either JPG or 8/16 bit TIFF files from which you can apply any USM program you have (including Capture NX if it works with TIFF files).  If you save as TIFF there is no loss in quality as the file format is lossless. 

Does this answer your question?

[chals]

thanks, exactly what I hoped for.

Cato

[arbutusq]

If you are going to sharpen with NX it is probably better to do NO sharpening in Photolab.  NX has a far more sophisticated USM function.  After typing this I am tempted to give my suggested workflow a try and re install NX.

[manual_focus]

I agree with arbutusq.  I wouldn't sharpen within PhotoLab, just set the WB and exposure.

[chals]

If you are going to sharpen with NX it is probably better to do NO sharpening in Photolab.  NX has a far more sophisticated USM function.  After typing this I am tempted to give my suggested workflow a try and re install NX.

It would be interesting to read about and se the result.

[tcom]

Sharpening should always be the last step in post processing anyway.

You can convert the RAW with PhotoLab by just applying the settings you want, mostly WB, exposure and maybe some purple fringing corrections and save it to TIFF. TIFF is uncompressed, so no impact on quality. Then you can post process the TIFF under NX and do whatever you want, and keep sharpening for the last step.

[Bronek]

I do not know if PhotoLab supports 16bit TIFF, but in such a workflow I would definitely use it (and not 8bit one) if there is any chance that tonality (curves, contrast etc.) or colours (WB finetuning, calibration etc.) will be adjusted in later stages. Otherwise in these later stages one would manipulate 8bit image (smaller TIFF) to produce 8bit result (JPEG), unavoidably leading to posterization and similar artifacts.

[sooming]

Wow! Converting D2X to K10D...amazing! The Pentax is that good huh?

I use DNG on Adobe PS CS3 on my Macbook. Flawless. Very nice, and I don't need to tweak much of the settings.