Photo software failure

[ericmark]

Started using a Nikon D7000 where I have always used Pentax K10D in the past and my first thing was to set to take in RAW. This was the start of my problems CS4 even with RAW 5.7 will not open the files. I can't unlike the Pentax find how to change the RAW format to DNG in the camera. Loads of converters which will convert to jpeg but really that loses the whole point of taking in RAW in first place may as well set camera to save as jpeg.

Details below and PC is old so CS5 is just too much for the old girl.

Most stuff works A1 but ViewNX 2, and Hugin both refuse to run on my PC. ViewNX 2 opens then disappears again and Hugin has encountered a problem and needs to close. The latest version Adobe DNG Converter also failed but an earlier version worked OK.

I am running Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 3. The computer AMD Athlon(tm)XP 1.75 Ghz, 960 MB of RAM.

OK it is a little old but does the job for most of what I want and I can't afford a new one.

I can work around these failures using IrfanView, Adobe DNG Converter Version 6.3, and Photoshop CS4 but wondered if others also have problems with this software or is it just me?

I do have a higher spec laptop but really like using the desktop. I just wonder if it's something I have done wrong or just the girls too old. Does anyone else run this software on an old PC?

One plus is I found IrfanView which can be used very like Bridge but more powerful. I have set it so I can batch convert NEF to DNG using Adobe DNG Converter and unlike Bridge CS4 it will let me see thumbnails of the NEF files. The Nikon D7000 was inherited I would not have bought it myself but seems a lot better spec than old Pentax however think the Pentax will still be used for years to come. So much easier than the D7000 to use.

[Realist]

I also use Windows XP for my software. I use CS3, but I'm not able to use it to open RAW. I have a Canon 60D, so their RAW are called CR2. The one way that works for me that I am happy with is to use the software that came with the camera. Not sure what Nikon does, but with the Canon software I can change a good number of things, then I save them as a TIFF of JPEG. I find that if I need to do more extensive editing I will open the TIFF with Photoshop. Also I am not able to preview the RAW in Windows Explorer, so I shoot RAW + small JPEG so I have the JPEG as a preview. Not sure if that helps, but this is my workaround and I find it pretty good for me.

[asnow]

Also I am not able to preview the RAW in Windows Explorer, so I shoot RAW + small JPEG so I have the JPEG as a preview


You can view raw files with windows explorer if you install the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack. That way you don't need the jpeg file. Here's the link;

Download Microsoft Camera Codec Pack from Official Microsoft Download Center

[Realist]

Also I am not able to preview the RAW in Windows Explorer, so I shoot RAW + small JPEG so I have the JPEG as a preview


You can view raw files with windows explorer if you install the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack. That way you don't need the jpeg file. Here's the link;

Download Microsoft Camera Codec Pack from Official Microsoft Download Center

Thanks for the link, works great on my laptop, but my desktop is XP so it didn't work. Think I may have to look into updating that.

[mbrager]

Ericmark, I think it's you and it's not you. I'm fascinated by software problems people create for themselves. I'm an offender too, having refused to buy Microsoft Office for many years for my home computer and struggling to find workarounds when I had to read a file from work at home. Realistically, you can't expect 10 year old software like Windows XP to run more recent programs or apps. As you know, the camera companies have a slightly different RAW format for each of their cameras, and the software has to be updated for each new version of RAW, for every new RAW-capable camera that comes on the market.
In your case, CS4 only works with Adobe Camera Raw up to Version 5.7, which does not include your new camera, the Nikon. You would have to be running CS5 and Camera Raw 6.2 I believe to include your camera. But you can't run CS5 or CS6 on Windows XP anyway, and you don't have the minimum hardware to run Windows 7, let alone Windows 8. So you are not going to be able to use simple, straightforward tools like CS5 or CS6, or Lightroom 4, unless you upgrade your hardware and software. You might be able to get away with simply adding more memory, since Windows 7, 32-bit, requires at a minimum 1 GB of RAM. Depends on your motherboard. You would still have to upgrade your OS.
But, having said that, you and millions like you, have found very admirable, brilliant work-arounds. Indeed Irfanview is a brilliant piece of software that has solved numerous problems for me with incompatibilities and file conversions. So in my view, while this takes a little more time for you, and involves many more steps, it's the price you pay for not upgrading your hardware and/or software. In my opinion, the free ride you have now is as good as it gets.

[JAS_Photo]

Have you downloaded the Nikon codec? You should be able to see your Nef files on your computer once downloaded. Not sure if that will help at all?

Nikon Imaging | Global Site | NEF Codec Download

[ericmark]

Thank you for replies. Nikon codec works great I can see thumbnails of pictures. I was directed to LensAlign - WhiBal and it does work well. very simple. I may help "Realist" viewing pictures. I stopped taking Jpeg and RAW with Pentax as the camera would stall after fewer pictures as it was writing to card. I would guess with two cards this would not be a problem with Nikon. I can't afford either PC or Software upgrade got CS4 while in college. The Nikon was not bought by me I can't do anything with it except use it. The Nikon software ViewNX 2 will not run on my PC but the work around means I don't really need it. What I am considering is what to delete.

I tried taking DNG with Pentax K10D and I decided this was not a good idea as the files were larger and any adjustments are held within the DNG not with a sidecar so you have to open in Photoshop to return to as taken. However with Nikon the DNG is smaller than the NEF file and with the problems opening the NEF may be better to keep DNG and delete the NEF?

However still trying to get a Codec to view DNG files. So which way will depend on how that goes.

[ericmark]

Found a Codec for DNG files with XP.
Get DNG file extension support for Windows Vista - DNG CODEC Download
So I think I will be deleting the NEF files once converted to DNG.
The link given for Canon Codex clearly says "Supported operating systems: Windows 7, Windows Vista Service Pack 2" so seems it will not work with XP?
It would seem that pack also does Pentax so I need to use Bridge, IrfanView, or FastStone to view Pentax files.

[Iguanasan]

I'm with mbrager on this one I think. I'm in the same boat... my laptop is 5 1/2 years old and I'm worried it won't last much longer. Still running XP Pro as well. I've been fighting the move to LightRoom by using Picasa (free), Gimp (free) and ufRAW (free). But I think you need to stay as current as possible if your in the digital photography world. Technology moves fast.

I'll soon have to get a new laptop and I think I may end up moving to LightRoom in the not to distant future too.

Good luck with your issues. You might want to check Gimp and ufRAW though since they seem to open quite a lot of stuff.

[ericmark]

You are correct that Gimp with UFraw will handle the NEF files. Gimp is a good program however UFraw very like the program that came with the Pentax seems to work solely with curves. So unlike Photoshop CS4 with RAW 5.7 when I can use the brush tool to lighten or darken areas of the image to do the same with UFraw I need to make multi-copies then load them into layers and blend together. Yes can be done but more messing about.

Not found the Apply tool in Gimp. Sure it exists with some other name but not found. Using Apply with Photoshop CS4 one can with the masks auto blend layers together. I use it instead of the HDR tool. Again other tools will likely do same job Picturenaut will likely blend the layers very well.

It would certainly be an interesting exercise to see how same work can be done with free software. I blame the British Government as the only software loaded onto the college Apple Mac computers to work with images was Photoshop CS4 so even if Picturenaut did a better job still had to use CS4. After 2 years training to use the software to move to another make is a really big move. In fact even moving to lightroom would mean starting again from scratch. Never used lightroom but when I asked about it I was told it would not do many of the functions I use with CS4.

I am now reasonable satisfied with the work around. I use the DNG converter to transfer the files from the card to the lan hard drive so from the point they arrive on the PC they are DNG files. With the Codec that means I can see at a glance what the files are so better then when I used the Pentax. Bridge can also see the DNG files so the only change is instead of straight copy and paste I use the DNG converter.

Not sure what happens if I try to take a movie? Not tried that option yet. I use the card reader built into printer which is slow. How much down to card reader and how much down to DNG converter I don't know. But waiting for transfer is like watching paint dry so a case of set running then walk away and watch TV. 3/4 hour for 100 pictures.