User manual NIKON CAPTURE NX

Notices © 2006 Nik Software, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form, by any means, without Nik Software, Inc.'s prior written permission. Nikon reserves the right to change the specifications of the hardware and software described in these manuals at any time and without any prior notice. Neither Nik Software, Inc. nor Nikon will be held liable for any damages resulting from the use of this product. While every effort has been made to ensure the information in these manuals is accurate and complete, we would appreciate it were you to bring any errors or omissions to the attention of the Nikon representative in your area (addresses are provided separately). Licensed under one or more US Pats. 7,016,549; 6,836,572; 6,728,421; 6,865,300; 7,031,547; and other patents pending. © 2006 NIKON CORPORATION © 2006 Nik Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Trademark Information U Point is a trademark of Nik Software, Inc. Macintosh and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Pentium and Celeron are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Adobe and Photoshop are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. All other trade names mentioned in this manual or in the other documentation provided with your Nikon product are trademarks or registered trade marks of their respective holders. i Tab le h apC o ntents C o f ter 1 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................. 1 RAW File Format Benefits ..................................2 Camera Relationship ..........................................3 Camera Adjustments ........................................45 RAW Adjustments ............................................50 Lens Adjustments .............................................52 Light & Color Adjustments................................54 Detail Adjustments ...........................................57 Enhancement Steps ..........................................59 System Requirements .........................................5 Installation ..........................................................5 Show/Hide Triangle ...........................................60 Apply Step Checkbox .......................................60 Apply Enhancement Checkbox .........................60 Link Icon...........................................................60 Adjust & Filter Pull-Down Menu ........................61 System Requirements & Installation .................................................. 5 U PointTM Technology ............................... 9 The Capture NX Interface ..................... 13 Getting Started......................................... 17 Opening Capture NX........................................17 Welcome Screen ...............................................18 Browsing and Opening Images .......................19 Window Functionality Within Capture NX .....20 Exiting Capture NX...........................................20 File Format Differences ....................................21 How to Print .....................................................23 Batch Processing ...............................................23 Opacity Mixer ...................................................61 Table of Contents Selection Notification Area ...............................64 Feather Control ................................................64 Versions Menu ..................................................65 Automatically Generated Versions ....................65 Manually Generated Versions ...........................65 Batch Menu .....................................................66 New Step Button ..............................................66 Working with Enhancements ..........................66 Editing Steps and Enhancements ......................66 The Browser............................................... 29 Folder Menu .....................................................31 Label Menu .......................................................32 Sort Menu .........................................................33 Batch Menu ......................................................34 Deleting Steps and Enhancements ....................67 Copying and Pasting Steps and Enhancements ........................................................................67 Linking Enhancements ......................................68 Swapping Enhancements..................................69 File Directory ............................................. 37 Camera Settings ....................................... 39 IPTC ............................................................... 41 The Edit List ............................................... 43 Base Adjustments Step.....................................44 Toolbar F2 - View Tools.......................... 71 Direct Select Tool .............................................71 Hand Tool ........................................................71 Zoom Tool ........................................................72 Toolbar F3 - Edit ....................................... 75 Rotate ...............................................................75 Straighten .........................................................75 ii Crop...................................................................77 Redo ................................................................125 Cut ...................................................................125 Copy ................................................................125 Paste ................................................................126 Duplicate.........................................................126 Delete..............................................................126 Select All .........................................................126 Toolbar F4 ­ Black, White, and Neutral Control Points ........................... 81 Black Control Point ..........................................81 White Control Point .........................................82 Neutral Control Point.......................................82 Tab le h apC o ntents C o f ter 1 Table of Contents Toolbar F5 ­ U Point Technologybased Tools ................................................ 85 Color Control Point ..........................................85 Red-Eye Control Point ......................................86 Flip...................................................................127 Rotate .............................................................127 Size / Resolution .............................................127 Change the Output Size (DPI) .........................127 Change the File Size (Image Size) ....................128 Fit Photo .........................................................128 Preferences .....................................................128 General ..........................................................129 Color Management ........................................130 Levels & Grid ..................................................131 Cache Settings ...............................................133 Toolbar F6 - Selection Tools.................. 89 Selection Brush .................................................89 Lasso & Marquee Tools ....................................92 Selection Gradient............................................93 Fill / Remove Tools ............................................94 The Bird's Eye ............................................ 97 Photo Info .................................................. 99 Histogram .........................................................99 Watch Points...................................................101 Adjust Menu ............................................ 137 Light ................................................................137 Levels & Curves ..............................................137 Contrast / Brightness ......................................141 Auto Levels.....................................................142 The Image Window ............................... 105 The Color Picker ..................................... 109 File Menu .................................................. 113 Open Image... ................................................113 Open With... ...................................................113 Open Folder in Browser .................................113 Open Recent ...................................................114 Save .................................................................114 Save As.... ........................................................115 Revert ..............................................................116 Close ................................................................116 Print Setup... ..................................................116 Print... .............................................................117 Exit ..................................................................122 D-Lighting ......................................................143 Color ...............................................................145 LCH ................................................................145 Color Balance .................................................150 Color Booster .................................................151 Saturation / Warmth .......................................151 Focus ...............................................................152 Gaussian Blur .................................................152 High Pass........................................................152 Unsharp Mask ................................................153 Correct ............................................................154 Color Aberration Control ................................154 Distortion Control...........................................155 Opacity Mixer .................................................155 Edit Menu ................................................. 125 Undo ...............................................................125 Noise Reduction .............................................156 iii Color Profile....................................................157 Apply Profile ...................................................157 Convert to Profile ...........................................158 Zoom Out........................................................198 Full Screen.......................................................198 Tab le h apC o ntents C o f ter 1 Hide Palettes...................................................199 Compare .........................................................199 Compare in Browser .......................................199 Control Points Menu............................. 161 Color Control Points... ...................................161 Black Control Point ........................................163 White Control Point... ...................................165 Neutral Control Point... .................................167 Red-Eye Control Point... ................................171 Compare in Editor ..........................................200 Compare With Original...................................200 Window Menu ........................................ 203 Cascade ...........................................................203 Tile ...................................................................203 Reset Palette Location ...................................204 Bird's Eye .........................................................204 Browser ...........................................................204 Camera Settings .............................................204 Color Picker.....................................................204 Edit List ...........................................................204 File Directory ..................................................204 IPTC Information ............................................204 Filter Menu............................................... 173 Photo Effects... ...............................................173 Add Grain/Noise.............................................177 Contrast: Color Range... ................................177 Colorize... .......................................................178 Black and White Conversion... ......................178 Batch Menu .............................................. 181 Run Batch Process... .......................................181 Copy Settings ..................................................181 Paste Settings .................................................181 Save Settings... ...............................................182 Load Settings ..................................................183 Batch Process Alert Box ..................................183 Processing Queue.........................................184 File Naming dialog ..........................................186 Batch Options .................................................187 Manage Settings Files .....................................187 Batch Process .................................................188 Watched Folder ..............................................190 Table of Contents Photo Info .......................................................204 Tool Bar ...........................................................204 Help Menu ................................................ 207 Contents..........................................................207 Technical Support ...........................................207 Show Welcome Screen ...................................207 About Capture NX..........................................208 Appendix: Short-cuts ........................... 211 Appendix: Supplied Color Profiles .. 214 Appendix: Advisories & Additional Notices ...... 217 Index .......................................................... 227 Contact Information ............................. 233 View Menu ............................................... 195 Show All Control Points .................................195 Show Selection ...............................................195 Show Grid .......................................................196 Show Lost Highlights .....................................196 Show Lost Shadows ........................................197 Show Focus Area ............................................197 View at 100% .................................................198 Fit to Screen ....................................................198 Zoom In ...........................................................198 iv C h ap ter 1 Table of Contents 1 Introduction Capture NXTM is a powerful editing and photographic processing application designed specifically for digital photographers. Its simple, straight-forward user interface makes image enhancement easy, and exclusive features based on U PointTM photo editing technology provide a fully non-destructive workflow, which takes the guess work out of editing. C h ap ter 1 C h ap ter 1 Capture NX's patented U Point technology gives the user a number of unique tools, the most remarkable being the Control Point, which is used to adjust tone and color in an image. Control Points allow you to work directly on the image without the need for selections or layers and to apply your enhancements globally or selectively, giving you the power to increasingly refine your enhancements in order to create a natural-looking effect. Control Points let you apply and undo enhancements easily and quickly without compromising image integrity. When you are ready to save and archive your images, Capture NX enables you to save your image in the NEF file format, which saves your image file without degrading your image. Control Points are a unique editing concept that gives the user a completely different kind of control over color and tone enhancement in an image. A Control Point is placed directly on the image and its value is defined by the user. Each Control Point operates together with the next, affecting the image progressively as more and more Control Points are applied. Select a Control Point to adjust color or to control the White, Black, and Neutral points. Because the enhancements you make are maintained separately from the original image data and without regard for the original file format, Capture NX enables you to make and change image enhancements repeatedly without degrading the quality of the image. Capture NX protects the original data as well as your enhancements when you save your image as a NEF file. With the NEF file format, you can always open the image and the enhancements, and close the image at any time without ever degrading the original image data. Introduction Introduction 2 RAW File Format Benefits C h ap ter 1 Shooting RAW has a number of distinct advantages over shooting and saving processed files. The RAW format records important archival information about the conditions under which the image was captured. This information can be used by Capture NX to make unique adjustments to enhance the image. The following are some of the camera settings and RAW adjustments that can be applied within Capture NX: · Color Mode (Page 45) · White Balance (Page 46) · Tone Compensation (Page 48) · Saturation (Page 49) · Sharpening (Page 49) · Exposure Compensation (Capture NX) (Page 50) · Hue Adjustment (Page 50) · Color Moiré Reduction (Page 51) · Dust Off (page 51) · Auto Color Aberration (page 52) · Vignette Control (page 52) Capture NX contains full support for Nikon RAW NEF images and can be used with any JPEG and TIFF (RGB or LAB based) files. With JPEG and TIFF files, you can begin enhancing the files immediately by selecting one of the enhancements from the Menus. Introduction 3 Camera Relationship Capture NX was designed to support all of the features of your Nikon camera, allowing you to change many of the settings that you applied to the image in your camera. After opening a RAW NEF file within Capture NX, you can view the shooting, camera, and exposure information of the file within the Camera Settings Palette. Settings that you can edit have a pulldown Menu, which gives you access to the various controls for each of these settings. Within the Camera Settings Palette you are given access to a number of adjustments that are unique to RAW NEF files. These adjustments can be located in the RAW section of the Camera Settings Palette. For more information regarding the various controls provided within the Camera Settings Palette, please see page 39. C h ap ter 1 Introduction To display the contents of the Camera Settings Palette, click on the button within the Camera Settings Palette. 4 5 System Requirements & Installation System Requirements Operating System Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 Professional Mac OS X (version 10.3.9 or later) C h ap ter 2 Monitor resolution 800 × 600 pixels (1024 x 768 or higher recommended) with 16-bit color (High Color/thousands of colors) with 24-bit color (True Color/millions of colors) recommended Processor WINDOWS Pentium III 1GHz or better (Pentium 4 2GHz or better recommended) Installation To install Capture NX, place the Capture NX setup CD into your computer's CD or DVD drive. Open the CD either through the My Computer icon on your desktop (Windows) or by double-clicking on the CD icon that appears on your desktop (Mac OS). Double-click on the Setup icon that appears within the window that is displayed to begin the setup wizard. Please note: On Windows machines, Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 will automatically be installed if not already present on the computer. The computer must be restarted when installation is complete. System Requirem ents & Install ati on MACINTOSH G4, G5 RAM 256 MB minimum (1GB recommended) Hard-disk space 200 MB required for installation Once the setup wizard has installed the files onto your computer, you will be provided with options to setup your color management preferences. The color management settings provided within the Setup Wizard enables you to 6 set the default functionality for Capture NX, and can be later changed within the Preferences. You are provided with two options to set the working color space: Use the color space of the file to be opened as the working color space space of the file to be opened as the working color space option is selected. After you have selected the color management options to utilize for your copy of Capture NX, you can complete the installation process. If prompted to supply a product key when starting Capture NX, enter your name and product key. The product key may be found on the CD-ROM case. Do not lose this key. It is required when installing or upgrading this software and cannot be replaced if lost. C h ap ter 2 System Requirem ents & Install ati on This option causes Capture NX to always use the profile embedded in the image that is opened as the working color space. Please note: If Capture NX cannot determine the profile of the embedded image, the profile identified as the Default RGB color space will be used as the working space for that image. Always use the default RGB color space as the working color space This option enables the option Use This Instead of Embedded Profile within the Color Management section of the Capture NX Preferences. This option causes Capture NX to automatically convert the image from the embedded profile to the profile as defined in the Default RGB space. You are also provided with the ability to select the profile to use as the Default RGB space: Default RGB Space Use this option to set the RGB space that is used for your images. This profile is used when the Always use the default RGB color space as the working color space option is selected, or if the image's color space cannot be determined when the Use the color 7 Other Nikon Software Operation is not guaranteed if Capture NX is used at the same time as Nikon Capture Editor, the editing tools in PictureProject, or other Nikon image editing software. Nikon User Support Information (U.S.A.) Thank you for choosing Nikon, and welcome to our family of Digital Imaging products. We are confident your Nikon product will meet and exceed the high level of quality, reliability and innovative design you have come to expect from Nikon. Please contact us if you have any questions or suggestions. We value your feedback, and want to be sure you are completely satisfied with your purchase. To assist us in serving you better, we ask that you please register your product on-line at www.prodreg. com/nikon. If you have any questions or suggestions about Nikon Digital Imaging products, please call the Nikon Digital Imaging Hotline: 1-800-NIKON-UX (1-800-645-6689) Technical Support......24 hours a day, 7 days a week Other Services......Mon. through Fri., 10am to 10pm EST computer related issues is free for either six or twelve months from the date of your first call to Nikon, depending on your product. Please ask our Customer Service Representative for details. Also, visit our technical support web site at www.nikontechusa.com for FAQs, software updates, manuals and solution forums. Information on other exciting Nikon products is available at www.nikonusa.com. Technical support and repair services is only available in the United States, the Caribbean, and South and Central America. If you are in this service area but cannot reach our toll free number, please call 1631-547-4311. Software and other items cannot be shipped outside of this service area. Thank you for choosing a Nikon Digital Imaging product. Technical support for your Nikon Digital Imaging product is free. Support for 8 9 U PointTM Technology A key feature in Capture NX is U Point technology. The controls powered by U Point technology enable you to modify sections of a photo directly, without having to go through the time-consuming process of making a mask required in other software applications. C h ap ter 3 U Point technology powers Capture NX's series of Control Points: The Color Control Point, the Black/White/Neutral Control Points, and the Red-Eye Control Point. These Control Points enable you to create color and tonal enhancements directly on the image, without first making selections. You can also see the effects of a Control Point immediately. The Control Points powered by U Point technology enable you to work with your images without the need to perform a complicated series of operations in a particular order. Each Control Point works together with other Control Points of the same type. With every Control Point that you apply to the image comes greater control over specific objects in the image. The more Color Control Points you apply, for example, the greater control you have over color in the image. The additional Control Points ensure that the adjustments you make are being applied to the current object only, and placing a Control Point on an object with default settings prevents other Control Points from affecting that object. While the Black, White, and Neutral Control Points were designed to control the entire image globally, both the Red-Eye and Color Control Points were designed to control elements locally. The Color Control Points work by identifying an object based on a number of criteria. When you place your first Color Control Point, the U Point technology identifies the unique elements of the object on which you place a Control Point, including its position, color, saturation, and texture. By identifying these elements, the Color Control Point can determine the boundaries of the object in order to affect only that object and objects with like elements. Through a unique mixing function, the effects of the Color Control Point are applied throughout the image so as to create a natural-looking, seamless result. On the next page you will find a series of steps showing the original image, the effect of the Control Point, and the selection of the Control Point. U Point Technology 10 C h ap ter 3 Step 1. A Color Control Point is placed on the sky for greater darkness and saturation. Although this Control Point mainly affects the sky, some of the clouds are affected as well. Step 1. Selection U Point Technology Step 2. Next, a Color Control Point is placed to identify the clouds in the image. This new Control Point applies only to tones in the clouds, not the sky, and prevents the first Control Point from affecting the clouds. Step 2. Selection Step 3. Finally, Control Points are added for skin tones and foliage. A Control Point added to the model's face brightens and increases the vibrancy of the skin. Another added to the foliage darkens the leaves and draws attention to the model. Step 3. Selection 11 C h ap ter 3 U Point Technology Before After 12 The Capture NX Interface Editor ( Page 13 ) Bird's Eye ( Page 97 ) File Directory ( Page 37 ) Browser ( Page 29 ) Menu Bar ( Page 113-208 ) Edit List ( Page 43 ) Toolbar ( Page 71-94 ) Photo Info ( Page 99 ) IPTC ( Page 41 ) Camera Settings ( Page 39 ) Image Window ( Page 105 ) Color Picker ( Page 109 ) 13 The Capture NX Interface Capture NX's interface was designed to put all of the important tools for enhancing a digital photograph right at your fingertips. This section contains a brief overview of each of the main elements that make up the Capture NX interface. C h ap ter 4 C h ap ter 4 Editor The main window of Capture NX, the Editor, is the window you see when you are editing images outside of the Browser. Within the Editor you can open and close images as well as access each of the different control palettes. Bird's Eye The Bird's Eye Palette shows either a portion of the image that is visible in the active image window or the position of the area displayed within the Light Table mode of the Browser. The portion of the image or the Browser visible in the active image window is indicated by a red outline within the Bird's Eye Palette. For more information on the Bird's Eye Palette, please see page 97. The Capture NX I nterface The Capture NX I nterface Menu Bar The Menu Bar provides access to nearly all of the features and enhancements within Capture NX. Please see chapters 20 through 28 for information on the features located within each Menu. Edit List The Edit List is the master control list for the features and enhancements of Capture NX. Anything that affects your image will have an entry within the Edit List. Every entry can be removed, altered, or duplicated from this list. The Edit List automatically organizes each entry by Steps. This provides you with the ability to turn on or off one or more steps at any time to monitor the effect of that step on your image. You can selectively apply steps with the selective tools found in the Toolbar, you Toolbar The Toolbar is made up of five smaller Toolbars, each containing tools that provide similar controls. You can use these tools to perform various edits, from zooming to rotating the image to applying enhancements selectively. Please see pages 71-94 for more information on each of the individual Toolbars. 14 can place multiple enhancements within one step by linking enhancements, and you can create batch processes based on the contents of the steps. You can also manually create new steps using the New Step button. The Edit List also contains a special step called the Base Adjustments step. The Base Adjustments step contains all of the enhancements unique to RAW images, as well as enhancements that can be used to prepare your images. For more information regarding the Edit List and all of its uses and features, please see page 43. Camera Settings By opening the Camera Settings Palette, you can see all of the cameragenerated data for the current image, from information regarding the camera that created the image to exposure information. Additionally, the Camera Settings Palette enables you to edit a number of settings which were set within the camera for RAW NEF image files. For a complete description of the Camera Settings Palette, please see page 39. C h ap ter 4 The Capture NX I nterface IPTC The IPTC Palette provides you with a place that you can view, add, or modify information for your images, such as the caption, keywords, categories, and copyright information. Please see page 41 for more information on the IPTC Palette. Photo Info The Photo Info Palette displays the information you choose to display next to your image to help you determine the optimal settings you want to use for each enhancement. The Photo Info Palette contains a live histogram, a graphic interactive display that reflects the statistical makeup of the image. Additionally, through the use of Watch Points, you can monitor the effects of the changes you make to the color values in the image. Please go to page 99 for more information regarding the Photo Info Palette. Browser Capture NX's Browser enables you to browse, sort, and organize your images, as well as to rotate or apply batch processes to multiple images simultaneously. Images can be opened from the Browser into the Editor to provide additional control. Please see page 29 for information on the Browser. File Directory The File Directory provides you with an easy-to-access Palette which displays the contents of an entire folder in the Browser. Please see page 37 for a complete description of the File Directory Palette. Image Window An Image Window displays an image within Capture NX, along with important information and controls for that image. Please see page 105 for information regarding the features and functionality of an Image Window. 15 16 17 Getting Started Opening Capture NX Capture NX can be opened by selecting Capture NX from the Start Menu within Windows or by double-clicking on the application icon in the Applications folder within the Mac OS. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Welcome Screen Open Recent Image Don't Show Again Open Recent Browser New Drag an Image Here (Mac Only) 18 Windows OS: Click on the Start button at the bottom of your screen and select either All Programs (Windows XP) or Programs (all other Windows versions). Navigate to the Capture NX folder and select Capture NX to launch the application. most recent folders viewed within the Browser, with the most recent folder displayed at the top. Other recently browsed folders are displayed beneath that folder in chronological order. Double-click on one of the displayed folders to open that folder immediately within the Browser. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Mac OS: Double-click on the Macintosh HD icon on your desktop and navigate to the Applications folder. Double-click on the Capture NX folder and then double-click on the Capture NX application icon to launch the application. Alternatively, if you have selected to add Capture NX to your dock, simply click on the Capture NX icon within the dock to launch the application. New This section enables you to browse for an image or folder to open within Capture NX. Click on the Open Image button to display an Open Image window. Click on the Open Folder button within the Browser to display a folder browser window, which will enable you to browse for a folder to display within Capture NX's Browser. Welcome Screen Upon launching, Capture NX will display the Welcome Screen, which lists the last files and folders that you accessed, and give you the option to open an image or a folder in the Browser. Drag an Image Here Section The Mac OS version of Capture NX contains an empty area within the Welcome Screen labeled "Drag an image here to open it." Dragging an image into this space from the Mac OS Finder opens that image immediately within Capture NX. In the Windows OS you can drag an image into any part of the Capture NX window to open it. Open Recent Image This section contains a list of the most recent images that were opened within Capture NX. The last image edited can be found at the top of the list, with the remaining images you have edited listed in chronological steps. Double-click on any of these images to open them immediately within the Editor. Don't Show Again Select this checkbox to prevent the Welcome Screen from appearing when Capture NX is launched. You can navigate to the Help Menu at any time, open the Welcome Screen, and uncheck the Don't Show Again box in order to display the Welcome Screen whenever Capture NX is launched. Open Recent Browser This section contains a list of the 19 Browsing and Opening Images Capture NX provides you with a number of ways of locating and opening images in order to enhance them: you can use Capture NX's Browser, you can navigate through your hard disk to locate a file with Open Image, or you can use PictureProject to send one or more images directly to Capture NX to enhance. displayed within the Browser. Once you have found the image you want to edit, double-click on that image. If you would like to navigate to a different window other than the My Pictures (Windows) or the Pictures folder (Mac OS), click on the button within the File Directory frame. This will cause the File Directory Palette to become visible. Within the File Directory Palette you are provided with a full directory list, enabling you to navigate to any folder on your hard drive. C h ap ter 5 Using Open Image By selecting Open Image from the File Menu, you can navigate to any folder on your hard drive and open a single photo. By default, Capture NX will display the My Pictures folder (Windows) or the Pictures folder (Mac OS). Getting Started Using the Browser Capture NX contains an enhanced browser that provides you with advanced labeling, sorting, and editing functions. You can use the Browser to rotate or apply batch processes directly to one or more thumbnails, or you can view multiple images and select the best image from the thumbnails to open directly within Capture NX's Editor. To view the Browser, click on the button of the Browser located at the top of the Browser frame. The Browser will by default display the contents of the My Pictures folder (Windows) or the Pictures (Mac OS) folder. You can then navigate within this folder by double-clicking on any of the folders Using PictureProject Images selected in PictureProject can be opened in Capture NX. Begin by selecting Open with > Add/Remove Program from the PictureProject File menu and adding Capture NX to the program list. Selected images can then be opened by choosing Capture NX from the Open with menu. 20 Window Functionality Within Capture NX Each window within Capture NX provides you with a number of different controls for that window. Grip Edge Drag this edge to reposition the window. Click the button to return the window to its original location. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Resize Control This part of the window enables you to resize the window to suit your needs. Simply click here and drag to change the window's size. Some windows have a maximum and minimum size, which may prevent them from becoming larger or smaller than that maximum or minimum size. Minimize / Maximize Button Minimize/Maximize button Docking button Grip Edge Exiting Capture NX To close the Capture NX window and exit Capture NX, select Exit from the File Menu (Windows) or select Exit from the Capture NX Menu (Mac OS). Resize Control This button either expands or collapses a window. In some situations, the window cannot be collapsed until the operation within the window has been completed. Docking Button This button is visible only when the window has been expanded. This button enables you to undock the window, allowing that window to float freely on your desktop. This can be handy if you utilize two monitors and you want to place the window on the second monitor, or if you want to bring one of the Toolbars closer to your image. By clicking on this button again, you can re-dock the window to its default location. If there are any unsaved images open, a warning message will remind you to save those images. If there are any images that are currently awaiting batch processing, a message will remind you that you have unprocessed images in the Processing Queue. 21 File Format Differences Capture NX supports three different file formats that can be used to save any edited image file: the NEF format, the TIFF format, and the JPEG format. NEF The NEF, or Nikon Electronic image Format, was designed to act as the archive file for your images. The NEF file format saves the complete contents of the Edit List along with the full image information from the original image, and all changes made to the image are stored separately within the file. The NEF format maintains the high level of quality of the original file without any loss in image quality while maintaining a relatively small image size. NEF format images remain nearly the same size as the original image file, regardless of the number of enhancements that are applied within the image. Capture NX utilizes a new cache system with NEF files that helps increase the speed of opening NEF images that were previously edited within Capture NX. This cache system creates a cache file whenever an NEF image is saved which Capture NX can use the next time that image is opened. By utilizing the cache system, Capture NX can utilize cache file data to reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed, thereby greatly increasing the speed of opening NEF images. Please see page 133 for information on the cache system. Please note: Previous versions of not able to display enhancements that are unique to Capture NX within NEF files. If you would like to share your NEF files with someone who does not have a copy of Capture NX, it is recommended that you save a copy of your image into the TIFF or JPEG file format to ensure that all of the enhancements that you have made are available. NEF image files are generated by all Nikon Digital SLR cameras as well as a number of COOLPIX cameras. Some of the Digital SLR cameras offer you the ability to create an uncompressed NEF image file. These uncompressed NEF image files can later be compressed within Capture NX, if you choose, to save additional hard disk space. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Please note: Compressed NEF files cannot be saved in Capture NX as uncompressed NEF image files. RAW FILE SUPPORT Capture NX provides RAW support to the entire line of Nikon digital cameras that produce NEF RAW files. Supported cameras include: COOLPIX 5000 COOLPIX 5400 COOLPIX 5700 COOLPIX 8400 COOLPIX 8700 COOLPIX 8800 D50 D70S D200 D1 D1X D1H D2X D2XS D2H D2HS D70 D100 Nikon Capture and PictureProject are 22 For the latest information on supported digital cameras, visit the Nikon website for your area. For users in the U.S.A.: http://www.nikonusa.com For users in Europe and Africa: http://www.europe-nikon.com /support For users in Asia, Oceania and the Middle East: http://www.nikon-asia.com image (RGB only), and the ability to save the image with RGB or CMYK data. The option to save the image as a 16-bit file is only provided if original image was a RAW or 16-bit file. Changing the image from 16-bit to 8bit will make the image file smaller, but doing so may also reduce the level of quality of the image. It is recommended that you create an 8-bit copy of your image for situations in which only 8-bit files are compatible. Please Note: TIFF saved with CMYK data can only be saved with 8-bits per channel of color information. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started TIFF The TIFF file format is commonly used as a standard for high-quality image reproduction. Saving your image to this format will result in a file that contains the final state of your image as you see it on your monitor, with full image quality. Once an image is saved to the TIFF format and closed, you will not be able to access the contents of the Edit List to make any adjustments to the enhancements that were applied to the image. JPEG The TIFF file format provides you with the choice to compress the image using a lossless compression, the choice to save the file as a 16-bit or an 8-bit One of the most widely used file formats, the JPEG file format enables you to save a greater number of images using the same amount of hard disk space as the other file formats. To create such a small file size, a form of compression is used that irreversibly affects the quality of the image. Because of this compression, it is recommended that you only use the JPEG file format for images that will be distributed electronically, or when a small image file is required. 23 How to Print Printing is very easy in Capture NX. You can select Print from the File Menu at any time to print the current image, or you can select multiple images from within the Browser to create a Print Package. Print Packages are essentially a collection of images printed at the same time, often with more than one image appearing on the same page. Print Packages make the most out of your printer and paper, enabling you to create proof sheets so that you can review and select images based on the output, rather than the computer monitor. Batch Processing Batch Processing is the automatic application of one or more enhancements to a series of images. Typically a photographer will use a batch process to apply a predefined series of adjustments to several images at once. Capture NX supports a number of batch processing methods. You can run a traditional Batch Process, selecting a folder of images and a Settings File to apply to those images, you can copy and paste your enhancements from one image to another, or you can select multiple images in the Browser and apply a Settings File or paste some enhancements directly to those images. One method of applying a batch process is to create a Settings File that contains a series of enhancements to apply to your image. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Creating a Settings File Once you have selected Print from the File Menu, you can identify how to color manage your prints and whether or not you want to create a Print Package. For a complete description of the various settings within the Capture NX Print dialog, please see page 117. Settings Files consist of a series of instructions that Capture NX can use to enhance one or more images in the future. Settings Files are created by identifying enhancements that you want to save from the current image. Later, when you apply the new Settings File to an image or group of images, Capture NX will apply the same enhancements with the same settings 24 to those images, just as if you had applied them to each image individually. Settings Files are often used to apply a unique series of enhancements that can work for a wide variety of images, such as applying a black and white conversion to be used as a basis for an additional enhancement, or adding a warm sepia-tone to the image. To create a Settings File, open an image, either by using the Open Image command or by double-clicking on an image in the Browser. Make whatever enhancements and adjustments that are necessary to the image. Once you have completed the adjustments to the image, you can start creating the Settings File. How to Apply a Batch Process With a Settings File C h ap ter 5 Getting Started Once you have created a Settings File, you can begin applying the enhancements from within that Settings File to any image, either within the editor, within the Browser, or even to a folder on your computer. To apply a batch process in the Editor or Browser, navigate to the Load Settings section of the Batch Menu and locate the Settings File that you want to apply. By selecting the Settings File from this location, you will apply those settings either to the current image in the editor or to the selected files within the Browser. If you are applying a Settings File to multiple images in the Browser, the thumbnails for the images will automatically become updated and a small icon will appear next to each selected image, indicating that it needs to be processed. A Processing Queue window will also appear, enabling you to begin the batch process. Click on the Start button to begin processing the images with the default settings. By default, the batch process will save the Navigate to the Batch Menu and select Save Settings. This will call up the Save Settings dialog window, which includes a representation of the Edit List from the current image, complete with the image settings. Simply check off the different steps from this image that you want to save into the Settings File. Once you have selected all of the enhancements and steps that you would like to apply to additional images, enter a name for the Settings File. While it is recommended that you leave the Settings File in the default folder location, since this will make it easy to locate when you are ready to apply a batch process, you are given the option to select a different location to place the Settings File. For more information regarding the Save Settings command, please see page 182. 25 images with the NEF file format with the same name and in the same folder as the original image. of the range of images in the batch. Perform whatever enhancements you think appropriate to the image, navigate to the Batch Menu, and select Copy Settings. By default, Capture NX will copy all of the enhancements that are applied to the representative image. If you would like to copy only individual enhancements, simply click on an enhancement within the Edit List to highlight it prior to selecting Copy Settings. If you would like to highlight and select more than one enhancement, hold the Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac OS) keys while selecting enhancements from the Edit List. This will select multiple enhancements to be copied once you select the Copy Settings option. After you have copied the desired settings, locate the images to which you want to apply the enhancements. You can either select a different image that you have opened within the Editor, or you can select one or more images from within the Browser. Navigate again to the Batch Menu and select Paste Enhancements. This will apply all of the enhancements that you have selected and copied into the target images. It is important to note that all of the new enhancements will be applied in the same order that they were applied in the representative image, but they will be applied after any enhancements that already existed within the target images. C h ap ter 5 You are provided with the option within the Processing Queue of selecting a different file format, destination folder, and file name. For more information on the Processing Queue, please see page 184. How to Apply a Batch Process by Copying and Pasting Enhancements While Settings Files are very useful if you have a series of enhancements that can be applied to a large number of images, there may be instances where you may want to apply a series of enhancements to a small batch of images. By first enhancing one of the images from the series, you can copy and paste the enhancements to any number of images without going through the process of creating a Settings File. Getting Started To begin the copy and paste method, open an image that is representative 26 How to Apply a Batch Process in the Browser In addition to being able to apply batch processes within the Editor or using the Batch Process feature, Capture NX offers you the ability to apply a batch process directly within the Browser. Begin by selecting and highlighting any number of images from within the Browser. Next, select the Settings file you wish to apply to those images by navigating to Load menu within the Batch menu. After you have selected the Settings File to apply from the Batch menu, the Processing Queue window will appear, enabling you to start the batch process at any point. Once you select the Start button within the Processing Queue, Capture NX will process each of the images that you selected to enhance using the default saving settings. This saves the images using the NEF file format in the same folder location with the same file name. If you would like to change these settings, click on the button within the Processing Queue to display the full set of controls provided within the Processing Queue. You are provided the option within the Processing Queue of selecting a different file format, a different destination folder, and a different file name. For more information on the Processing Queue, please see page 184. C h ap ter 5 Getting Started 27 28 29 The Browser Capture NX contains a very powerful browser that enables you to browse, sort, and organize your images, as well as to rotate or apply batch processes to multiple images simultaneously. C h ap ter 6 The Browser The Browser Inverse Sort Button (Page 30) Sort Menu (Page 34) Folder Menu (Page 31) Label Menu (Page 32) Batch Menu (Page 34) You can access the Browser in two different ways: 1. By clicking on the button on the docked Browser bar. 2. By selecting the Open Folder in Browser selection from the File Menu. Once the Browser is open, you can navigate to different folders in a number of ways: by double-clicking on a folder icon within the Browser window, by using the File Directory Palette or by using the Open command within the Folder Menu of the Browser. 30 Please see page 37 for more information regarding the File Directory feature. the current folder. Folder Back Use the Direct Select Tool to select and move images within the Browser. Use the Hand Tool to pan throughout the Browser. The Zoom Tool enables you to zoom in and out of the Browser, increasing and decreasing the size of the thumbnails. Additionally, while you have selected the Zoom Tool, rolling over an image will cause a larger version of that image to become visible. This button navigates to the last folder that you opened within the Browser. This button is not accessible when viewing the first folder of that editing session. Folder Open C h ap ter 6 The Browser This button opens a list of previously viewed folders. You can then select one of the folders that you previously viewed to quickly navigate to that folder. Folder Forward This button navigates back to the last folder that you viewed before using the Folder Back button. This button is not accessible until you use the Folder Back button once. Inverse Sort Button This button reverses the order of the images displayed within the Browser. You can invert the sort direction at any time, including after using any of the sort options such as the Alphabetical, Date, or Label sorting methods. By right-clicking (Windows) or control-clicking (Mac OS), you are provided with additional controls for your images within a contextual Menu. Opening this Menu on an image within the Browser, you can: Open an image or group of images. Compare images either in the Browser or in the Editor. Please see Within the Browser, you are able to control the location of the current window that you are viewing as well as four Menus that contain controls designed to work specifically within the Browser. Under the four folder buttons are commands that control the location of 31 page 199 for additional information regarding comparing. Label your images. Please see page 32 for additional information on labeling images. Rename your images using the same rename functionality found in the Batch process. Please see page 185 for additional information regarding renaming images. Copy, Paste, and Load settings to apply in a batch process. Please see page 181 for information regarding batch processes. Open Select this option to open a folder browser dialog that enables you to locate a folder to display within the Browser. C h ap ter 6 Open in Split Window Folder Menu The Browser Select this option to open a folder browser dialog that enables you to locate a folder to display in an additional browser window that becomes available next to the current folder. By opening two different folders, you can quickly sort images from one location into another. The Folder Menu within the Browser contains different controls for the view of the current folder. New Folder This option creates a new unnamed folder inside the current folder that you are viewing within the Browser window. 32 View The View sub-Menu enables you to choose from different methods to view the contents of the current folder. the Light Table view. The Bird's Eye Palette is accessible within this view to see your current location in relation to the images on the Light Table. C h ap ter 6 The Browser ROWS DETAILS The Rows view is the default view for the Browser. This view causes the images to become displayed in a row format; resizing the Browser will cause the images to become resorted. This view places important information about each image in a column and enables you to sort by each of the columns. Label Menu LIGHT TABLE The Label Menu within the Browser contains tools to assist you with labeling your images, which is important when it comes time to sort and archive your images. Available Labels Capture NX by default has four labels available within the Label Menu: Unlabeled, Good, Bad, and Maybe. You can personalize and use up to nine labels, plus Unlabeled. Each label has a preset number which indicates the color, shortcut, and icon that is used for that particular label. The shortcut The Light Table view simulates a light table; resizing the Browser will not resort the images. You can navigate both horizontally and vertically through 33 is essentially the number of the label. For example, you can set an image to Unlabeled with the shortcut of 0. To remove an image's label, simply highlight it and press the 0 key on your keyboard. Sort Menu C h ap ter 6 Customize Label Names Use the Sort menu to change the order of images in the Browser. Alphabetical Choose this sort method to arrange the images alphabetically, based on the file's name. Date Choose this sort method to arrange the images chronologically, based on the creation of the image. By Labels This sub-menu contains the current available labels and enables you to choose to display only images labeled with one of those available labels. By selecting any of the options within this Menu, you will switch the view to the Sort By Labels view, which shows a list of all of the possible labels with a Show/Hide Triangle next to the label name. Clicking on the button will expand that label area and show you all of the images with that label. To switch back to the normal view, select one of the other sorting methods, such as Alphabetical or Date. The Browser The Customize Label Names command will open the Customize Label Names dialog. In this dialog you can identify the names of up to nine individualized labels. If you do not want to use a label, simply delete the text within the associated box, and that label will be removed from the Label Menu. 34 Batch Menu C h ap ter 6 The Batch Menu within the Browser contains a duplication of the contents of the Batch Menu from the Menu Bar and enables you to quickly access and apply batch processes to your images. For more information regarding the Batch functionalities of Capture NX, please see page 181. The Browser 35 36 37 File Directory The File Directory displays the files on your hard disk in the same manner as the Operating System, within the Capture NX window, offering file copying and file moving functions. Double-clicking on any folder from within the File Directory will open that folder within the Browser. C h ap ter 7 File Directory 38 39 Camera Settings The Camera Settings Palette contains a list of all of the pertinent information regarding the current image. Within this Palette, you can see information regarding the camera, the time and date the image was shot, the exposure data, as well as the settings made within the camera that affected the current image. Any editable settings are accessible with a pull-down Menu, which you can use to change the settings that you set within your camera. C h ap ter 8 When working with images within the Browser, you can view the image information for the currently selected image within the Camera Settings Palette. When working with images within the Editor, you can access and change settings on the image directly within the Camera Settings palette. Camera Settings 40 41 IPTC The IPTC Palette contains a standardized list of text fields that can be used to indicate the copyright and usage requirements of your images. The contents of the IPTC Palette, named after the committee that created the standard, the International Press Telecommunications Council, was originally designed to simplify and clarify information needed when sharing photographs with different publications. These fields enable you to add important information by attaching labels such as Caption, Keywords, Categories, Credit, and Origin to the image. For more information about IPTC and how it is used, please visit the following web page: http://www.iptc.org/ C h ap ter 9 IPTC You can view and change the contents of the different IPTC fields on images both within the Browser as well as within the editor. When working in the Browser, you can also select multiple images and modify the contents of the IPTC fields of those images directly. Once you are finished adding or editing the IPTC information, simply click OK. Batch Menu Batch processing is available from the Batch menu in the IPTC Palette. The Save Settings... option can be used to save IPTC information for the current image. See pages 181­192 for more on batch processing in Capture NX. 42 43 The Edit List The Edit List is the central location for all of the controls provided within Capture NX. The Edit List stores all of the enhancements that have been applied to your image in chronological order. The Edit List can be used as a history that allows you to go back and modify any of the adjustments that you have previously made to your images. C h ap ter 10 The Edit Li st The Edit List Base Adjustments (Page 44) Batch Menu (Page 66) Enhancement Steps (Page 59) Versions Menu (Page 65) New Step Button (Page 66) 44 Every enhancement that you apply to your images within Capture NX will be recorded within the Edit List. The Edit List contains the following sections: · Base Adjustments Step · Enhancement Steps · Versions Menu · Batch Menu · New Step Button The Edit List is saved with all of the adjustments intact when you save the file as a NEF file. The Edit List also acts as the basis for batch processing your images. See the Batch sections later in this chapter and on page 181 to learn more about how to use the Edit List to create batch processes. Since the Edit List shows a chronological description of the enhancements that have been applied to your image, you can use the Edit List to return to any previous enhancement and adjust the settings. To do this, either doubleclick on the step or enhancement that you want to modify, or single-click on the next to that step or enhancement to display the contents. Once you have displayed the contents of an enhancement, you can modify the settings that were applied. By modifying a previous step, you will temporarily disable all of the steps that occur after the current step you are modifying. Once you have completed any modification to that step, click on the Apply Checkbox next to the last step that you want to reapply. Capture NX will automatically apply all of the steps between the step you have just modified and the last step that you checked. You can then, of course, check or uncheck any steps or enhancements that you wish. C h ap ter 10 The Edit Li st Base Adjustments Step The Base Adjustments step contains RAW specific enhancements as well as enhancements that can be applied to JPEG and TIFF images. The Base Adjustments step can be expanded and collapsed at any time by clicking on the next to the Base Adjustments step in the Edit List. Show/Hide Triangle Apply Checkbox The Base Adjustments step is broken up into five sub-categories. Each of the five sub-categories can be expanded and collapsed at any time by clicking on the next to each of the sub-categories within the Base Adjustments step. · Camera Adjustments (Available with RAW images only) · RAW Adjustments (Available with RAW images only) · Lens Adjustments (Available for all images) · Light & Color Adjustments