What s New in Capture NX Thank you for downloading the latest version of Capture NX, with support for Picture Controls and other new features. Please note the following changes to the manual. En Camera Settings (Page 39) Changes to the settings in the Camera Settings palette are no longer supported. Adjustments to RAW files can be made in the Base Adjustments step. Previous versions Current version 1
Base Adjustments Step (Page 44) Note the following changes to Camera Adjustments and RAW Adjustments. Camera Adjustments RAW ONLY (Page 45) Clicking the triangle to the left of Camera Adjustments displays the Picture Control sub-step. The Picture Control sub-step contains Non-Picture Control and Picture Control options. Non-Picture Control options are not available with cameras that support the Picture Control system. Picture Control RAW (D-SLR) ONLY Nikon s unique Picture Control system makes it possible to share image processing settings among compatible devices and software. Select from the supplied Picture Controls listed below, or make independent adjustments to sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue. These settings can be saved under new names as custom Picture Controls to be recalled or edited at will. Custom Picture Controls can also be saved to a memory card for use in compatible software, and software-created Picture Controls can be loaded into the camera. Any given set of Picture Controls will produce nearly the same results on all cameras that support the Nikon Picture Control system. Capture NX provides you with the ability to select the specific Picture Control to apply to your images and the ability to finetune the end result for more precise control. Unchanged This is available only for cameras that utilize the Picture Control system and allows you to select the settings set within the camera at the time the image was captured. Standard Standard processing for balanced results. Neutral Minimal processing for natural results. Vivid Pictures are enhanced for a vivid, photoprint effect. Monochrome Convert pictures to monochrome photographs. D2XMODE1, D2XMODE2, D2XMODE3 Use these optional Picture Controls for colors that resemble those produced by the color mode settings available with D2X and D2Xs cameras. Note that custom Picture Controls based on these controls can only be used in the camera if the unmodified D2X mode Picture Controls are copied to the camera first. These optional D2X mode Picture Controls can be downloaded from a Nikon website. 2
Picture Controls can be adjusted using the following options: Quick Adjust The Quick Adjust slider adjusts the Sharpening, Contrast, and Saturation sliders to recommended values to match the enhancement created by the Picture Control. Move the slider to the left to decrease sharpening, contrast, and saturation, right to increase. The Quick Adjust slider is not available with Neutral and Monochrome Picture Controls. Manage Picture Control Menu The Manage Picture Control Menu can be used to save, load, and manage customized Picture Control options. Clicking this icon displays the following options: Save as a new Custom Picture Control Create a new custom Picture Control for use with other images. The new Control will be added to the Picture Control pull-down menu. Please note that Quick Adjust is not available with custom Picture Controls. Load Custom Picture Control Settings Load an existing custom Picture Control settings file created with the camera and saved to the memory card. The Control will be added to the Picture Control menu. Please note that Quick Adjust is not available with custom Picture Controls. Launch Picture Control Utility Launch the Picture Control Utility application, which is installed automatically with the latest version of Capture NX. The Picture Control Utility can be used to create and modify custom Picture Control Settings as well as to import custom settings from or export custom settings to a D3 or D300 memory card. Click the Picture Control Utility help button for details. Reset Reset the selected Picture Control to default values. Advanced The controls in the Advanced section can be used to fine-tune sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue for the selected Picture Control. Click the triangle next to Advanced to access the additional controls. Sharpening Control the sharpness of outlines. Select Auto Sharpening to optimize sharpening for the current image, or disable Auto Sharpening to adjust sharpening using the slider. Move the slider left ( ) to decrease sharpening, right ( + ) to increase. Contrast and Brightness Adjust contrast and brightness. Select Auto Contrast to optimize contrast for the current image, or disable Auto Contrast to adjust contrast using the slider. Move the slider left ( ) to reduce contrast, right + ) to increase. Move the Brightness slider left ( ) to reduce brightness, right ( + ) to increase. Contrast and brightness can not be adjusted if active D-lighting is in effect or the Picture Control Utility has been used to select a custom tone curve for the current Picture Control. Saturation and Hue Make adjustments to color saturation and hue. Select Auto Saturation to optimize saturation for the current image, or disable Auto Saturation to adjust vividness using the slider. Move the slider left ( ) for less vibrant colors, right + ) for more vivid colors. The hue slider can be used to adjust overall hue without affecting brightness or saturation; move the slider left ( ) to make skin tones more red, right ( + ) to make skins tones more yellow. 3
Filter Effects MONOCHROME ONLY Adjust the contrast of monochrome images by emulating the use of colored filters in black-and-white film photography to alter the relationships of colors within the image. The following options are available: Off: Restore default black-and-white settings. Yellow: Emulates the effects of a yellow filter, causing yellow objects to appear brighter and blue objects to appear darker. Use for brighter skin tones. Orange: Emulates the effects of an orange filter, brightening orange objects and darkening blue and violet objects. Use for landscape shots featuring blue skies. Red: Emulates the effects of a red filter, brightening red objects and darkening cyan objects. Use for strong contrast in sunlit scenes. Green: Emulates the effects of a green filter, causing green objects to become brighter and magenta objects to become darker. Use for brighter foliage and more restrained tones in skin and lips. Toning MONOCHROME ONLY Choose a tint for monochrome images. Black-and-white: Create black-and-white images. Sepia: Create sepia images. Cyanotype: Emulates the traditional cyanotype process to create blue-tinted images. Red: Create images with a red tint. Yellow: Create images with a yellow tint. Green: Create images with a green tint. Blue Green: Create images with a turquoise tint. Blue: Create images with a cyan tint.. Purple Blue: Create images with a violet tint. Red Purple: Create images with a magenta tint. Toning Saturation MONOCHROME ONLY Adjust the vividness of the tint selected in the Toning menu. Move the slider left for a more subtle tint, right for a very strong, vibrant effect. Non-Picture Control The following controls are available: Sharpening Alter sharpening from the setting in effect when the picture was taken. Choose from: Unchanged: Restore the sharpening in effect when the picture was taken (the D1 does not record the setting in effect when the picture was taken, making this setting equivalent to None when editing pictures taken with the D1). None Low Medium Low (D-SLR only) Normal Medium High (D-SLR only) High 4
Tone Compensation Alter tone compensation from the setting in effect when the picture was taken. Choose from: Unchanged: Restore the tone compensation in effect when the picture was taken. Low Contrast Medium Low (D-SLR only) Normal Medium High (D-SLR only) High Contrast User Defined Custom Curve: Use a user-defined custom curve (available only when D-SLR cameras are used with optional Camera Control Pro 2 software). Color Mode Choose from the Color Modes supported by the camera. Color modes grant fine control over chroma, brightness, and color gamut, creating effects comparable to the different types of film stock available to film photographers. Saturation Alter saturation from the setting in effect when the picture was taken. Choose from: Unchanged: Restore the saturation in effect when the picture was taken. Moderate Normal Enhanced Hue Adjustment Alter overall hue by 9 to +9 without affecting brightness or saturation. Skin tones will become increasingly yellow as this value is raised above 0. Values below 0 produce redder skin tones. An asterisk ( * ) will be displayed next to the values in effect when the picture was taken. To restore the setting in effect when the picture was taken, select Unchanged or the setting marked with the asterisk, or remove the Picture Control Apply checkbox in the Edit list. RAW Adjustments (Page 50) In the latest version of Capture NX, the White Balance feature has been updated and moved into the RAW Adjustments subsection of the Base Adjustments step and a new feature called Active D-Lighting has been added. 5
White Balance RAW (D-SLR) ONLY (Page 46) A Sodium Vapor Lamp option has been added to the Set Color Temperature menu, and a High Color Rendering Mercury Vapor (7,200) has been added to the Fluorescent sub-menu. A Tint slider has been added for the Set Color Temperature option, allowing green or magenta tints to be removed from RAW photographs taken with D-SLR cameras. Move the slider left ( ) to reduce green and increase magenta, or right ( + ) to reduce magenta and increase green. Active D-Lighting Active D-Lighting is a new feature distinct from the D-Lighting options found in both the Light & Color Adjustments sub-step as well as in the Adjust > Light main menu. It is available only with RAW photographs taken with the camera Active D-Lighting option enabled. Active D-Lighting is designed for situations in which it is difficult to capture detail in both highlights and shadows. If Active D-Lighting is enabled on the camera when a photograph is taken, the image will be underexposed to preserve highlight information. If that image is later processed in Capture NX, Active D-Lighting will be applied to brighten the shadows and create the appropriate levels of tonality throughout the image, resulting in an image in which details are present in both highlights and shadows. Choose from the following options: Unchanged Restore the setting in effect when the picture was taken. None Active D-Lighting is not applied. The image will be darker than originally recorded by the camera. Low Apply a low level of Active D-lighting. Normal Apply a moderate level of Active D-Lighting. High Apply a high level of Active D-Lighting. Lens Adjustments (Page 52) Note the following changes to Vignette Control and Fisheye Lens: Vignette Control D-SLR ONLY (Page 53) Vignette Control is now available with TIFF and JPEG images. The amount of marginal lumination can be adjusted. Photographs taken with type G or D lenses will be optimized according to the distance information provided by the lens. Fisheye Lens (Page 53) Fisheye Lens (Page 53) This option modifies photographs taken with AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5 f/2.8d and now with AF Fisheye-Nikkor 16-mm f/2.8d lenses so that they appear to have been taken with a wide-angle rectilinear lens. 6
Lossless Compression (Pages 114, 115, 188, and 190) A Lossless Compression option is now available in the Batch Processing, Watched Folder, and Save As dialogs when saving images in NEF format. Lossless compression is available in the Save As dialog only when saving images taken using the uncompressed NEF (RAW) image quality setting on D-SLR cameras; compressed NEF (RAW) images can not be re-saved using lossless compression. Batch Processing dialog Watched Folder dialog xxxxxx(11) 6MXXxxxx-- 7