Equipment Journal: A Surprise from Nikon

Back in June of last year, I wrote a post comparing simple conversions of Nikon RAW files using Adobe Lightroom and Nikon Capture NX-D. I still will pull up Capture NX-D if I’m looking to extract every last bit of image quality from a RAW photo. It does the best job with Nikon files in my humble estimation. Capture NX-D was just a single tool in the workflow, though. It didn’t have the integrated file management of Lightroom. So I never used it to great extent except on a few particular files. I’ve also talked about both how I use Lightroom and my misgivings with it in this post. Because of the doubts I have with Adobe regarding the future of Lightroom Classic CC, I’m always kind of on the lookout for something new that could replace it if they forced me down the cloud-based rabbit hole. Nikon delivered a surprise in that regard yesterday.

In a press release yesterday, Nikon announced the availability of NX Studio. NX Studio is their new (and free!) software meant to offer some of the capabilities of Adobe Lightroom. In addition to being a RAW processor, it offers more database management controls a la Lightroom. Indeed, NX Studio seems to parrot much of Lightroom’s feature set with tools like a slideshow viewer and a map (powered by Google Maps).

I was immediately struck with the idea that this could be a potential option for me if I was ever forced to abandon Adobe if and when they drop Lightroom Classic and only offer the cloud based Lightroom (no Classic). Eager to see what the new program could do, I downloaded a copy (use this link if you don’t want to sign up for any of Nikon’s mailing lists) last night. I was up early this morning to give it a whirl.

I was immediately struck at just how much Nikon wants this to look and feel like a Lightroom user experience. It’s much like Lightroom upon opening it. When one actually starts using the program, it’s obvious that there are differences between them but users will still feel that they aren’t learning a completely new workflow.

I decided to pull up a file that I hadn’t processed previously and run it through both Lightroom Classic CC and NX Studio to see how my normal workflow would go with both programs. This is the classic York Theatre in downtown Elmhurst, IL. It was originally built in 1924 but has seen numerous updates and expansions since then. Photo taken with my Z7 and Nikkor-H C 5cm f2 rangefinder lens back in January.

NX Studio’s image processing functions much like Capture NX-D and the output is similar. With one exception, I think I like the overall look of the Nikon conversion much more. The colors aren’t quite as cartoonish as the LR version and the way I was able to pull up information from the shadows seems much more natural to me. Since the Z7 has gobs of dynamic range information buried deep into the shadows, this is an important distinction. Additionally, NX Studio does better with fine detail (though the old rangefinder Nikkor isn’t really making use of this ability…still love the overall look from the Sonnar design, though).

The one area of the image that I greatly prefer the output from Lightroom is the sky. Using the Dehaze tool in LR, I was able to give more nuanced detail to the clouds that I really like.

In terms of processing usability, I’m going to say that I prefer Lightroom for now. Some of this relates to being used to the Lightroom interface, so I know how to do what I want to do quickly in there. NX Studio functions somewhat like Capture NX-D but I only ever used that for conversions when I was really, really trying to get all I could out of a file. So I’m not proficient with the old program and obviously I’m not with the new one, either. So this could be something that might get better with time and use.

I will say, though, that Adobe’s tools for working on specific parts of the image offer a lot more. Lightroom’s Radial Filters don’t have to be circles like they are with NX Studio’s Control Points and the Paintbrush and Graduated Filters offer two tools that NX Studio doesn’t. So local adjustment is one area that Adobe definitely has a leg up since much of my workflow involves local edits.

As for the database features, I’m going to again say that I’ll probably need a lot more time using NX Studio before I can lend any meaningful commentary on that regard. Initially, I prefer Lightroom’s approach to tagging, geotagging, titling and such. But I use those all. the. time. So they’re second nature. All of those tasks were slower in NX Studio for me. With time, NX Studio’s tools may not seem as clumsy as I gain familiarity with them.

In the end, there’s only two big concerns that I have with NX Studio as a potential Lightroom replacement if Adobe’s business decisions caused me to switch.

The first is that NX Studio only works with Nikon RAW files (though it will work with TIF and JPG files). I have a LOT of RAW files from my days shooting with Canon and Pentax digital cameras. So I question what I would do for workflow with those if I were to switch to NX Studio as my standard workflow option.

The second is that I use and love Negative Lab Pro as part of my film workflow. NLP works as a Lightroom plugin. So if I ditched Lightroom, I’d need to figure out a new way of working with my film files. NLP has been such a superlative product that I’d have a hard time switching to something else.

Those are questions I’ll ponder going forward. For the time being, I’m probably going to use Lightroom Classic CC and NX Studio in parallel and get to know their individual strengths and weaknesses. Life has been such that I’m not shooting much these days, so using both programs for the same files isn’t going to incur too much of a time penalty for me. Hopefully, using them in tandem will give me some answers about how they both integrate into my workflow.

In the meantime, I’ll just say this: “Bravo, Nikon!” I didn’t see this coming and it was a most welcome surprise. Thank you for that!