Nikon D500 - first impressions

[Bjørn Rørslett]

I just have checked PhotoNinja (1.25) vs NX-D (1.41? just downloaded and installed latest version) on a fresh set of D500 NEFs.

In terms of colour, there is little to no difference. I left w/b to Auto and apparently the in-camera setting has followed through also in PN.

As to resolution of detail, NX-D might occasionally be slightly better, but overall contrast tends to be lower, so what is gained first easily is lost later.

PN produces grainer images unless an extra noise-reduction step is taken later. The increased grain and associated contrast boost, however, also may give better rendition of low-contrast detail.

In terms of UI both programs are fiddly and non-intuitive. NX-D is by far the slowest on my Win7/64 box (32 GB, 8 core, SSDs all though).

[Andrea B.]

A nice summary, Bjørn.

I have just one little problem. The newest Capture NX-D will not display my D500 images. You can imagine what I think about that. 

Between Photo Ninja and the older Capture NX2, I could find no real differences in conversion resolution, grain, etc. In all such pairings (old version or new versions) there will be distortion differences because I don't think PN carries lens distortion data.
 

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Download and install again. No problem here with NX-D and D500 files.

[Frank Fremerey]

Bjørn: at first I did not find all the bells and whistles I loved in NX2. But then I graped the underlying logic of NX-D (1.4.0 I use on windows) and it hit me. I can easily use "vivid" style without losing detail and after that do some Unsharp Mask and LCH edit and distortion control and color fine tuning by channnel. Very intersting.

Noise it trouble in PN 133c with D500 files. It means using Noise Ninja which has no proper noise profile for the D500 yet and irons down the details. I speak of files up to ISO 20.000 here.

The NX-D solution is much more elegant, better preserves the details and manages to make the noise look nice and being helpful in downsizing.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Had NX-D deviated from the established Nikon software pattern and run fast and smoothly, I might perhaps be willing to live with its clunkiness. However, it operates at a glacial speed and devours memory with even greater appetite than PhotoNinja.

[paul_k]

A nice summary, Bjørn.

I have just one little problem. The newest Capture NX-D will not display my D500 images. You can imagine what I think about that. 

Between Photo Ninja and the older Capture NX2, I could find no real differences in conversion resolution, grain, etc. In all such pairings (old version or new versions) there will be distortion differences because I don't think PN carries lens distortion data.

If you wish to continue using NX2 for your D500 EF's, this guy might have the solution for you

http://www.bagnon.com/raw2nef/

Works with Nikon Capture NX 2, version 2.4.6, and supports the following cameras: Sony A6000, Sony A7, Sony A7II, Sony A7R, Nikon D750, Nikon 7200, Nikon D810, Nikon D500 and Nikon D5.

I have none of these camera's but in the past downloaded D810 and D750 NEF's to play with. Worked like a charm with those files, with all the options of NX2 available.
I see no reason to expect it to behave different with a.o. D500 NEF's, nor have I so far read any feedback reporting otherwise,

It's free (although you can give a donation if you want) so little risk or investment required as far as that's concerned.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The web site does not go into any detail what is done to the RAW file(s). My guess is that the file header is altered so NX2 believes the file comes from an eligible camera. If that be so, the trick is old news.

[bjornthun]

I see little reason to inject raw files from Sony into CNX2, when they are already natively supported by PhotoNinja, Capture 1 and Lightroom/ACR and more. You will lose support for lens correction and may struggle with less than optimal camera colour profiles as well. The same may apply to Nikon cameras and lenses released after the sad demise of CNX2, sad since since I liked the results from CNX2 when I used Nikon DSLRs.

[John Koerner]

The new DP Review of the Nikon D500 is in.

Result = Gold Award
"The D500 is the most well-rounded DSLR we've ever tested."

In a nutshell, the D500's image quality is only a hair above the finest ASP-C cameras, but its overall handling, rugged durability, and ability to AF and handle "live action" utterly destroys the competition.

Other notable quotes:

• "Cameras such as the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Sony's a6300 appear to offer comparable capabilities on paper, but these appearances prove deceptive in real-world use: the D500's autofocus and continuous shooting performance is noticeably better."
  
  
• "Autofocus is the D500's great strength: along with the D5 it's the best we've ever used. Just as mirrorless cameras appear to be closing the gap when it comes to following simple subjects, the D500 comes and blows them (and its DSLR rivals) all out of the water."
  
  
• " ... as an APS-C sports and wildlife camera, the D500 is without rival, and that puts in on the top of our awards podium."

Enjoy,

Jack

[Erik Lund]

Nice rating, but as mentioned in the D810 - Warning thread; You might want to take care when handling due to the plastic mirror-box and less than adequate mount screws.

[paul_k]

The web site does not go into any detail what is done to the RAW file(s). My guess is that the file header is altered so NX2 believes the file comes from an eligible camera.

That's correct

If that be so, the trick is old news.

True, but for computer illiterate people like me it's a real find though.

I just can open the program, select the original NEF's, and drag them into the drop box. The program copies and renames them, and I'm of to go, without having to do deal with all the necessary trappings myself.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Exiftool is the de facto standard for doing stuff like this. For example, change the camera model to 'Nikon D3' for all NEFs in the current directory, this is the simple command line order to run,

Code: [Select]

EXiftool -model="NIKON D3" *.NEF
I think it's difficult to envision anything simpler to achieve the goal.

Just download the Exiftool program from the author's site www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/ and follow instructions to install it. Phil Harvey, the shy hero behind this gem of utility tool, will listen and if possible implement to nearly all wishes you direct to him. I once had an issue with Fuji RAFs, sent Phil and e-mail, and got an answer within a few hours after he had published a new version of Exiftool capable of dealing with the Fuji files.

[Andrea B.]

Reinstalled NX-D to try again. Bjørn R - thank you for the "cure".

Paul - I do have the Raw2Nef program but had forgotten about it, so thank you for the reminder!

Bjørn T - Agree that I would not try to stuff a Sony file into NX2 because too much would be lost. I think the Raw2Nef works best for Nikon files.

[Andrea B.]

ExifTool is nice, but Raw2Nef makes it easy to configure the conversion you want. You can set up permanent templates.

[bjornthun]

The new DP Review of the Nikon D500 is in.

Result = Gold Award
"The D500 is the most well-rounded DSLR we've ever tested."

In a nutshell, the D500's image quality is only a hair above the finest ASP-C cameras, but its overall handling, rugged durability, and ability to AF and handle "live action" utterly destroys the competition.

Other notable quotes:

• "Cameras such as the Canon EOS 7D Mark II and Sony's a6300 appear to offer comparable capabilities on paper, but these appearances prove deceptive in real-world use: the D500's autofocus and continuous shooting performance is noticeably better."
  
  
• "Autofocus is the D500's great strength: along with the D5 it's the best we've ever used. Just as mirrorless cameras appear to be closing the gap when it comes to following simple subjects, the D500 comes and blows them (and its DSLR rivals) all out of the water."
  
  
• " ... as an APS-C sports and wildlife camera, the D500 is without rival, and that puts in on the top of our awards podium."

Enjoy,

Jack

There is one caveat in the comparison to the mirrorless Sony A6300: The Nikon D500 will have the better AF tracking, but the Sony A6300 won't have front- or back focus issues, so choose your tool wisely.