Nikon NX studio

[John Geerts]

Boring. Installation was "successful", but after installation I could find no trace of the software, no shortcut, etc. Can somebpdy tell me where (which folder, in Win 10) the files are installed by default?

Yes I had to search to find it too...  Only after restart the program logo is visible in my taskbar

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The current NX Studio looks like a late Alpha Release almost read for Beta Testing. Is this familiar?

I don't really agree, I think NX Studio is more mature than ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D ever got, neither of which update the list of files in the directory being worked on in a timely manner. When exporting files using NX-D to create TIFFs, if the output is in the same directory as the originals, I have to close the app and restart it before the output becomes visible in the thumbnails. In ViewNX-i, if I grade the images with numbers are remove all the 2's, for example, and turn off filters, it can take 10 minutes before it updates the displayed thumbnails. I've learned a "trick" to get around that by moving to a different directory and then back to the one which I was working on, that usually results in the files being shown. But these kind of problems I have not run into with NX Studio. It appears to be a much more stable foundation to build software on. And I like it a lot. Simple, just works, no crashing, no "taking a lunch break before showing the images to the user".

The crop tool does need improvement.

[Airy]

Yes I had to search to find it too...  Only after restart the program logo is visible in my taskbar

The old proven reboot procedure did not yield anything... no files, no shortcut. Bizarre.

[Ethan]

It is quite good for a first release.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The old proven reboot procedure did not yield anything... no files, no shortcut. Bizarre.

Hmm.

C:\Program Files\Nikon\NXStudio is the directory where the application NXStudio.exe has been installed.

The installation put the link to the program to the Start Menu, including the recently added section at the top, there is also a NX Studio subsection of the Start Menu where it is. I dragged and pasted the link from Recently added to the tiles on the right so it'll be easy to find. NX Studio also got an icon on the desktop.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

It works great for non pro image manipulation and will serve all Nikon social media posters.

I think social media posters are quite a heterogeneous group of people. ;-) We are posting on this forum which is a kind of social media. Some posters do minimal edits on a phone, some do extensive post-processing in Photoshop or equivalent.

[Øivind Tøien]

+A couple of nice discoveries improved over CNX-D:
It is now possible to choose background shades of gray for thumbnails and image preview.
One can now choose to save adjustments either as sidecar files or into the NEF files. (However jpg preview in the NEF did not appear to be updated, could be a bug or feature.)

- As Ikka commented, undo is not possible. It is always grayed out in the menu. Thus it seems likely that this is a feature that was not completed in time (or there is a bug). It seems unlikely that this will not be fixed with time, but it presently looks like an unacceptable omission for professional use.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

Since the edits are non-destructive, I don't necessarily "must have" Undo. But the crop tool not being integrated with rotate (as it was in NX2) and not allowing refinements after initial commitment to a framing looks very 1.00.

Perhaps we could suggest Nikon to allow a Lightroom-like "virtual copy" concept to be implemented; in this, multiple sidecar files would be introduced and one could choose to keep different versions of the edits without losing the access to the raw conversion settings.

I am just glad that the update thumbnail problem seems to be gone and that the program offers integrated browsing and more comprehensive raw conversion settings than ViewNX-i did. I'll still use LR and PS a lot, as I need LR for printing multiple images on one sheet of paper in an easy and automated way, and PS for access to more comprehensive retouching and sharpening tools as well as masks, but this simplifies the initial stages of editing for me and makes Nikon algorithms more accessible.

I think it may be a good idea to send bug lists and feature wishes to Nikon customer feedback, such as:
- if crashed or not installed correctly, which computer and OS was used?
- crop tool needs to be grown to NX2 level (i.e. can be readjusted at will at any time, integrated rotate by turning from sides or corners)
- undo should be available
- multiple sidecar files per one NEF file i.e. similar to Lightroom's Virtual Copies
- keyboard shortcuts
- interfacing with other software: the tags added in different software should be readable (I know this means some coordination between software makers is needed, but do it anyway)

[Matthew Currie]

I have a small question, which may or may not be answerable by any here:

When I travel, I use a rather antiquated little "netbook" running Win 7, and because my cameras came with it and it's a little less dreadfully slow, I still have a copy of VNX-2 for basic raw operations.  I know that VNX-i is said to overwrite it and have never installed it.  I do have CNX-D on that and my other computers, and the two run together.  I keep VNX-2 because it processes files differently, and for certain very basic operations its a little faster and simpler  (the netbook is not just slow - it's glacial!).

So my question is, does anyone know whether the new NX Studio overwrites VNX-2?  If so, can one reinstall VNX-2 without conflict?  I know I can get used to not having it, but would be happy to keep it if possible.

Meanwhile, I pine for the day that someone manages to make a cheap little Chromebook equivalent that runs Windows.

[Birna Rørslett]

The more serious issue is that NX Studio will not install under Win7   Nikon has a long tradition of restricting their software to the latest OS generation.

I still keep some Win7 boxes for heavy data lifting and no-nonsense non-bloated operation.

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The more serious issue is that NX Studio will not install under Win7   Nikon has a long tradition of restricting their software to the latest OS generation.

I still keep some Win7 boxes for heavy data lifting and no-nonsense non-bloated operation.

Right, but my understanding is that Win 7 is no longer a supported version and thus it could become a security risk if new holes are found. At least my employer notified about 1.5 years ago that Win 7 computers cannot be used on the network and if we do, the IT can disable such computers.

[Birna Rørslett]

They run under a closed network section. No 'net access.

[Birna Rørslett]

The 'Map View' feature of NX Studio is quite useful, by the way. And how nice it would be to have dockable windows. Never been a fan of monolithic software in terms of UI.

[Matthew Currie]

I realize Studio won't run under Win 7, which is why I am wondering whether it will clobber the View NX2 I have on Win 10, which I keep for compatibility with the version I have on Win 7, or whether I must stick with Capture NX-D (which does run on 7), but seems to work even slower there than the snail's pace of NX2.

[David H. Hartman]

Stupid: Very Stupid!

Because the shift key is used to view at 100% pixels a host of keyboard shortcuts no longer work and worse have no new or replacement keyboard shortcut. The only way to access the features that lost their shortcuts is to use the menu system.

Example: Ctrl + G to toggle grid in CNX-D. In MX Studio View> Image viewer options> (x) Show grid. No keyboard shortcut

Have I missed something? Am I talking trash?

There is a grid button on the lower edge but still no keyboard shortcut. I will survive!

Dave

More study needed.