Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

Version: LEADViEW version 4.0 (2008)
OS: Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, NT, and XP
Supported file formats: Over 140 file formats, including JPEG 2000
Price level: Approx. $20
Address: Charlotte, NC, United States
www.leadtools.com
Nikon Capture NX
Chapter 10 ■ Image Editors 129
Vendor: Nikon Corporation
Purpose: Image editor for JPEG or TIFF files from any camera, plus RAW conversion and editing
for Nikon NEF files
Description
Much more than a RAW converter, Nikon Capture has become a fully fledged image
editor with tools for adjusting hue, saturation, and lightness using individual editor dialog
boxes. The user interface is a multi-image window that displays a row of thumbnails
above a larger panel containing the currently selected image. Nikon has made excellent
use of Nik Software’s U Point technology, so that you can now adjust black and white
points, dynamic range, and all the dimensions of color across defined areas of the image,
without the need for masks, selections, or layers.
Among its image manipulation tools are fisheye-to-rectilinear image transformation,
which converts pictures made with the AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED lens
into either of two ultra-wide-angle image modes; vignette control to obtain near perfect
center-to-edge-to-corner brightness; and an “image dust off” dust mapping utility
which, once invoked, removes the effect of dust from subsequent images.
Extending functionality still further, Nik Color Efex Pro for Nikon Capture NX adds
a wide range of digital photographic filters (75 in the Complete Edition) grouped into
Traditional filters for mimicking conventional photographic processes and Stylizing filters
for special effects. Nikon Capture NX also has extensive batch-processing facilities
and remote camera control.
Supported file formats include PSD, PMD, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, BMP,
PCX, EPS, PCD, DIB, and TARGA.
Comments
The manipulation of selected parts of the image using U Point technology is a breakthrough
in interface design. This is one of very few software packages that have sufficient
ongoing development, plus the financial backing, to compete directly with Adobe
products. It applies non-destructive image processing to NEF files, but non-Nikon users