Nikon Capture NX2 review

Nikon Capture NX2 is the latest version of the camera manufacturer's Raw converter.

It's an excellent application with some unique features, but unless you're a Nikon owner, you won't be able to take full advantage of them because the only Raw import format it supports is Nikon's .nef.

NX2 can be used with Jpeg and Tiff files, but without Raw data to work on, tools such as white balance and highlight recovery will deliver only a fraction of their full potential.

The workspace is arranged as a series of collapsible palettes arranged on both sides of an edit window, Folders, metadata and thumbnail browsers appear on the left, while the zoom navigator, edit list (adjustments) and histogram are on the right. These can be arranged for dual-screen working, but fit comfortably on a 15in MacBook Pro display.

Develop settings provide colour balance adjustment, Nikon's Picture Control presets, exposure compensation adjustments, and camera and lens corrections. A Quick Fix section automatically applies tonal adjustments that you can subsequently tweak. Highlight and shadow recovery is on a par with other applications, but lens correction tools lack the sophistication of every other application on test except Canon's Digital Photo Professional.

One area in which Nikon Capture NX2 excels is targeted adjustments. In previous versions, a selection technology called U-point, also found in Nik Software's Photoshop plug-ins, was used to control colour adjustment in defined areas of the image. This has now been extended and new selection control points can be used to selectively apply any adjustment from the Adjust or Filter menus.

Control points require much less effort than conventional selection tools and you can define accurate masks in a few clicks. If it's not quite working, you can paint on the mask overlay using a selection brush to add to or subtract from it.

As it stands, Nikon Capture NX2 is worth serious consideration if you're shooting .nef files with Nikon hardware. It's a shame Nikon doesn't support Raw formats other than .nef. If it only offered DNG import, it would be an option worth considering regardless of your camera choice.