Nikon Capture NX

Nikon introduced their latest RAW conversion program yesterday, Nikon Capture NX. I downloaded it and started using it. The interface was quite different than their older program Capture 4.4, but after using it for several hours I was fairly pleased, especially with the black and white images. To put it through it's paces, I decided to play around with some images I took last Saturday at the Metro Camera Club field trip to the OKC Zoo.

Normally I am not much of a nature photographer, but this was a fun challenge. We went early in the morning before the heat and crowds. I used my new 105 mm macro to grab some pictures, and off-camera flash using either one or two SB-800's. This parakeet image was photographed through a wire cage. I set my aperture to properly expose the bird with flash, then adjusted my shutter speed to make the background go dark.

I used Capture NX to process these photos - nothing was done in Photoshop. This is one of the first times I have been able to totally process a picture in something other than Photoshop. The only thing I cannot do in Capture NX is add my copyright text on the image. I thought this photograph would work well for a magazine cover. I left room at the top and left for text.

Next up is a flower photograph. I was in the butterfly garden trying to capture some butterflies but it was still a bit cold for them to be out. So again I used my macro to just capture this flower. I hardly ever do flower pictures, they just don't exite me. I have maybe done 5 in my entire life. I thought this one turned out pretty decent. A tripod would have made it better.



Finally a butterfly landed nearby and just sat there, warming it's wings for the morning. I couldn't get good position on it but at least this shot turned out OK. I don't like the big leaf in the front, but the butterfly ignored my direction to move a bit to the right. Darn.