What Lightroom version is needed for Nikon z8 raw files to be imported?

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
June 25, 2023
3 replies
10593 views

Hi I just got my hands on the new Nikon Z8 and of course when I go to upload the raw images from the camera into my Adobe Lightroom Version 6 it will not? It finds the Z8 as the souce, shows the files but not a preview and then when you click import it says "The file cannot be opened by Lightroom" Do I need a different version of Lightroom for the Z8? Do I need to download Nikon's software? Please help! Thanks!

macOS

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DdeGannes

Community Expert

If I was in your position my choice would be upgrade to the Adobe Photography Plan and you will have access to Photoshop with Bridge and Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom (cloud-based) app, Lightroom Mobile for Tablet and Smartphone. Lightroom 6 just does not have the features necessary for you to benefits from your new Camera model.

I you are still unwilling to move to the subscription model of Lightroom the the next option to consider is to purchase Nikon software and use that to convert your RAW files to tiff images and import to Lightroom 6 and use that to manage your files. This will preserve your prior work.

Regards, Denis: iMac 27” mid-2015, macOS 11.7.10 Big Sur; 2TB SSD, 24 GB Ram, GPU 2 GB; LrC 12.5,; Lr 6.5, PS 24.7,; ACR 15.5,; (also Laptop Win 11, ver 24H2, LrC 15.0.1, PS 27.0; ) Camera Oly OM-D E-M1.

Jim Wilde

Community Expert

Which "Lightroom Version 6" are you using? The version that uses local storage that Adobe stopped supporting around 2018, or the cloud storage version of Lightroom which was introduced in 2017 and is now coincidentally at version 6?

If you are using the old unsupported version, that will never be able to read raw files from the Z8. In which case your only Adobe options are either to take out a subscription plan for Lightroom Classic (which is the successor to LR6 and is now at version 12), or use the free stand-alone Adobe DNG converter to convert your proprietary raw files to DNG, which LR6 will then be able to process.

However, if you are using the newer cloud-centric version of Lightroom, make sure you are using either version 6.3 or the current 6.4 version, both of which support the Z8.

J

janelledarnell1Author

Participant

Hi, thank you for the info. It is the old unsupport version, no cloud. If I use the free stand-alone Adobe DNG converter to convert the raw to dng will any quailty be lost on the images?

D Fosse

Community Expert

A DNG and an NEF contain the exact same sensor data, just rewrapped. As such, you don't lose anything, it would be "as if" Lightroom 6 could read the proprietary NEFs from the camera.

However, you do lose a lot of potential quality by using such an old Lightroom version! The raw processing engine has been massively improved over time, and the current versions are a different paradigm altogether.

In other words, you're asking the wrong question...

Per Berntsen

Community Expert

The Nikon Z8 requires Lightroom Classic 12.3 or later.

Lightroom Classic (LrC) is only available by subscribing to the Photography plan, at $10 a month.

Alternatively, you can use the free Adobe DNG Converter which will convert copies of your NEF files to DNG files, which can be read by Lightroom 6. You'd have to set Compatibility to Camera Raw 7.1 and later in the DNG converter preferences.

Although this will let you import the files, you'll be missing out on all the new features and improvements that Lightroom has had since version 6.