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Brian24310221wnrd
Participant
January 30, 2023
Question

Photoshop CS4 fails NEF files

  • January 30, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 760 views

Hi  all. I have a copy of CS4 purchased in about 2010 when I bought my IMac computer. The computer hard drive failed about 12 months ago and had to be replaced. After the repair,  which included an upgrade to High Sierra 10.13 I reloaded the CS4 and it seems to work OK except that before the failure I was able to upload NEF raw files.  This gave me a screen that allowed changes to colour temperature, exposure, and shadow (blacks) enhancement. At that time I used various cameras upto a Nikon D700. I now have a D800 but the Photoshop will not recognise the NEF files, what am I missing and is it possible to get this initial screen back. I am a retiree who likes photographt and cannot afford to upgrade Photoshop, the CS4 does what I need.

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5 replies

Jeff Arola
Community Expert
Jeff ArolaCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 30, 2023

You can get the Adobe DNG Converter 12.4 which should work on High Sierra

and handle the Nikon D800 nefs from here:

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/dng/mac

    gener7
    Community Expert
    gener7Community Expert
    Community Expert
    January 30, 2023

    ACR 5.7 was the latest for CS4 and it only went as far as the D700 You will need the DNG Converter.

    You can still download the updater:

    http://download.adobe.com/pub/adobe/photoshop/cameraraw/mac/5.x/Camera_Raw_5_7_updater.dmg

     

    It seems the current DNG converter is for MacOS 10.15 and I have no idea where to find it for Sierra, but if you can get it you can process your D800 NEFs.

     

      D Fosse
      Community Expert
      D FosseCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 30, 2023

      Ah, yes, I remembered it incorrectly: it wasn't CS4 > CS5; it was CS5 > CS6. So there was an additional ACR 6.7 for CS5 with D800 support.

       

      In other words, for CS4 you need the DNG converter whatever the ACR version.

       

      Not that there's anything wrong with that. A DNG contains exactly the same sensor data as the NEF. You're not losing anything.

        Imaginerie
        Community Expert
        ImaginerieCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 30, 2023

        I don't know if it will help (I am not familiar with MacOS versions)

        But you can update ACR, even for older versions of Photoshop

        See if you find an installer that fits (scroll down for older versions)

        https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-in-installer.html#ten_five

        D Fosse
        Community Expert
        D FosseCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 30, 2023

        I still remember the D800. It came on the market about the same time as CS5 - but at the time the D800 completely revolutionized the DSLR market, to such a degree that Adobe made an exception to their normal policy: they post-released an ACR update for CS4 as well.

         

        So the ACR update you need for CS4 is the very last one. If you can still get it (I don't know).

         

        Other than that it's the DNG converter.

        Abambo
        Community Expert
        AbamboCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 30, 2023

        It seems that during the lifetime of CS4, there were several updates to Adobe Camera Raw and that your camera got support during some of those updates. You may now have no more that update available, or that update may not have come up until now, so that Camera Raw fails with your NEF flavour.

         

        Check which version of Camera Raw first supported your camera. You could try the update feature with Photoshop to get the latest update patches, if they are still available for your version of Photoshop.

         

        A workaround will be to use the DNG converter to convert your NEF files to DNG files. The DNG files should be supported without a problem. It's not optimal, but a working solution. It works even with the most modern camera and older Adobe software.

        ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
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