Nikon rep told me that Capture NX-D better than Elements with raw files

[gomerhodge]

I recently upgraded from Elements 10 to Elements 15, and, not being very technically-minded, I've been stressed by adapting to that change. Now, a Nikon rep (I called them for something related to their View NX-i software), told me that their Capture NX-D is better at working with Nikon raw files than is Elements. Now I'm really stressed. Is that true?

[ssprengel]

Try it yourself and see if you prefer it:

http://downloadcenter.nikonimglib.com/en/download/sw/101.html

I use Canon, but from what I am reading online, NX-D will know more Nikon-specific camera settings, but it has minimal if any retouching tools, so whether you prefer it to Elements probably depends on if you want to do retouching (change small areas of the photo independent of the overall photo) or want to have the settings you’ve made in the camera be reflected exactly in the raw photo before you start.

[John Waller]

Now, a Nikon rep ... told me that their Capture NX-D is better at working with Nikon raw files than is Elements. Now I'm really stressed. Is that true?

In all fairness, what else is a Nikon rep expected to say about Nikon software? Of course they'll say it's better. They always will. That's their job. There may be some truth to it since you'd expect Nikon software to get more out of Nikon files and algorithms compared to 3rd party software like Elements but does any of that make any difference to you the consumer?

I'm a Canon user. Canon make the same claims about their software but I don't know anyone who uses Canon software.

Do you like the results Elements gives you? If yes, great.

If you cannot find any independent reviews online (since camera manufacturer's own software is a niche market) try them both yourself.

At the end of the day, do you enjoy using the software? That's what'll keep you going back to it.

[AndHund]

I have used LR, DxO PhotoLab, Capture One, AcdSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018 and they are very nice and very advanced tools for photo editing. But one thing is absolutely clear to me, Capture NX-D gets the best out of Nikon NEF files.

Generally when processing in Captuer NX-D you get images that are more detailed, crisper and have a better color balance out of the box. I'm sure you can obtain similar results with the other tools, but in my experience it takes more work. On the other hand Capture NX-D is not as advanced as the other tools.

[McClenahan]

It's true that NX-D has better image quality than Lightroom. However, Lr is much faster and has more advanced editing tools.