CaptureNX-D and ViewNX-i - Nikon software updates.

[arthurking83]

Nikon have just released updates to both ViewNX-i and CaptureNX-D.

ViewNX-i is updated from v1.1.0(a) to v1.2.0 now
CaptureNX-D has been updated from v1.3.0 to v1.4.0

LINK HERE.

ViewNX-i is too massive a step down from ViewNX2 for me to contemplate installing it, so I can't comment on it's ability/usability.

CaptureNX-D on the other hand has had a few tweaks done under the hood.
Remarkably, it's actually getting 'usable' to the point that by about version 10.10.10 .. I may actually even like it

Both software have been updated for the about to go to market D5, plus have had some other tweaks .. ViewNX-i to fix a few bugs.
But CNX-D has now had a heal tool added to it .. just like CaptureNX2 had about 10 years ago!
It's basically exactly the same as CNX2's auto brush .. so don't expect PS/CS clone healing qualities about it's operation.
Bit of a disappointment that it still only has a radius of only 100 pixels .. considering the number of megapixels that modern cameras are using.
Works kind'a OK on the one or two images I tested it on .. but as before, and as it was with CNX2 .. it's hit and miss sometimes as to what it automatically selects as the cloned pixels.

It's basically there to eliminate those pesky dust spots, that made CNX-D pretty much useless on it's own. On one quick shot at removing a dust spot on a plain red area at 100pixels wide, the software decided to also include a random piece of bugs leg into the cloned area!
I'm finding it impossible to imagine what hallucinogenic substances the programmers were ingesting at the time they settled on the algorithms for the automatic-ness of the auto healing brush.

eg. I had plain red background(over an area of a few hundred pixels) with a small dust spot clearly surrounded by all red, and the algorithm chose a part of the leg of the insect well over a few hundred pixels away to add into the 'healed' area!
It's easy to reset and try again, and it got it second time.

Anyhow, frustration warning aside .. the other pleasant surprise was that it was far zippier than I remember CNX-D to be with v1.3.0
Note that I've used(or at least tried too) all versions since the beta stage.
Up until v1.3.0(for me) has been completely unusable. Main problem has been the inability for the program to actually start up.
With v1.3.0, I had success, in that it hasn't yet crashed on me at all. But it's slower than glacially slow. It's redefined the term slow.

Bit with the latest version(1.4.0) It's remarkably not as slow .. which it must be stressed, is not the same as fast operation!

navigating to a folder with about 30-ish D800 raw files, it's usable in that it renders the thumbs in a few seconds(still much slower than VNX2 is which does it in a sec or two), and the fist image it automatically lands on and renders on screen takes about 10 or so secs to load(VNX2, about 1 sec)
Much nicer than the minimum 30s to 1 min it used to take to load up .. and the few odd minutes it'd take to render the thumbs as well.
If this keeps up. I'm going to miss the coffee/smoko breaks it used to allow me to do in the time it needed just to open up.

Also, image adjustments felt a lot faster .. even the dreaded auto retouch and noise reduction tools.

Summary for each of the new products:

ViewNX-i: who cares, I don't, you shouldn't .. don't bother(it's pretty much the silliest program Nikon have ever allowed into the wild).
CaptureNX-D: it's nothing like what CaptureNX2 is like in terms of ability to tweak/edit an image. It's still glacial compared to what Nikon used to offer, but it's slowly getting there(ie. better).
They're slowly adding new tools, and obviously tweaking performance.
Once they add a localised brush tool of any kind, it'd make for the type of program that is getting close to an all rounder .. for those that are looking for something usable and free for Nikon's raw file types.

ps. you could use it on jpgs and tiffs if you really needed too, but why bother! .. get the free CS2 for that. The only real reason for using CNX-D is that you are working on Nikon's raw file types(NEF and NRW).

pps. there is also a new Nikon raw codec, but as the only change is for the D5, it's not really worth mentioning it .. unless you have or a planning to get D5!