CNX2

[Goatch]

Hi guys , haven't been around a lot due to an extremely slow and painfull internet speed but now with the new NBN Sky Muster satellite things will change .
Now I have avoided the whole Nikon discontinuing support for CNX2 up till now , after my D7000 and 24-70 was stolen by some low life a while ago I have finally
bitten the proverbial and lashed out on a D7200 , so now the whole CNX2 NEF RAW issue is haunting me , Capture NXD obviously doesn't have anywhere near the same
ease of use or results as NX2 , has anyone found a work around or am I just being a dinosaur , I loved CNX2 for it's simple use and good results for minimal effort
without having to go into the whole layer processing (I have Adobe Photoshop Elements).
Anyone have any input ?
Cheers
Goatch

[I @ M]

I read somewhere a while ago, can't remember where though, that there is a way of fooling CNX2 into believing that the files come from an earlier supported model. Perhaps have a google around that subject or alternatively use NXD to do the raw conversion and then save the file as a TIFF to be further refined in CNX2.
It is a bit of a convoluted way of doing things but off the top of my empty head it appears to be at least one work around.

AK83 might have some ideas --------

[arthurking83]

I would do as Andrew described. Work in TIFF format in CNX2.

I remember a small program to convert files into NEF format for older Nikon software .. just checked, and it's called raw2nef.

It supports a few camera models, but not all, and the cameras it does support need to be able to produce 14bit NEF files, ie. D7200 is ok, but D3400 is not as D3400 doesn't produce 14bit NEFs!
So it's important to shoot your raw files in 14bit mode too.

Couple of things that are important to note if you want to use Raw2Nef:

1. you need to have installed Microsoft's V C++ 2015(or whatever the latest version is) with the current downloadable version of R2N.
2. you must have CNX2 version 2.4.6. The later v2.4.7 doesn't work with the converted NEF files(it throws an error).
3. because of the way it works, the camera model will change in the EXIF data.
D7200 conversions are based on the D7100, so your D7200 files will say that a D7100 was used to create them. D750 uses the D610, and D810 uses the D800 for the base templates.
For me this is important info to keep track of, and the best way to keep track of what camera took what image, I always use the camera model as a prefix to the file name!
So that all my D800E files have the filenames: D800E_DSCxxxx, D300 files are D300_DSCxxxx, etc.

Setting up Raw2Nef:
pretty easy. it doesn't install itself. you just extract it to your preferred location and run the exe from there. There are 32 bit and 64bit version for Win, and also a Mac version.
(the dev may have updated the program tho and maybe doesn't offer the 32bit version any more .. check. But most PC's now mainly use 64bit Windows)

If you also like to use ViewNX2 just for viewing and stuff, note that it can't do anything much with the converted NEF file. The principle is similar to if you save any NEF file using CNX2 with VNX2.
That is, once an NEF is saved using CNX2, VNX2 can't subsequently edit the file, other than to add some metadata(ratings, keywords, whatever)
It may appear that you can adjust some primary camera function, but you can't. It'll probably remove the preview image off the screen and display 'unsupported file type'.

Apart from the inability to use CNX2 v2.4.7(last update), I can't remember any issues using CNX2 v2.4.6.

The rest of the Raw2Nef settings all make sense when you hover your mouse over the relevant boxes.

Hope it works out for 'ya!

[Goatch]

Cheers for the reply's , I currently have NX2 V 2.4.7 loaded on the puter , I shouldn't have any issues uninstalling 2.4.7 and loading up 2.4.6 instead ? Or is that a loaded question , ie try it and see LOL

[arthurking83]

You shouldn't.

The only thing to have handy is your product key.
You have to uninstall 2.4.7, it removes your key, so when you re-install 2.4.6 then it asks for the key again.

(that's what happened to me, anyhow!)

[Goatch]

Cheers mate

[aocc]

Hi Goatch I have just got a D7200 (and loving it!) did you get the NEF/NRW sorted? I have been using View NX@ and although it says NEF/NRW files it still wont recognize them? at the moment I am shooting in Jpeg.
Cheers
Andrew

[arthurking83]

..... I have been using View NX@ and although it says NEF/NRW files it still wont recognize them? at the moment I am shooting in Jpeg.
Cheers
Andrew

ViewNX2 won't recognise any NEF files from Nikon cameras that are newer than the D5500.
That was in early 2015(Jan I think).
D7200 came out at the same time that Nikon changed their software solution from VNX2/CNX2 to CNX-D/VNX-i.

I'm fairly sure that the last camera to be updated into the VNX2 environment was the D5500.

You can use CNX-D to view and (basic) edits on D7200 NEF files.

Also note tho, that you can see the D7200 NEF file via VNX2 as well .. just that you can't do anything to those D7200 NEF files.
ViewNX2 has this system where you can set it to view/operate directly on the RAW file, or a jpg file .. even tho you think you are working with the NEF file.

In the top LH corner of the image preview part of the window you should see: a small rectangle with the ward RAW inside it, and next to that the file name of the NEF file currently active, as well as the zoom level.

The small rectangle with RAW inside it is the important point to note here.
It has two states:

1: if it's orange in colour, then you have raw file state active, which means that the image preview you see on your screen is the actual RAW file data. This mode slows VNX2 down a little, depending on your systems hardware specs. But of course faster hardware = faster image previewing.

2. If it's grey in colour, then the viewing mode is then in jpg preview mode. There will be the slightest change in histogram(s) now when you switch from one mode to the other. jpg mode is going to be faster to preview through many images at once.
The other advantage to this mode is that using this mode, you can still preview images of non compatible cameras in VNX2.
That is, even tho the D500 is a camera that is a couple of years beyond what VNX2 has been able to read, it can still display the contents of an NEF file of a D500.
it uses the embedded preview jpg image to do this. So when RAW mode is made active, you get an error in VNX2 saying 'unsupported file type' or something like that.
Note that you may need to have the latest codec installed as well for this to work.

If you can't see preview images of your NEF files via your operating system's file browser, then you probably don't have the codec for that raw format installed.

So to answer that (unasked) question above, check the codec version(if any) installed, and check if the RAW mode in VNX2 is set to active(orange) or inactive(grey) .. and set your D7200 to NEF mode too!

ps. I have no issue using VNX2 and or CNX-D.
My general workflow is to view/browse with VNX2(easier/faster) and then any images I like to work on, I use VNX2 in a very basic manner(WB, exposure, tags) ... and then may do some other easy edits in CNX-D.
CNX-D is slow! .. glacially slow. So I try to do as much in VNX2 before I use CNX-D. If I needed local editing, such as dodging/burning and stuff like that, I then use CNX2.

[aocc]

Wow Thanks for that. That all actually makes sense to me. I will stop trying to make VNx2 work with my D7200
Cheers

[ameerat42]

Wow Thanks for that...
Cheers

Same here, AK, for when I get some of the old D90 files to work with, and to a lesser extent,
from the owner thereof.