Z6 / Z7 RAW: How to convert limited by LR 6.14

[Ricoh]

I have been considering the Z6 but think I’m up against given I have LR 6.14 and definitely do not wish to subscribe to Adobe software, or purchase and learn to use another post processing software package.

Is there a work-around whilst being constrained LR 6.14?

Thanks.

 

[Michalm]

Adobe DNG Converer will help you converting NEF files to DNG which can be then manipulated by most converters including LR 6 .

 

[Ricoh]

Adobe DNG Converer will help you converting NEF files to DNG which can be then manipulated by most converters including LR 6 .

I’m sort of flabbergasted Adobe don’t want money for this - as far as I can determine (I’m typing on an iPad so haven’t tried downloading the windows version).
Thank you.

 

[Timmyjoe]

Yeah, I'm using fairly outdated (non subscription) photo editing software and the Adobe DNG converter has been a Godsend in letting me use the RAW files from my Nikon Z6.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I know I am always saying, “just spend the money!”, so here I go again. The latest version of
Lightroom has a very wide variety of Nikon Z7/Z6 camera profiles, both color and monochrome, in addition to the usual Adobe profiles to apply when importing and converting. I have found these to be something of a godsend, hugely useful, and have made the subscription more than well worth the money. To me. (I am not going to argue that subscription models are not immoral or gouging, that’s been done to death, only that what is available in up to date LR in terms of RAW conversion isn’t exactly available anywhere else, and it’s good. And, over and above the available importing options, LR has improved significantly since LR6 as well.) If Adobe has trial periods for LR (don’t know) that would be worth at least trying before digging one’s heels in. Those are expensive cameras with great sensors, worth exploring what’s out there to get out of them what they are capable of, and not every software will do that.
Needs mentioning that if one, understandably, doesn’t want to pay Adobe for up to date software, the other available best option is Nikon’s own RAW conversion software, NX-D, though, since it’s free, it carries the stigma of seeming like it must not be worth anything.
Nikon, unlike some other companies, doesn’t release the algorithms which run their camera processing engines to anyone else (boo, hiss) so Adobe, Capture One, everybody but Nikon, have to reverse engineer to make their Nikon conversion software. It’s a guess, sometimes a guess we may love, but it’s a guess. Many (smart) people use Nikon’s NX-D because it is the only conversion software which is made using the proprietary information Nikon has about the science used for their own files. You want Nikon colors, NX-D is the only thing that knows exactly what those are. Excellent results are possible, some people claim them to be the best possible. But, it’s a bit funky in use if coming from something else. Perhaps. Excellent and free, and makes sense after you have used it for a while. Did I mention that it is free?

Best of luck regardless, nice cameras.

 

[Ricoh]

Thanks Larry,
If my understanding of NX-D in the context of processing RAW to be presented to LR, the resulting output files from the Nikon software are either JPEG or TIFF.

TIFF can be rather large but am I correct in saying they can be further saved as DNGs using the LR?

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Thanks Larry,
If my understanding of NX-D in the context of processing RAW to be presented to LR, the resulting output files from the Nikon software are either JPEG or TIFF.

TIFF can be rather large but am I correct in saying they can be further saved as DNGs using the LR?

I “think so.”
To be honest, I haven’t used it in 18 months or so, though I keep swearing I am going to do comparisons again. I used it, NX2, I should say, quite a bit when I had my D800, and have dabbled with NX-D since they (boo, hiss) discontinued NX2, which had the advantage of Nik control points. But, as a RAW developer alone, NX-D, I think is pretty much the same.
I have pretty much switched over to LR now, and working on Capture One, but many of the best results I got from my D800 were not with Adobe RAW but with NX2. Though there are some personal preferences involved.
The interfaces on Nikon’s software(s) are a bit antiquated looking and not necessarily immediately intuitive, but the results are hard to fault. I mainly mentioned it because it is free, and it’s actually the only converter that’s made by the people holding the proprietary color information. I am not sure why Nikon keeps this so close to the vest, but that’s how they do it. Inscrutable.

 

[Ricoh]

Simply baffling why they should keep their cards so close, as it were. Publishing the necessary details may benefit Nikon, encouraging potential paying customers of their cameras, since like it or not Adobe probably has the lion’s share of post processing customers.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

Simply baffling why they should keep their cards so close, as it were. Publishing the necessary details may benefit Nikon, encouraging potential paying customers of their cameras, since like it or not Adobe probably has the lion’s share of post processing customers.

Adobe and Capture One both do very well with the Z7/Z6 files, and different from each other, as well as being different from Nikon’s own RAW processor. Though Nikon’s processor is perhaps the closest to Nikon’s vision of what they were intending, that doesn’t mean someone might not find results from Adobe more appealing. And, Adobe, in LR, has many, many different looks to automatically apply to Z6/Z7 files on import via profiles. Costs, though.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

I should have mentioned in camera NEF processing if you haven’t tried it, as it is very capable, and could allow you to dispense with the RAW converter in LR 6 altogether.
The first link is to a Nikon video describing the process with an older DSLR, but the Z6/Z7 is more sophisticated than that, as described in the second link.
There is almost nothing you can do in LR that you can’t do right in camera, with completely up to date algorithms. Perspective control, distortion control, white balance, sharpening, select various picture controls, then, importantly, adjust clarity, contrast, filter effects, toning etc, to taste before saving the copy. Noise reduction, color space, vignetting, D lighting levels.
It saves as a jpg, not a TIFF file, but it’s a large jpg, if you wish, which is all many people are going to use anyway.
Worth a try, certainly. Many people don’t even know that option exists, which is likely the fault of Nikon’s almost nonexistent marketing.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/a/tips-and-techniques/nef-processing-in-camera.html

https://onlinemanual.nikonimglib.com/z7_z6/en-nsg/09_menu_guide_07_01.html

 

[Ricoh]

Thanks Larry for the informative additions above.
I’m at the stage now where I’m considering a digital FF to use as a surrogate for various lenses, Leica M, Nikon F and Pentax K - with suitable adapters of course. Although my initial thoughts led me to the Sony A7x, it’s the sensor stack issues that put me off. The Nikon Z6 / Z7 have smaller stacks, apparently and should be more suitable, especially for the M lenses.
Although not in line with the thread title, the other important consideration is focus peaking, but probably not the place to discuss here.