Foo - Reading .RAW/.NEF file format.

I'm trying to upload .RAW images off a camera, my photoshop and computer doesn't recognize them. Can't open them. What do I have to do?

I thought this was Photoshop's domain, but perhaps you need a plugin. Should come with the camera, I'd think.

Alternatively, whatever software comes with the camera in general.

I thought this was Photoshop's domain, but perhaps you need a plugin. Should come with the camera, I'd think.

I don't have anything but a battery, lens, and cord.

Crap!

I had to put the memory card from the nikon d40 into the my Nikon coolpix to upload the files. Thing is I took all the pictures in RAW. In photoshop it has the NEF option in the file type drop down list, when I try to open the file it says "Could not complete request because it is not the right file type".

X!!@#@!????

Jon needs to edit photos NOW!

it is photoshops format. theres also a 3d raw format but thats ancient
just cook it

Dunno. You could Google it and see if any freebie RAW converters pop up.

I haven't tried it, but supposedly ufraw is a GIMP plugin that can read NEF
http://ufraw.sourceforge.net/

Also, Nikon View may be what you need for using photoshop (and maybe GIMP, too, I don't know).
http://www.nikonusa.com/template.php?cat=1&grp=276&productNr=NikonView

Let us know what works.

Photoshop should be able to do it easily. Just make sure you have the latest Adobe Camera Raw Plugin installed. Try this.
(http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/?ogn=EN_US-gntray_dl_updates)

I'd also recommend Capture One by www.phaseone.com (http://www.phaseone.com) or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for raw conversions.

Yep, thanks for the info, I did find the plugin for photoshop awhile ago however. Works perfect!

Just be aware that there are different types of RAW files...

raw isn't photoshop's but it should be able to read them, what version of PS are you using?

Jon, I just reread your op and think I missed your point. Are you trying to use something like Photoshop to read the raw (.nef) files directly off the camera? I'm assuming you've you've got the camera connected to the 'pooter via a firewire or usb cable. In my experience, it's much simpler (and probably faster) to get a separate card reader (usb or firewire) to upload files from the card to the pc as you don't have to have the camera on and connected and you won't need additional drivers just to recognize your camera as another drive. Just my $0.02.

Can you get a RAW file from any digi-cam?

Can you get a RAW file from any digi-cam?

With Canon DSLR's, you can get raw files directly off the camera via firewire (for 1-series) and Canon's proprietary software. Not sure how Nikon works though.

Depending on your version of photoshop plug_ins are avaliable. But you might want to download ViewNX its free from Nikons website then you can convert to tif or jpg
You can also download Capture NX 30 day trial to edit if you want also.
Shooting Raw take advantage of it and use Capture NX
http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=61

raw isn't photoshop's but it should be able to read them, what version of PS are you using?

CS2 and I needed a plugin for PS to recognize the RAW files from the D40.

CS2 and I needed a plugin for PS to recognize the RAW files from the D40.

Hmm, CS2 read my canon's RAW files fine, perhaps its different for Nikon i suppose.

Hmm, CS2 read my canon's RAW files fine, perhaps its different for Nikon i suppose.

I read up on it, photoshop recognizes almost every camera's RAW type file. The d40, it has something to do with the way the files are encoded, and a specific plugin was needed for it to be able to read RAW from the D40.

check with the camera's website, perhaps you can pull down the necessary software/drivers etc. All my digi's come with a CD of software. And if the website doesn't work --- there should be an 800 number on there call - maybe a CD can be purchased.

I read up on it, photoshop recognizes almost every camera's RAW type file. The d40, it has something to do with the way the files are encoded, and a specific plugin was needed for it to be able to read RAW from the D40.

Ah, i missed the post where you said you got it working.

Are you using Windows or Mac?
You need version 3.7 for D40 support for CS2 download here if you want to use Photoshop CS2 with the D40 Raw files
Windows version http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=3587&fileID=3377
Mac Version http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=3586&fileID=3380

I found it already everyone!! thanks. :)

Ah yes. One of the rubs I have with Nikon. I dont use Photoshop. I use Paintshop Pro. Back when i was doing astrophotography with my D70, everything had to be done in RAW format to get the dynamic range and zero compression loss. The only way to process the NEF files to lossless .tif files for processing was to pay the 99 bucks for an unlock key for Nikon Capture which you can download from Nikons website. This was back in 2004. Do they still charge money for Nikon Capture? Back then I got lucky and ran into a fellow Nikonista at a car show and he gave me his unlock key.

Can you get a RAW file from any digi-cam?

No. Most consumer point and shoots do not support RAW. The Canon G9 is one exception.

However, some clever fool developed a hack for Canon cameras with the Digic II (and supposedly you can extend it to newer Digic III cameras) processor that will not only let you capture raw, but even write scripts for the camera. With that kind of capability you could make it do time lapse, motion sensing, and even compress the videos more effectively, since Canon videos take up about 4 times as much memory per frame as almost everyone elses.

http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK_in_Brief

Ah yes. One of the rubs I have with Nikon. I dont use Photoshop. I use Paintshop Pro. Back when i was doing astrophotography with my D70, everything had to be done in RAW format to get the dynamic range and zero compression loss. The only way to process the NEF files to lossless .tif files for processing was to pay the 99 bucks for an unlock key for Nikon Capture which you can download from Nikons website. This was back in 2004. Do they still charge money for Nikon Capture? Back then I got lucky and ran into a fellow Nikonista at a car show and he gave me his unlock key.

So when I open my RAW nikon files, and convert them to JPEGs I lose detail and quality?

definetely. especially with jpeg

So when I open my RAW nikon files, and convert them to JPEGs I lose detail and quality?

Yes and no - RAW allows for modifying exposure and selecting from a wider dynamic range and color gamut after the fact (with the right tools). It's sort of like making a print from a traditional film negative, if you get good at it you can make some amazing improvements. Point and shoots that only support JPEG or Tiff are more like instant Polaroids (with internal storage), cameras that support RAW are more like digital negative film cameras.

definetely. especially with jpeg

You can make a lossless JPEG from a RAW that would be hard to pick, but I definitely recommend storing processed RAWs as Tiffs.

You can make a lossless JPEG from a RAW that would be hard to pick, but I definitely recommend storing processed RAWs as Tiffs.

But make sure you have a humngous hard drive or a really good DVD-R/RW burner. A 16 bit .TIF file from a 6mp Nikon .NEF is 35 megabytes. Kinda crazy how that .NEF file expands out 7x its orginal file size.

I remember the good old days of astrophoto processing where i'd would have to stack multiple .tif files to increase signal to noise ratio to smooth out the image. I wasnt hard to have close to a quarter gig worth of image files to process at one shot. My computer was happy once i bought a dedicated 1.3mp cooled astro camera. The file sizes were dramatically reduced.