Nikon ViewNX 2 has been just awful to work with for processing RAW files from the Nikon D3100. It's kinda like having someone poke you in your left eye with a hot poker while at the same time twisting your arm up behind your back until it feels like it's going to pop out of the socket.
Sure, ViewNX2 yields some nice results, but the pain you have to endure to get them almost intolerable.
So, yeah... I was more than a little excited to see Lightroom 3.3 RC come out with support for the Nikon D3100.
The next thing on my mind was how they compare... not so much for workflow as I know Lightroom is the best software out there for RAW processing workflow, but I wanted to see how close the image quality was.
A while back I wrote a piece called Lightroom vs Nikon Capture / View comparing Lightroom to Nikon Capture and Nikon View. I figured it was time for an update to see if there was anything had changed, and if there was any reason to keep this clunky, piece of crap software, ViewNX 2, on my computer.
The short answer is, no.
Lightroom 3.3 RC handles the Nikon D3100 RAW files beautifully. When you set the camera profiles to match those used in camera, you pretty much can't tell the difference. The odd file is slightly different, but not in a bad way... just not exactly identical as the one from ViewNX 2.
Maybe 1in a 100 images might turn out just ever so slightly nicer out of ViewNX 2, but even then it's so close as to be hardly worth mentioning.
I did a photowalk around the house with my Nikon 35mm f1.8G on my Nikon D3100 and shot random images of my kids at different settings and ISO values to run some tests between Lightroom 3.3 RC and Nikon ViewNX 2.
I then ran the RAW files through both pieces of software and compared the results. With the camera profiles set to match the file as shot, Lightroom is practically indistinguishable from ViewNX 2 for color and look.
In fact, if there was any minor difference, I usually preferred the Lightroom file.
Images were saved as High Quality in ViewNX 2 (once setting below the top), and to 60% in Lightroom 3.3 RC which works out to about equal compression settings.
So, my conclusion... Lightroom 3.3 RC ROCKS for processing Nikon D3100 RAW files! I'll probably still keep ViewNX2 on my computer, but I doubt I'll use it much if at all. It's just WAY TOO BAD for workflow. ViewNX 2 has got to be one of the worst, if not the worst, piece of imaging software I've ever used.
Here's some photo samples for you to see for yourself how Lightroom 3.3 RC measures up against Nikon ViewNX 2. Click on the photos to see the full size file.
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Nikon ViewNX 2
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Lightroom 3.3 RC
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Nikon ViewNX 2
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Lightroom 3.3 RC
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Nikon ViewNX 2
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Lightroom 3.3 RC
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Nikon ViewNX 2
Nikon D3100 + Nikon 35mm f1.8G processed with Lightroom 3.3 RC
More over at the Lightroom 3.3 RC vs Nikon ViewNX 2 Flickr page.
Related posts...
Lightroom vs Nikon Capture / Nikon View
Lightroom vs Canon DPP
Lightroom Workflow : Import Photos : How To Get Your Photos To Look Like They Did On Your Camera LCD
Lightroom Tutorial - Renaming Photo Folders During Import
1 comment:
I confess I disagree - I think the NX2 versions look much better... and I very much didn't want to think so as I find it clunky and difficult too. It would have been jolly nice to find an easier equivalent. Not yet, I guess... I'll keep looking! Thank you for posting the comparison though - much appreciated.
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