HELP. I can't open NEF files anymore.

TedG954

Senior Member
I have no idea what happened since the last time everything worked.

Here's what I've done:
  • Using my D800, I take some photos in RAW.
  • I open the camera file via View NX2.
  • The photos appear on the screen and they are transferred to a file.
  • I try to open the new files with Corel PaintShop (my normal process) and I tried LightRoom.
  • Neither program will open the files.
  • I get a screen message: UNABLE TO OPEN THE FILE. BE SURE THE FILE IS VALID.
  • I have used 3 different SD Cards, each with the same results.
  • I took RAW photos with my D5100 and they processed fine with all 3 cards.
  • JPG and TIFF files process OK without a problem in the D800.
I haven't changed anything in the camera, but it appears that the camera is the source of the problem.

What am I missing?

:grumpy:
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Have you been able to open the D800 files before, or are these the first with that camera? Could be your version of Camera RAW if it's the first time with the D800. Otherwise I don't have a clue what to tell you.
 

TedG954

Senior Member
Thanks for the reply. Everything worked fine the last time I used the D800. The only difference, I've now determined, is a new computer. I had to re-install View NX2. I'm pretty sure that's where the problem is. I have deleted the program and re-installed it. I get a "download error". So, I deleted View again and didn't re-install. I used the same SD card files and opened them directly using PaintShop Pro. They opened just fine.

It appears that my View NX2 is corrupted.
 

pedroj

Senior Member
When I changed from D50 to D300 I had to upgrade raw file converter in Photoshop to open the raws, I could process the jpeg files
 

Axemaniac88

Senior Member
Try a different program just to see if it can open the files, and that'll determine whether the problem is camera or software based. Try out RAW Therapee
 

piperbarb

Senior Member
What version of ViewNX are you using? The current version is 2.7.2 Be sure you are using that version. The current version is available on Nikon's Website. It seems like you are missing the codec for your d800. I do not know what operating system you are using, but I know that OS X (Mac) has had some updates lately for various RAW file formats, including Nikon. I always download them when I get the update message.
 

TedG954

Senior Member
I'm using the version that came with the camera. I've been using it without a problem for a couple of months. Now that I've reinstalled it on a new computer, it doesn't work.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Check for updates. It may be that at some point on the old computer that you installed an update that installed the D800 RAW profile? Doesn't make sense that Nikon would ship a version that doesn't support the camera it ships with, but software manufacturers are often lazy and rely on you applying updates immediately. Cheaper than printing new discs.
 

TedG954

Senior Member
Well, for anyone that's interested, the problem has been solved. As I had explained earlier, the corruption was in the ViewNX 2 disk. I downloaded the program from the Nikon site and everything now works fine.

Thanks to those who tried to help.
 
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