NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
Do any of you LR users know if it allows you to modify Active D-lighting on RAW/NEF files on the D7100?
Lightroom and Active D-Lighting?
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Fred Kingston
Senior Member
Lightroom doesn't recognize Active-D lighting in RAW files. Nikon's software does.
NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
Wow! That's a big drawback. I'm a Capture NX2 user and I use the Active D-lighting adjustment very frequently. It's a really great adjustment. I would hate to be without it.
Fred Kingston
Senior Member
Raw is RAW... Most folks shoot RAW because they want the control. You lose control when the camera applies a pre-conceived adjustment.
Even in NX2, that feature reduces range within the RAW file, making specific changes impossible. Might as well shoot Jpg... :smile-new:
Even in NX2, that feature reduces range within the RAW file, making specific changes impossible. Might as well shoot Jpg... :smile-new:
NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
I'm not sure what you mean by losing control and reducing range and specific changes being impossible.
I shoot RAW/NEF and I have full control, etc. And I have Active D-lighting adjustment, which you don't get if you shoot jpg or use LR, apparently. Also picture control. And I disagree about it being better to shoot jpg. I've done both and shooting in RAW/NEF is far better; I get a lot more adjustment capability and ultimately, better photos.
Maybe, if you're using Lightroom, as opposed to Nikon's software, you might as well shoot jpg.
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Fred Kingston
Senior Member
Suit yourself... I answered your question. Google Nikon's active-d lighting and you'll get brazzilion opinions.
NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
Oh, so LR has curves available, sort of like Photoshop? I've used curves before over in Photoshop...
That would be pretty similar...
Yep LR allows you to curve so you can adjust your RAW pretty much how you like it. You can curve your range from highlights to shadows or even the RGB channel including each individually.
If you really want ADL you can always apply it to the RAW in Capture, export as a TiFF and process that further in LR.
But ADL is pretty much a JPeG feature as Fred said. It just applies the same preset curves to your RAW regardless what you shoot or even if it is required.
And with these things; all that is applied automatically is rarely applied well.
If you really want ADL you can always apply it to the RAW in Capture, export as a TiFF and process that further in LR.
But ADL is pretty much a JPeG feature as Fred said. It just applies the same preset curves to your RAW regardless what you shoot or even if it is required.
And with these things; all that is applied automatically is rarely applied well.
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NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
Well, I'm not sure that Active D-lighting (ADL) is pretty much a jpg feature. Capture NX2 doesn't allow that feature at all with jpg; only RAW/NEF. It also doesn't allow 'Picture Control' with jpg. These adjustment options don't even appear when you work on jpg's. And I'm not sure exactly what Fred was trying to say up earlier in this thread, either. It didn't sound accurate...
I find that Nikon did a good job with the auto ADL. I always get good pictures, with good lighting; but many times, I find that I can add 'sunshine' to a photo and make it look better for my particular purpose, which the camera doesn't know about. So, I don't blame the camera's auto settings. They're really good, from my point-of-view...A good solid starting point. A lot of times I leave the ADL settings exactly as the camera chose them.
Fred Kingston
Senior Member
Depending on how you have NX2 configured (I forget whether you can include/exclude sidecar files) ADL changes the tone curve. It reduces the highlights and increases the shadow details.... That may or may not be a good thing.
Let's backup and talk about the the reasons for shooting RAW to begin with.
Primary reason is, the user wants to control all aspects of the photo. I don't want any features turned on because any/all features are someone else's preconceived notion of what's supposed to happen.
Secondary reason I shoot RAW is because I want what the lens/camera sees, and I don't want any changes made to that raw data... As my tastes change over time, I want to go back to the original raw data, and apply any changes I want...
If the camera/software altered what was originally captured... I have to "undo" that before I can start... If I shot JPG, there's nothing to undo because data has been lost...
I find myself, this week, revisiting landscapes that I shot in the last couple of years, and looking at LR's new Dehaze slider...
Let's backup and talk about the the reasons for shooting RAW to begin with.
Primary reason is, the user wants to control all aspects of the photo. I don't want any features turned on because any/all features are someone else's preconceived notion of what's supposed to happen.
Secondary reason I shoot RAW is because I want what the lens/camera sees, and I don't want any changes made to that raw data... As my tastes change over time, I want to go back to the original raw data, and apply any changes I want...
If the camera/software altered what was originally captured... I have to "undo" that before I can start... If I shot JPG, there's nothing to undo because data has been lost...
I find myself, this week, revisiting landscapes that I shot in the last couple of years, and looking at LR's new Dehaze slider...
NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
You know what, there is actually a 'curve' adjustment tool in Capture NX2 under the "Quick Fix" menu option. So, I guess I can adjust jpg's right in Capture NX2, after all, and get pretty close to what I would get with ADL. But there's no ADL for jpg's in Capture...
That's why you apply it in cam when shooting JPEG.
NIKONIAN_DREAMWEAVER
Senior Member
Thanks for clarifying Fred. As far as I'm aware, there are no 'sidecar' files in Capture NX2. And I like that. Everything (if working in RAW) is completely reversible in Capture. It looks like all the different (in-camera) settings for ADL are accessible and changeable (in Capture NX2) if you shoot RAW.
