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Customer Reviews for Nikon Inc. Capture NX 2

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Nikon Inc. Capture NX 2

Powerful Tools for Quick and Easy Photo Editing

Capture NX 2 is a full-featured non-destructive photo editing program that provides photographers powerful tools to quickly and easily edit their photographs.

Choose from the Full Version (Product Number 25385) or the reduced-price Upgrade Version (Product Number 25386) which requires a valid serial number from version 1.x of Capture NX.

Average Customer Rating:
3.034 out of 5
3
 out of 
5
(58 Reviews) 58
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating Snapshot 58 reviews
5 stars
12
4 stars
12
3 stars
13
2 stars
8
1 star
13
36 out of 58(62%)customers recommend this product.
Customer Reviews for Capture NX 2
Review 1 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

A great software deserves more updates

PostedJanuary 25, 2013
madeinlisboa
Location Porto, Portugal
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
It's a simple to use, yet powerful software. I use it most of the times even for portrait retouching on "easy" photos. It is possible to apply multiple similar adjustments, something you can't in ACR or LR.
Unfortunately it seems that Nikon itself likes the software less than it's users. Updates and new features are almost none. This software deserves more Nikon!
+9points
Review 2 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Realmente Util

PostedOctober 26, 2012
Fábio José
Location São Paulo - SP
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience 1-3 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Software que apresenta ferramenta completas e eficientes no tratamento da fotografia , apresentado excelente resultado pelo seu valor de aquisição, permitindo ter uma ferramenta util por uma relação custo beneficios muito bom .
A ferramenta UPoint realmente abre um horizonte muito criativo no tratamento das imagens.
+1point
Review 3 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Software que merece ser usado

PostedAugust 14, 2012
Maragogi
Location Vitória - ES, Brasil
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 11-20 years
Experience More than a year
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Excelente para uso rápido de edições de fotos, esse software pode não ser tão espetacular quanto um Photoshop Elements 10 ou mesmo um CS6, mas merece ser explorado pois permite muitos ajustes nas fotos. Mesmo em inglês, é fácil compreender pois os comando são um tanto intuitivos e os resultados muito satisfatórios. Recomendo como um passo inicial antes de partirmos para programas mais pesados e elaborados, usados por profissionais.
+3points
Review 4 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Wonderful platform but PUHLEESE keep it updated with Nik Plugins

PostedJanuary 16, 2012
NX2 Fan
Location Dallas, Texas
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
I've used this product for three years and was thrilled that it was updated to work with the new Lion OS. Let me be perfectly c;ear, this is a great product. The shortcomings are that updates are slow and sporadic and it doesn't work with the Nik plug-ins except the old Color Efex 3. I would NEVER use anything but NX2 if they would just keep it updated quicker and let Nik make all their plug-ins compatible.
This is the most intuitive editing software I've ever used.
 
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+18points
Review 5 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

powerful program

PostedSeptember 22, 2011
xeno
Location Wilbraham MA
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than 20 years
Role Professional photographer
I have been using Nikon Capture since version 1.0. Since then Nikon Capture NX2 has been like a third hand for me. The processing of RAW NEF captures is phenomenal to be fair explaining the many features of this software would take a novel. If were to choose the features that I feel are the foundation of this program the Set Grey Point under Camera settings and the Color Control Point would have to be at the top of this very long list. Holding the history of the processing is such an important feature of this program. For another feature is the Nik Color Effects program as an added tool. Most of the other Nik features are within NX2.
+14points
Review 6 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Makes it easy to edit photos

PostedSeptember 12, 2011
Bernmieter
Location Scottsdale, AZ
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Family & Friends
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience More than a year
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
There are some cool features to Capture NX2 that make it easy to turn a goof phot into a great one and repair some things a novice sometimes does.
+5points
Review 7 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Capture N X 2

PostedJuly 28, 2011
Stan K
Location Calgary, Alberta
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than 20 years
Role Semi-professional photographer
I think this is a wonderful product, and it does everything that I need it to do. It is the only product that I use for processing all my images. There is nothing I can say bad about this
-17points
Review 8 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Simple to use; chockfull of features; great result

PostedApril 14, 2011
NX2
Location NYC
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Travel
Nikon Family 0-1 years
Experience 6-12 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Love the way quick fix handles the light and dark. I owned some other products that I haven't gone back to since I've had nx2.
Maybe I haven't learned how but copy and paste feature is difficult to use.
-28points
Review 9 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Superior Image Quality

PostedMarch 24, 2011
Maddog
Location Santa Rosa, CA
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
I believe NX2 is grossly underrated by many of the reviewers. I have been using Nikon Capture software for several years as the first, and often, the only stop in my workflow. And I have edited untold thousands of images with different versions of NX. NX2 is simply amazing in its versatility and feature set when working with RAW files, and produces the best image quality, by far, as compared to the best pro-level editors.
It is true, however, that it is resource hungry, often creating huge temporary files and devouring cache (particularly when working with 14 bit images), but what should we expect from a non-destructive editor? Of course, it will call for significant resources and processing power, so don't expect NX2 to run well on a dinosaur.
And be aware that it is rich in features that do not jump up and announce themselves. To get the most from it, you must be willing to poke around and experiment--to invest the time necessary to learn how to use it effectively. So, if you are looking for quick-fix buttons that correct everything with one click, you need to keep shopping.
If I could give NX2 4.5 stars, I would do so only because it does crash occasionally under Window 7 and it has a few relatively minor bugs, though they are easily worked around. On the other hand, Nikon technical support has been excellent the few times I've called for help.
Bottom line, NX2 is a professional level editor that can significantly enhance image quality, particularly when working with RAW images.
+17points
Review 10 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

A Pleasant Surprise

PostedMarch 23, 2011
PhotomicFTN
Location Westchester County, NY
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than a year
I started using Capture NX a few years ago and upgraded to NX2 along the way. There was some flakiness early on, but I must say the latest version (2.2.6) is very stable and bug-free on my aging 32-bit Win XP box. (Can't vouch for other platforms.) It's reasonably fast, if not zippy, with a Core2Quad processor, and it even runs well enough on my Core2Duo notebook that it does occasional duty there when I go mobile.
I started using Capture NX/NX2 to avail myself of the proprietary Nikon stuff (lens corrections, Active-D Lighting), but as my comfort level with the program grew, it has evolved into my RAW processor of choice. The control points thing is actually quite impressive. I rarely, if ever, fire up ACR any more, and when I buy a new Nikon DSLR down the road, I'll be very happy to not have to buy the latest version of Photoshop/Lightroom just to have native camera support.
That assumes, of course, that Capture NX2 will continue to be developed and that any upgrade (e.g. to NX3) will be reasonably priced. I, for one, will be hoping for that to be the case.
+10points
Review 11 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

Simply Amazing!

PostedDecember 26, 2010
Mika
Location Houston, TX
Age 35-44
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience Less than a month
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I Just want to update this review section, For those that are worried that the Capture NX2 will not run on windows 7. It runs perfect on Windows 7 64 bit operating systems due to the WOW 64 program in Windows 7. The only thing is you might feel it a bit slow due to the fact this program is written in 32 bit. Meaning that you will only be able to access 2gig's of ram verses the 4+ gig's of ram you could if it where written in a 64 bit code. If you are running quick fix's in large batches the ViewNX2 program does that very well, Capture NX2 is a little clunky at it.
The absolute power of this program comes into play with the Control Points and the Auto Retouch brush for the beginners out there and for the advanced photographers the NEF RAW capabilities are better I think then Photo Shop or Lightroom 3. With the new updates to the program it will now support the RAW files from the D7000.
This program will take a good picture and turn it into an amazing picture without a massive amount of work involved.
+12points
Review 12 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
5 / 5
5 / 5

The Control points are fantastic

PostedJuly 24, 2010
Jkev
Location North California
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
I use this product on a regular basis. I find the control point feature fantastic.
As I migrate to Windows 7 I really hope Nikon moves forward as well.
+2points
Review 13 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

After this, I just shoot NEF!

PostedNovember 25, 2012
Amateur
Location Brazil
Age 35-44
Favorite Subject Family & Friends
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience 6-12 months
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Although the interface is not so much clear, the results are excellent!
+1point
Review 14 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

etonnant par sa simplicite

PostedNovember 8, 2012
aol75
Location montreal
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience More than a year
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
J'utilise, maintenant, Capture NX2 depuis près d'un an. Un excellent logiciel pour sa simplicité d'execution à un prix tres abordable.
-1point
Review 15 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

It does not cover all the functions in View NX

PostedJune 25, 2012
Don Li
I wish the following features from View NX2 are incorporated into Capture NX2, so that I can just use one app:
1. Slideshow
2. Jpeg convertor with image sizes changeable (In Capture NX2 you can use "batch process" convert pictures into Jpeg, but you do not have control on the image size)
0points
Review 16 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Needs an upgrade that allows PlugIns

PostedMay 4, 2012
sburk2430
Location Seattle, WA, USA
Age 55-65
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 2-5 years
Experience More than a year
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
Great Software "But" its about time Nikon/Nik updates it to say Capture NX3. An upgrade should allow plugins for other vendor packages such as Niks HDR Pro. Most all other popular Raw Conversion software allows plugins.
Other than that, its a great package!
+5points
Review 17 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Works great. Needs Updating

PostedFebruary 25, 2012
PeterG
Location Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Age Over 65
Favorite Subject Nature
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
Capture NX2 version 2.3.1 works great with Mac OS 10.7.3 (Lion) in 64 bit mode. A recent update of Nik Color Efex Pro 3 works also works in 64 bit mode.
Capture NX2 needs a few tweaks to make it a 5 star app.
   1. Have Nik Software & Nikon work together so all Nik Software plug-ins work in NX2.
   2. Make it able to easily change the order the adjustment tools are applied.
+6points
Review 18 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Good product but one needs experience

PostedNovember 10, 2011
Martin523
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Portrait
Nikon Family 21+ years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
I use NX2 and Photoshop 5.0 and I can say that both programs have they pro and cons. In order to be able to use them in the most effective way one has to study them. I like to use NX2 for portrait shots and studio fashion shots that need a few adjustments. The main reason for this that these simple adjustments are easy to do. Now I am shooting most photos in NEF and Photoshop has also a beautiful interface which I love to use for Landscape photography. I like also to do photo collages which is definitely better with Photoshop.
On the other hand I like in NX2 for creating selective B/W, gradient features in blurring, coloring...
+18points
Review 19 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Very good - But.....

PostedSeptember 9, 2011
EricB
Location Atlanta, GA
Age 45-54
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 6-10 years
Experience More than a year
Role Semi-professional photographer
I've been using Capture and Capture NX2 since the early days. Capture handles 99% of my editing needs. View NX2 has developed into a capable program, but when I need a detailed edit of a photo for a gallery or for sale, Capture is my primary tool. It's quick and highly functional. This tool is best for editing a few images - not large volumes. You can apply batch controls, but the strength is with selective editing of a few images. The method of making all edits reversible and support for versions makes this a very efficient tool with data and avoids multiple copies of files.
For Nikon cameras, Capture and View are the most accurate tools to render NEF images based on camera settings. They use the actual camera settings - not an interpretation of those settings like Adobe programs.
The Develop section provides the ability to change most camera settings during post processing. IT's a great way to correct white balance, tweak exposure, or test alternate camera settings including picture controls.
The U point technology from Nik provides incredible selective editing capabilities. Virtually every editing step can be applied just to the areas you choose without worrying with masks or complicated editing.
The disadvantages are limited. There is no real clone tool - just a healing brush. It's fine for dust spots or removing a power line, but won't easily remove a billboard or clump of branches.
IT can be a bit buggy at times. I don't have this problem, but have seen it. New versions are better. And you only want to have one image at a time open. I'm using it on XP, Vista, and Windows 7 64 bit machines without issues. Ideally you want 8GB of RAM or more.
The biggest risk is the relationship with Nik. Nik Software is the provider of U-point controls and many of the other enhancements. They make other top products and are a software company. Apparently there is a falling out between Nik and Nikon. Whether related or not, Capture NX3 has not been released and CNX2 is beginning to lag alternatives. If Nik is not involved in the next release or decreases involvement, I will probably grudgingly move to away from the product.
+24points
Review 20 for Capture NX 2
Overall rating 
4 / 5
4 / 5

Great for Nikon photographers, with some drawbacks

PostedJune 4, 2011
Stacey
Location Tucson, AZ
Age 25-34
Favorite Subject Landscape
Nikon Family 11-20 years
Experience More than a year
Role Serious passion, hobbyist
I've been using Capture NX 2 for a couple of years now with a couple of different camera bodies, and for the most part I'm pretty pleased with it. I love the way it's designed to work with NEFs: it's wonderful to be able to further tweak your in-camera settings such as Active D-Lighting and Picture Control. Copying adjustments and pasting them to other images is a hugely time-saving feature as well.
However, there are several improvements that need to be made:
1. We need a magic wand tool. Dropping control points is great, but sometimes you just need a magic wand, y'know?
2. Memory leaks need to be plugged.
3. I'm waiting on a 64-bit version (perhaps Capture NX 3 will come along soon?), though the program does work in 32-bit mode.
4. The edit list is good, but if I'm on my fifth edit and I want to go back and tweak the contrast under Quick Fix, Capture needs to be able to do that without un-applying my five edits. It is difficult to efficiently make adjustments to previous edits when it un-applies the edits that appear later in the list. This makes me guess over and over, having to adjust, then re-apply my settings again and again, until I have it right.
And finally, the white balance tool needs to match up the way we select white balance in-camera. I HATE the way white balance is handled in Capture NX 2: you cannot directly modify an as-shot white balance. If I want to nudge an as-shot white balance a couple of degrees, I can't do it. This is not such a huge deal if you shot everything at, say, 5560K or Incandescent (or any other setting that you can plug directly into the dialogue box), but if you adjusted/trimmed your white balance using the 6x6 grid (e.g. Daylight A3) or made your own preset with a gray card, you will not able able to fine-tune that setting in Capture. You'll have to choose another setting, such as "Calculate automatically" or apply another setting, such as Daylight, and fine-tune that setting. Honestly, this is infinitely frustrating and is almost enough to make me flee to Lightroom.
That said, I still think that this is a valuable program. You don't always have time to set things like Active D-Lighting properly -- and then review each image you take -- when you're shooting, and being able to directly manipulate the same options that you set in your camera is invaluable. It's the whole point of RAW. The price tag is much easier to swallow than other industry-standard software, too. I am definitely hoping that the next version of Capture keeps all of these great things but improves upon the few, but significant, shortcomings of Capture NX 2.
+24points
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