The post This Epic Bundle Offers a World-Class Photography Education for Less Than $ 100 (96% Off!) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
What’s the fastest way to improve your photography?
There’s a quick method to enhance your photos and level up your skills, and it’s pretty simple, too: learn from the masters. In other words, discover the secrets, tricks, and techniques already developed by the best of the best, and apply them all in your own shooting.
So how do you access these photography masters? How do you learn their secrets? That’s where online courses come in handy. These days, you can find dozens of well-taught, helpful courses, created by truly outstanding photographers from all around the world. They illustrate the most efficient composition guidelines, effective post-processing techniques, and so much more.
Unfortunately, online courses can be expensive. This stops plenty of photographers, especially beginners, from ever discovering the information that could instantly take their photos to the next level.
Which is why the 5DayDeal is one of those once-in-a-blue-moon, can’t-miss-out offers that you should absolutely check out, especially if you’re serious about improving your work.
What is the 5DayDeal?
The 5DayDeal is a limited-time bundle, which includes literally dozens of courses from world-class photographers, along with plenty of additional photography-enhancing items (including Photoshop actions, books, and packages/software).
Normally, the 5DayDeal resources would cost over $ 2200 USD.
But for five days only, you can grab them for $ 89 USD, at a whopping 96% off.
You can click here to take a closer look at the bundle. Highlights include:
Landscape Photography Secrets (value: $ 297), a six-class set covering essential landscape topics such as settings, composition, and post-processing, taught by acclaimed landscape photographer Tim Shields
Luminar AI Magic (value: $ 99), a comprehensive class that covers the ins and outs of Skylum’s popular editing software – and how to use it for jaw-dropping results
Simple & Intermediate Object Removal in Photoshop (value: $ 60), which will turn you into an object-removal wizard, capable of ridding your images of telephone poles, distracting people, and even unwanted cars
Painterly Portraits Photography Course (value: $ 227), which offers the secrets to professional-quality portraits, both in the field and in the editing room
Nature Love Presets (value: $ 69), a set of 18 Lightroom presets designed to offer quick and efficient yet high-quality edits
And that’s just a small sample of the 5DayDeal items. Photographers, this bundle genuinely is the best way to level up your work; get it, take the time to go through each item, and by the time you’re done, your work will be unrecognizable.
Plus, 10% of the profits go to charity, so it’s really a win all around.
You can check out the 5DayDeal bundle and see all the courses, packages, and more on the 5DayDeal website.
When does the 5DayDeal end?
The 5DayDeal really does last for just five days, and you will never see the exact same deal ever again (the 5DayDeal creators refer to this as a “once-in-eternity sale”).
Specifically, the deal will disappear on October 19th, 2021 (next Tuesday!) at 12 PM PST. So don’t wait; get the bundle while you still can!
Check it out here.
The post This Epic Bundle Offers a World-Class Photography Education for Less Than $ 100 (96% Off!) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Luminar Neo to Offer Advanced AI Photo Editing (and Debut This Winter) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Skylum has announced yet another eye-catching photo-editing program, Luminar Neo, billing the software as “a creative image editor driven by AI technologies of the future.”
As the company behind Luminar 4 and Luminar AI – programs that debuted innovative, AI-based tools such as AI Sky Replacement and Composition AI – Skylum is no stranger to success in the AI photo editing market. And Luminar Neo aims to improve upon the Skylum formula, offering amateur photographers an AI route to pro-level edits, along with higher-level control for advanced shooters.
Yet Luminar Neo isn’t a simple Luminar AI iteration. According to Skylum, Luminar Neo “is a quintessence of all [the company’s] applications released to date,” and “will retain almost all of Luminar AI’s features” but add “all-new, cutting-edge, AI-powered tools.”
For current Luminar AI users wondering whether it makes sense to upgrade, Skylum spells out the difference between Luminar AI and Luminar Neo:
“Luminar AI is the easiest-to-use image editor fully powered by artificial intelligence for those who prefer a time-saving, Template-driven workflow for quick results…Luminar Neo is for those who want more editing options and more creative control.”
In other words, while anyone – including complete beginners – will feel at home in Luminar AI, the new Luminar Neo pushes in the direction of programs like Luminar 4 and Adobe Lightroom Classic, both offering a slew of tools for enthusiasts and pros alike.
Skylum has already teased a handful of new Luminar Neo tools, including a powerful photo relighting option, intelligent background switching, sensor dust removal, power line removal, and some form of AI masking, but we’ll have to wait to learn precisely how these features work and who they’re for.
Luminar Neo has no release date – the promotional materials merely claim a “winter” launch – though you can expect an announcement sometime in the next few months. An early December release would make sense, given the upcoming holiday season. And if you know you want Luminar Neo, you can preorder a one-time license for $ 54 USD.
So who should think about buying Luminar Neo? The new program should suit serious hobbyists all the way up through advanced amateurs (and potentially even pros). If you like the idea of creative AI effects but still want to be in control, Neo is likely a better pick than Luminar AI. On the other hand, if you’re looking for an ultra-easy, no-effort-necessary editor, Luminar AI is the better option.
Now over to you:
What do you think of Luminar Neo? Will you purchase it? Does it sound good? Bad? Are you disappointed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Luminar Neo to Offer Advanced AI Photo Editing (and Debut This Winter) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Winners of the 2021 Bird Photographer of the Year awards were announced today. Over 22,000 images were submitted from around the globe. Mexican photographer Alejandro Prieto took home the £5,000 grand prize for his image of a roadrunner standing next to the 3,000km-long US–Mexico border.
‘The border wall crosses deserts, mountains, and even mangroves. It is not just desert, and is in fact very biodiverse with more than 1,500 animal and plants species threatened by the wall,’ says Prieto. ‘I have watched many different animals reach the wall before turning around and heading back.’
The Bird Photographer of the Year awards also gives back. The organization donated £8,000 to Birds on the Brink. They fund grass-roots bird conservation projects around the world. All 2021 winners can be viewed on the competition’s main website.
Gold Award Winner and Bird Photographer of the Year: ‘Blocked’ by Alejandro Prieto (Mexico)
About this Image: The 3,000km-long US–Mexico border traverses and straddles some of the continent’s most biologically diverse regions. It is home to uniquely adapted mammals, reptiles, birds and plants, some of which are found nowhere else on the planet. Numerous species will be affected if the US government decides to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Border infrastructure not only physically blocks the movement of wildlife but it also destroys and fragments habitats.
Many desert animals are, to a degree, nomadic wanderers and a wall would sever habitat connectivity and prevent them moving freely from one place to another. In this photograph, a Greater Roadrunner approaches the border wall at Naco, Arizona, with what almost looks like a sense of bewilderment.
Gear and Specs: Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70–200mm f/2.8 lens. Focal length 112mm, 1/320 second, f/14, ISO 200.
Gold Award Winner, Best Portrait: ‘Underwater Portrait’ by Felipe Foncueva (Spain)
About this Image: This underwater image of a Brown Pelican was taken off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, near the mouth of the T.rcoles River, where there are small fishing villages. Groups of pelicans await the return of fishermen and take advantage of the scraps they throw into the sea.
Looking at this image, I am struck by the similarity between the way the pouch beneath the pelican’s bill functions and the throat of a feeding baleen whale. At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking you are looking at a marine mammal rather than a bird!
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with Canon 8–15mm f/4 Focal length 15mm; 1/10th, f/9, ISO 200.
Silver Award Winner, Best Portrait: ‘Sing Heartily’ by Maofeng Shen (China)
About this Image: June marks the start of the breeding season for Demoiselle Cranes on the vast grasslands of Keshiketeng in Inner Mongolia. It is a blessing to witness the arrival of these beautiful birds, and a privilege to have documented their nesting behaviour. In order to capture wonderful, intimate moments of breeding behaviour without causing disturbance, I did a lot of homework.
I drove more than 800km to the vast prairie of Keshiketeng two days before I planned to photograph and did my groundwork. I got up at 3am on 29 June 2018 and rushed to the location of the breeding cranes. In order not to disturb their peaceful life, I had previously set up my equipment in the long grass and lay down, disguised on the ground.
In the morning light, the figures of the Demoiselle Crane family of four gradually appeared out of the gloom. Just as they were leisurely foraging for food, suddenly the distant sound of shepherds herding sheep could be heard. It seemed as if the sound was enough to inspire the pair of adults to call, as they stood back to back. This evocative sound cut through the silent sky for a brief moment, then everything quietened down again. I enjoyed the company of the crane family for the next four hours.
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Canon 600mm f/4 lens, 1/640 second, f/6.3, ISO 400.
Bronze Award Winner, Best Portrait: ‘Night Hunter’ by Jonas Classon (Sweden)
About this Image: Poised for attack and staring intently, this Great Grey Owl has fixed its penetrating gaze on a vole in a Swedish forest. On the night of a full moon, I photographed the owl as it raised its deadly taloned foot, with my car headlights adding a little more illumination to the scene. When I looked at the photo afterwards it gave me goosebumps.
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Canon 200–400mm f/4 lens. Focal length 300mm, 1/160 second, f/4, ISO 3200.
Silver Award Winner, Birds in the Environment: ‘Claiming the Forest Floor’ by Joshua Galicki (United States)
About this Image: This image shows a male Ovenbird singing on top of a fallen log. The bird is staking its claim to a breeding territory shortly after arriving from a lengthy migration to the northeast United States from wintering grounds in Central America. Ovenbirds are quite small – 15cm or so in length – and unlike most other New World warblers, prefer to forage on the forest floor among the leaf litter. I have observed and studied North American songbirds for years and care deeply for all of my subjects.
This shot was taken with a non- intrusive remote set-up to capture the expanse of the Ovenbird’s environment. The camera and lens were camouflaged next to the bird’s favourite singing log and the shutter was remotely triggered. No bait or tape lure were used for this shot, nor was any stress placed on the bird. As a result, this is an image of an Ovenbird behaving naturally.
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS-1D X Mark III with Canon 24–70mm f/4 lens. Focal length 24mm, 1/500 second, f/8, ISO 6,400.
Bronze Award Winner, Birds in the Environment: ‘Yellow-billed Oxpecker with Cape Buffalo’ by Barbara Fleming (United States)
About this Image: Yellow-billed Oxpeckers chatter constantly as they fly in and out of a Cape Buffalo herd, landing wherever they can to rest and feed. They spend almost their entire lives around large mammals, to the point where even courtship and mating take place in their company. Oxpeckers feed on ticks and other insects, although they also have a predilection for the mammal blood.
In this image both oxpecker and buffalo were in motion, moving in different directions and at different distances from the lens. This added to the challenge of capturing this symbiotic pair, but enhanced the satisfaction at achieving my goal. The image was darkened in post-processing.
Gear and Specs: Nikon D4S with Nikkor 500mm f/4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter. Focal length 700mm, 1/1,600 second, f/8, ISO 1,600.
Gold Award Winner, Attention to Detail: ‘Disappearing’ by Rafael Armada (Spain)
About this Image: Reflections are one of the details I like most in nature because light undergoes incredible transformations when it interacts with water. In a way, it is nature playing with us, with our forms and with the forms that we see. In this photograph, the same water that creates the reflection strikes with force to destroy it, in a sense to overthrow the King. The King is still standing; he knows his reign is not over… not yet. But it will end the day that water no longer creates reflections in the sand.
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS-1D X Mark II with Canon EF 100–400mm f/4.5–5.6 II lens. Focal length 100mm, 1/30 second, f/14, ISO 100.
Silver Award Winner, Attention to Detail: ‘Growing Up’ by Raymond Hennessy (United States)
About this Image: Great Northern Divers (known as Common Loons in North America) and their chicks take to the water soon after the chicks hatch. The size difference between adult and youngster is evident in this image and shows just how much growing is left for this tiny chick: it is dwarfed by the large bill of the adult next to it. I took this photo as the pair floated incredibly close to my kayak in the soft afternoon light.
Gear and Specs: Nikon D4S with Nikkor 500mm f/4 lens. Focal length 500mm, 1/640 second, f/4, ISO 400.
Gold Award Winner, Bird Behavior: ‘Floral Bathtub’ by Mousam Ray (India)
About this Image: This image was taken at North Bengal Agricultural University in Cooch Behar, West Bengal. To set the scene, here in India autumn days (when the photo was taken) are typically hot and humid – sporadic rains interspersed with sweltering heat – while the nights are cold. I was keen to capture images of Crimson Sunbirds drinking nectar from banana flowers. Typically, these flowers point towards the ground, but in some ornamental species they point skywards and some of their outer petals open up like cups, holding water from rain or dew.
Late one evening, a female Crimson Sunbird suddenly arrived and started sipping nectar. Her thirst quenched, she then started bathing in the water stored in this banana flower petal. It’s quite common to find birds refreshing themselves in the evening, visiting puddles and pools, dipping their heads and wetting their wings and body. However, it was a unique experience to see this sunbird immersing herself upside down in water contained in an ornamental flower petal, like a lady in a bathtub. Her relaxed and indulgent manner, lit by the glow of sunset, was truly a sight to behold.
Gear and Specs: Nikon D500 with Nikkor 300mm f/4 and 1.4x teleconverter. Focal length 420mm, 1/4,000 second, f/7.1, ISO 1,600.
Silver Award Winner, Bird Behavior: ‘The Face of Death’ by Massimiliano Apollo (Italy)
About this Image: After many years of frequenting these rice fields in northern Italy, I finally managed to capture what is for me the perfect shot! In late summer, prior to migrating south, the region’s Purple Herons try to feed as much as possible and take advantage of the abundance of prey present in the rice fields.
I had long dreamt of a shot like this, one that would allow me to see the expressions of the two subjects – predator and prey. I can also say with some satisfaction that this shot is completely wild and no form of baiting was employed – just a lot of patience, perseverance and, why not, a little luck!
Gear and Specs: Sony A9 II with Canon 600mm f/4 lens and 1.4x teleconverter. Focal length 840mm, 1/2,000 second, f/6.3, ISO 3200.
Bronze Award Winner, Bird Behavior: ‘Entangled’ by Julie Halliday (Falkland Islands)
About this Image: In the past, the Imperial Shag went by the name of King Cormorant. This subantarctic and Antarctic species breeds in dense colonies, and on the Falkland Islands it favours gentle cliff-top slopes, often mixing with Southern Rockhopper Penguins and Black-browed Albatrosses.
Imperial Shags use various displays to reinforce pair-bonds, ranging from head-wagging, gargling and kinking their necks, to making throat-clicking noises and nibbling or biting the tips of the bill. This pair allowed a close approach, and as one came in to land, they went through a ritual courtship greeting.
Gear and Specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon 70–200mm f/2.8 II lens and 2x teleconverter. Focal length 400mm; 1/1,600 second; f/5.6; ISO 250.
Gold Award Winner, Birds in Flight: ‘Thirsty’ by Tzahi Finkelstein (Israel)
About this Image: Common Swifts live their lives on the wing and are a challenge to capture in flight. With a diet of flying insects, they need to drink from time to time, and even that behavior is performed on the wing. I had had this image – of a swift skimming over water – in my mind for a long time.
I finally found a suitable place to attempt it, and to get the photo I had to sit in water wearing a wetsuit, shrouded by a portable hide, every day for three weeks. Eventually, I got this photo on the final day – the day after the birds had all gone.
Gear and Specs: Nikon D500 with Nikkor 300mm f/4 PF lens. Focal length 300mm, 1/4,000 second, f/7.1, ISO 1,800.
Silver Award Winner, Birds in Flight: ‘The Art of Motion’ by Nicolas Reusens (Spain)
About this Image: This image is one of my favorite shots from my last trip to Ecuador. Using a complicated set-up, I was able to trigger two sets of flashes during a single exposure, using a shutter speed of 1/25 second. I then tried to introduce a sense of movement into the image by adding continuous lighting to the scene. After three days of photographic attempts to get a single picture with an intense atmosphere, this is what I achieved. I hope it was worth it!
Gear and Specs: Canon R6 with Laowa 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. Focal length 100mm, 1/25 second, f/13, ISO 200.
Bronze Award Winner, Birds in Flight: ‘First Come, First Served’ by Hannes Lochner (South Africa)
About this Image: This image captures the moment when two Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills chase after the same insect in a mid-air competition. In hornbill society, there appears to be no such thing as a fair fight, and the slower of the two birds played dirty by grabbing the tail feathers of the other. In spite of this cheating, the attempt failed, so maybe there is some justice after all in the world of hornbills!
Gear and Specs: Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70–200mm f/2.8 lens. Focal length 120mm, 1/5,000 second, f/4, ISO 200.
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As someone interested in photography and looking at equipment did you ever think “why are camera lenses so expensive?” Having used DSLRs for nearly 20 years, I can tell you that camera lenses being expensive is due to several factors. Let me explain this and also give you some tips on saving money on your next lens purchase. One of Continue Reading Photodoto
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Do you want a camera lens without distortion? If you are like me, unwanted distortions in your photos really bother you. But what causes lens distortions and how can you prevent them? Is there anything you can do with your existing equipment or do you need to go out and buy new? Let me explain distortions and answer all these Continue Reading Photodoto
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The post Nikon to Announce the Zfc, a Retro Mirrorless Camera, This Summer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
For months, we’ve had hints of a second Nikon Z-mount APS-C camera, frequently dubbed the “Z30” – and according to Nikon Rumors, that camera “is real and will be announced soon.”
But it will not be a standard, entry-level APS-C camera to match the Nikon Z50 or the Nikon D3500. Instead, the new Nikon mirrorless model, now referred to as the “Nikon Zfc,” will be a retro-stylecamera reminiscent of 20th-century film bodies as well as Nikon’s only retro DSLR, the Df:
The Nikon Df is a retro-style DSLR and likely bears a resemblance to the upcoming Nikon Zfc.
Here’s what you can expect in terms of design, based on Nikon Rumors reporting:
Mechanical dials (likely for ISO, shutter speed, and exposure compensation)
A fully-articulating screen
A “very thin camera body without a handgrip” and a “Nikon Df-inspired design”
“Shape and handling similar to old Nikon FM cameras”
Of course, any mirrorless model from Nikon will undoubtedly pack Nikon’s latest and greatest technology, from Eye AF and fast continuous shooting speeds to a powerful electronic viewfinder and an articulating touchscreen. And Nikon Rumors does claim the Zfc will offer capabilities similar to that of the Z50, a robust but well-priced APS-C camera featuring a respectable 21 MP sensor and an 11 frames-per-second burst mode.
But as film (and Fujifilm) shooters know, the photography experience on a retro-style body is wildly different from what you get on a standard DSLR or mirrorless camera. I’m a big fan of film-inspired designs, myself – the dials force you to slow down and really appreciate your settings, plus they make everything feel more real. And with the Zfc, you’ll get the best of both worlds: the tactile, mechanical ergonomics of a film camera, combined with the impressive speed and efficiency of a 2021 mirrorless camera.
While the Zfc is still only a rumored camera, and while the announcement and release date are technically unknown, Nikon Rumors is pushing a June 28th announcement date and expects the camera to begin shipping on July 31st.
The older Nikon Z50 currently sells for around $ 850 USD, body only, or $ 900 USD with a basic kit lens, and you can expect a slightly higher price for the Nikon Zfc; Nikon Rumors claims $ 999 USD (with a kit lens included).
So keep an eye out for the Nikon Zfc announcement later this month, especially if you like the sound of a reasonably priced, retro-style camera that can use Nikon Z lenses!
Now over to you:
Are you excited by the prospect of a retro-style camera from Nikon? Or would you have preferred a standard entry-level mirrorless camera? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Nikon to Announce the Zfc, a Retro Mirrorless Camera, This Summer appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The International Space Station (ISS) moves fast. Very fast. The modular space station has an orbital speed of 7.66 kilometers per second, which is roughly 17,100 mph. It takes the ISS a mere 92.68 minutes to orbit Earth, meaning it goes around Earth nearly 16 times per day. It’s hard to conceptualize that amount of speed, but French astronaut Thomas Pesquet is aboard the ISS now and wanted to help those of us on terra firma understand the speed at which the ISS moves.
Pesquet has been experimenting with different photographic techniques to show the ISS’s speed. He recently shared an image shot with a 30-second exposure that shows ISS stationary in the frame while the Earth’s surface streaks behind in the background.
A picture from some tryouts of a photo technique I’ve been experimenting with. It gives the impression of the speed we fly at (28 800 km/h!). This image is one 30-second exposure of Earth at night. The trails you see are stars, and city lights. More to come! ?? #MissionAlpha pic.twitter.com/h2GJScy6mk
— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) June 13, 2021
During the 30 second exposure, the ISS traveled about 235km. Despite the speed of the space station, Pesquet says that the crew doesn’t have the impression of moving that quickly due to the orbital path’s distance from Earth. The ISS perigee altitude is 418km (259.7mi) and its apogee altitude is 422km (262.2mi).
With the ISS orbiting Earth so many times during the day, there are numerous opportunities to spot the station as it orbits Earth. NASA has set up a dedicated alert system (https://spotthestation.nasa.gov) to let you know when the ISS is passing overhead. You can view the ISS with the naked eye, no need for a telescope.
Pesquet is very active aboard the ISS and regularly posts new photos on Twitter. You can also stay to date with all the activities on the ISS on Twitter. NASA regularly posts videos from the ISS on YouTube.
Would you prefer to see your subject’s face or have a sun flare where her head should be? No? Well, then that’s just one good reason why you should be shooting with a lens hood. However, many beginning photographers wonder what on earth the lens hood actually does? Is it just there to make your camera look more professional? Of Continue Reading Photodoto
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The post Nikon NX Studio Review: How Good Is This Free Photo Editor? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
In order to write a good Nikon NX Studio review, it’s important to step back to see who this program is for and how it fits into the image editing landscape.
In 2006, Nikon released a software tool called Capture NX, which was designed for its fledgling line of digital cameras. Over the years, Nikon slowly added new features, but Capture NX was never a serious competitor to Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, or other popular image editing and management software. That all changed in early 2021; Nikon retired Capture NX (and its companion, ViewNX) and replaced them with Nikon NX Studio.
But is Nikon’s software ready for prime time, and can it hold its own against a growing list of competitors? What exactly does NX Studio do and who is it for? The answers might surprise you.
RAW file processed with Nikon NX Studio. Nikon D7100 | Nikon 50mm f/1.8G | f/2.8 | 1/3000s | ISO 100
Nikon NX Studio overview
In a very basic sense, Nikon NX Studio is like Lightroom – but designed specifically for Nikon shooters. It’s not really a fair comparison, though, because Nikon NX Studio isn’t supposed to be a replacement for Lightroom. The two have a lot of overlap, but when doing a one-to-one feature comparison, Nikon NX Studio comes up woefully short. However, NX Studio does have a workflow that appeals to a lot of photographers, as well as some advanced tools absent from Lightroom.
Nikon NX Studio is great for photographers who want to do more with their photos than what basic programs like Apple Photos can offer. It has tools for common edits such as white balance, brightness, color, noise reduction, cropping, and sharpness. Nikon NX Studio also goes one step beyond Lightroom by letting you perform basic edits on videos, such as trimming and stitching.
It also has one very important advantage over Lightroom and most other programs: It’s free, so you lose nothing by trying it out.
Nikon NX Studio goes way beyond basic image editing, and it has some powerful tools that appeal to amateurs and professionals alike.
For enthusiasts and even professionals, there’s a lot to like about Nikon NX Studio as long as you keep your expectations in check and don’t mind some frustrating bugs and shortcomings. It’s not a full-featured digital asset management tool like Lightroom, though it does offer some basic file management and storage.
But where Nikon NX Studio really shines is in the sheer depth of its tools. The Lightness, Chroma, and Hue adjustments give you incredible control over editing colors, and the Color Point tool gives you fine-grained control that takes several steps to replicate in Lightroom.
Finally, Nikon NX Studio has a trick up its sleeve that no other image editor can match: it works with Nikon RAW files without needing to reverse-engineer the RAW algorithm or convert everything to DNG.
Nikon NX Studio pros
The price is great. It’s a free program and should be updated by Nikon regularly for years to come.
Lots of features that appeal to amateurs, hobbyists, and professionals
Basic movie editing tools are simple and practical
Everything takes place in a single interface without the need to switch between Library and Develop modules like in Lightroom
Nikon NX Studio cons
Very basic import process compared to Lightroom: no keyword management, applying presets, or metadata adjustments
Lacks Brush and Graduated adjustment tools, along with other editing options offered by competing programs
Lack of a simple Undo feature
Lots of bugs and glitches. Some would say this is expected with Version 1 of a program, but these issues happen more frequently than I would like
Nikon NX Studio utilizes a separate program called Nikon Transfer 2 to import images from a memory card or other source. It works fine, but it’s fairly simplistic in terms of functionality.
If you’re a Nikon shooter, you can’t go wrong with just downloading Nikon NX Studio to check it out. It’s free, and it won’t alter your current photos even if you use Lightroom, Luminar, or another program. You really have nothing to lose by trying it, and you might find that the results you get from your Nikon RAW files are much better than what you get in Lightroom. (Note that Nikon NX Studio only works with Nikon NEF RAW files. It will not load DNG files or RAW files from Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, and other manufacturers.)
While I do think Nikon NX Studio is worth trying out, let’s take a closer look at some of its characteristics to help determine whether it’s the right program for you.
Layout and ease of use
If you’ve ever used a program like Lightroom, Luminar, or Capture One, you’ll feel right at home in Nikon NX Studio.
The interface is pretty simple: the left side is where you access your photos in folders or albums. The middle is where you scroll through your photos or look at them more closely. Your tools are located on the right and clicking the title of a tool expands and collapses its options just like Lightroom.
The Nikon NX Studio layout is similar to other programs like Lightroom, Luminar, and Capture One. Photo storage on the left, editing tools on the right, and your image in the middle.
An Import button in the top-right corner will let you start loading images from a memory card. Additional icons at the top of the main window let you switch between views: thumbnail, map, 2 and 4 images at a time, before and after, and list, which users of Apple’s Aperture software will certainly appreciate. Along the bottom are more tools that let you show view overlays (such as a grid or a histogram), assign star ratings, and rotate photos.
All these buttons and options might seem overwhelming, but it’s very straightforward; you should be able to find your way around the interface after a few minutes of exploring.
One key difference between Nikon NX Studio and Lightroom is that the former stores your image edits in sidecar files, whereas the latter is based around a single massive database, called a catalog. Some prefer one type of storage over the other, but while there have been reports of corrupted Catalogs causing problems for some photographers, it’s not an issue I have experienced.
Still, if you want a powerful image editor but are wary of putting all your editing eggs in a single basket, Nikon NX Studio might be a good choice.
Performance
In terms of sheer speed and editing efficiency, Nikon NX Studio does leave something to be desired. On a 2020 27″ iMac with a 3.6 GHz, 10-core i9 processor, lots of RAM, and a large internal SSD, my edits were fairly smooth.
But running NX Studio on a machine just a few years old with a spinning hard drive felt positively sluggish by comparison. Adjusting any given slider, from White Balance to Highlights to Color Booster, resulted in a visible checkerboard pattern across the image while edits were applied. Each adjustment only took a second or two, but these little bits of time add up quickly when editing dozens or hundreds of images.
On slower computers, editing operations like changing the white balance can result in a tiny delay, during which time a checkerboard pattern is visible.
Other Nikon NX Studio features resulted in slow response times or outright crashes. Navigating through folders to locate images took much longer than I expected, and simple operations like cropping were slow and choppy. I generally zoom in to a photo to check for focus and sharpness and then zoom out for more editing, but even this relatively basic operation was slower and clunkier than I would have liked. After leaving NX Studio running for a few hours – not processing photos, but simply open in the background – it brought my Mac to its knees with a strange memory management error.
I left Nikon NX Studio running overnight; the next morning, I found that my computer had slowed to a crawl. It had some kind of memory leak that was using every spare scrap of RAM I had available.
I’m not saying that the program is unusable, just that users ought to approach it with a bit of caution. Programs such as Lightroom were just as buggy in their early incarnations and are much improved now, and I have no doubt the same will be true of Nikon NX Studio. It will get better over time, but right now you can expect to encounter some glitches.
However, it’s not all bad news in terms of performance. Loading Nikon NEF RAW files was snappy, navigating between editing panes was quick and easy, and import/export operations had no noticeable lag. When Nikon NX Studio works, which it usually does, it works quite well. But when it doesn’t work, it can be a bit frustrating.
Photo organization
It’s not uncommon for photographers to have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of pictures to wade through. Nikon NX Studio isn’t going to win awards for groundbreaking AI-powered image management, but it does have some useful tools to help you organize your pictures.
Nikon NX Studio imports images to folders on your hard drive, not to a proprietary archive. To find your images, use the folders on the left-hand side.
In lieu of a Lightroom-style Catalog system, NX Studio shows you a hierarchical view of all the folders on your main drive and lets you navigate through them to locate your images. It’s not dissimilar from Luminar and others, and I prefer this method over the all-in-one archive system used by Apple Photos. When you import images from a memory card, you can create a new folder to store the pictures. You can create custom names for each import, as well.
When browsing through your pictures, you can assign star ratings, color labels, and keywords. There is a Filter bar that you can use to sort your photos according to these criteria as well as other information, but Nikon NX Studio does not have Smart Albums or other dynamic methods for automatically sorting your images. I use Lightroom’s Smart Collections to help me organize my images, but if you aren’t a fan of this method, then NX Studio will be fine.
The Filter bar lets you sort by many different criteria.
Longtime users of Apple’s now-defunct Aperture software will find the Thumbnail List View to be particularly useful when managing photos. This shows a list-style view similar to what you see when browsing through your Mac OS Finder or Windows Explorer, with columns that display various parameters such as exposure information, file size, date modified, and more.
List View is a very useful way of viewing and sorting your images. It is very similar to List View in the Mac OS Finder and in Microsoft Windows Explorer.
While Nikon NX Studio’s photo management tools are not as robust as I would like, they’re certainly a good start. If you prefer a straightforward approach that does not rely on a proprietary catalog or database system, then there’s a lot to appreciate.
Photo-editing capabilities
This is where the rubber meets the road, and fortunately, Nikon NX Studio can hold its own against the competition in virtually all the areas that matter. While some NX Studio features are not as refined as other programs and some tools are missing in action, what it gets right, it really gets right.
There’s a long list of editing options at your disposal, including:
White Balance
Exposure Compensation
Active D-Lighting, which is unique to Nikon cameras and is a nice way to automatically brighten shadows and create a more even exposure
Brightness and Color
Levels and Curves
Lightness, Chroma, and Hue
Adjust Details, which includes Noise Reduction and Sharpness
Touch-Up, to remove spots and blemishes
Adjust Composition, which includes cropping, straightening, and perspective control
Camera and Lens Corrections
Once again, it’s worth remembering that Nikon NX Studio is a free program, and that fact alone makes the inclusion of all these options kind of amazing. While tools like a graduated filter, a radial filter, and an adjustment brush are missing, the options you do have should suffice for most photo editing. You can even create multiple custom sets of adjustment options that include only the tools you use in specific scenarios. This is quite useful if you prefer different tools when editing landscapes compared to editing portraits.
You can create custom sets of editing adjustments, then switch to your custom sets with a simple click.
The Color Control Point editing tool is particularly useful, and one that I’d like to see in other applications. It allows you to click anywhere on your image and immediately have access to eight common editing sliders. Drag any of them to the right or left to increase or decrease that particular parameter. The top slider adjusts the size of the area to which the edits will be applied. It’s a highly useful tool for precise color editing, and the ability to adjust sliders right on the image instead of in an editing pane is something I have grown to appreciate a great deal.
The Color Control Point tool lets you click on any part of an image and use sliders to adjust colors on the spot.
The Lightness, Chroma, and Hue Adjustment takes an innovative and highly effective approach to manipulating color. While similar to the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance option in Lightroom, the Nikon NX Studio implementation offers useful options that professional and amateur photographers will appreciate.
You can use the eyedropper tool to select a color in your image, then click and drag up or down in the rainbow panel to adjust that color’s parameters. You can also change the angle of the rainbow, which means that your edits can be implemented more dramatically or more subtly. Finally, Width lets you target your edits to either a very narrow or very wide band of colors. It’s a powerful tool for global color adjustments.
Nikon NX Studio has a very useful tool for making global color edits to an image. Click and drag up or down on the horizontal line to adjust the parameters of a color, and adjust the Width to control the range of colors affected by a given peak or valley.
There are some important drawbacks to NX Studio’s photo-editing capabilities, and any Nikon NX Studio review would be remiss in not pointing them out.
First, there is no Undo option. Yes, you read that right; instead of an Undo, you can create a saved state for your edits then revert to that saved state at any point, but an actual Undo feature is missing.
Also, there is no History tool that shows you every edit and lets you step through them one by one. While Nikon NX Studio is nondestructive and all your edits can be changed or removed at any time, a History feature would help when doing lots of in-depth changes.
Other strange feature implementations are present, as well. After you apply a crop, you can’t actually make changes to it; you can start over with a new crop, but you can’t edit the crop once it has been applied. You also can’t darken shadows or lighten highlights – at least, not with the Shadows and Highlights sliders. The Retouch brush has no customization options at all other than its size. Finally, there is no way to make export presets, which could be a dealbreaker for those who rely on this feature in Lightroom and other programs.
The Export dialog in Nikon NX Studio has plenty of options, but its use is limited by the lack of export presets.
There’s a couple of ways to look at these drawbacks.
Compared to a program like Lightroom, NX Studio might seem limited. But on the other hand, you could argue that Nikon NX Studio is free, so there’s not much to complain about. It’s also currently on Version 1 and will no doubt be refined and upgraded over time. Many of the drawbacks have workarounds or alternative methods of accomplishing the same task, even if it does involve some extra steps. And finally, there is always a learning curve with new programs.
So are these missing features drawbacks, or is it more a matter of learning a new workflow? One could make a strong case for the latter over the former.
Who should get Nikon NX Studio?
While I can’t recommend Nikon NX Studio across the board, it’s a great option for many shooters. Certainly, Nikon users will appreciate all the tools NX Studio has to offer, especially for editing RAW files. If you are a hobbyist or working professional who needs a suite of powerful editing tools and you don’t mind some interface quirks, Nikon NX Studio could be right up your alley. Beginners might be intimidated by the plethora of buttons, options, and tools, especially compared to more basic image editors that are available for free on mobile phones and some computers. But Nikon NX Studio could be a good way for those individuals to start using a more advanced image editor without spending any money at all.
People who should definitely not use Nikon NX Studio are those who have a mobile-first workflow. There is no version of the program that works on phones or tablets, and it’s unlikely to be created anytime soon. If you primarily shoot and edit with a smartphone, you’re better off sticking with the tools you already have.
Nikon NX Studio review: final words
Nikon NX Studio is an outstanding program in many ways, and the fact that it’s free is certainly one of its most important advantages.
If you shoot in JPEG, you can use everything Nikon NX Studio has to offer, no matter your camera brand, while Nikon users will greatly appreciate its RAW editing capabilities. While there are certainly some important caveats to consider, as well as some messy bugs that will get ironed out over time, I certainly recommend you download it and give it a try.
Hopefully, this Nikon NX Studio review gave you some information to help you understand a bit more about the program and whether it will work for you!
Now I’d like to hear your thoughts:
Are you interested in Nikon NX Studio? Do you think you’ll use it? What do you like and dislike about the software? Share your views in the comments below!
Do I need to have a Nikon camera to use Nikon NX Studio?
Nikon NX Studio will only work with Nikon RAW files. RAW formats from Sony, Canon, Fujifilm, and others will not work, and neither will universal RAW formats like DNG. However, the program works just fine with JPEG images. So if you don’t use a Nikon camera but shoot in JPEG, you can easily use Nikon NX Studio for your editing and photo management.
Will Nikon NX Studio work on my mobile phone?
Nikon NX Studio is designed for desktop-based workflows; there is no mobile version. You can take photos on a mobile phone, transfer them to your computer, and edit them in Nikon NX Studio, but that workflow adds many more steps and probably takes too much time for most people to consider.
Is Nikon NX Studio better than Lightroom, Capture One, or Luminar?
There are advantages and disadvantages to all of these programs, and it’s impossible to say which one is better. Nikon NX Studio is free, but most of the others have free trial periods for new users. If you’re unsure of which to use, I recommend downloading them, signing up for free trials (if available), and making use of dPS’s many articles to help you learn. That way, you can make an informed choice and find the program that suits your needs.
Will Nikon NX Studio run on my computer?
Most computers made in the past few years will work just fine with Nikon NX Studio. I personally found better results when I was working with an SSD instead of a spinning hard drive, but almost any modern desktop or laptop will run the program just fine.
Can I use Nikon NX Studio to edit video?
While Nikon NX Studio does have a built-in video editor, its capabilities are very limited. It works for basic trimming and combining clips but not much else.
The post Nikon NX Studio Review: How Good Is This Free Photo Editor? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
Samyang, also known as Rokinon or Bower depending on the retailer, has posted a teaser on its Facebook page for two upcoming lenses — a full-frame lens and an APS-C lens — which appear to have been designed specifically with astrophotography in mind.
Samyang doesn’t reveal the focal length or aperture for either lens, nor whether these are manual lenses or autofocus lenses, but both lenses are relatively compact primes based on their respective silhouettes. Samyang says the lenses will be ‘Masterpiece[s] for Astrophotography,’ with night sky photos (presumably captured with the respective lenses) as the background for the teaser.
The duo will be out by the end of the month, according to the post, so it shouldn’t be long before we know the details.
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