Nikon D300 User Manual page 123

Nikon ViewNX RAW conversion software is supplied free
with the D300(S), while Nikon Capture NX2 requires a
separate purchase. Capture NX2 has become my favorite
conversion software, along with Adobe Photoshop. I use
ViewNX to look at my images because it has an excellent
browser-type interface, and then I push my images to Capture
NX2 for final post-processing. If I need to remove an ugly
spot in the sky from the edge of an otherwise spotless image,
or a blemish from a person's face, I'll use Photoshop's Clone
and Healing tools.
NEF (RAW) format has two image data compression formats
available. These compression types will be considered in the
upcoming section titled NEF (RAW) Recording. Basically,
compression is applied to the image and reduces its size by
varying amounts according to the level of detail in the image.
We'll discuss NEF compression in more detail shortly.
RAW Files Aren't Images Yet!
Now, let's talk about NEF, or RAW, quality for a while. I'm a
NEF (RAW) photographer about 98 percent of the time. I
think of a RAW file like I thought of my slides and negatives
a few years ago. It's my original image file that must be saved
and protected.
It's important that you understand something very different
about NEF (RAW) files. They're not really images—yet.
Basically, a RAW file is composed of black-and-white
sensor data and camera setting information markers. The
RAW file is saved in a form that must be converted to another
image type to be used in print or on the Web.
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