Nikon capture NEF

[big baldo]

I have been using a plugin on photoshop Elements5.0 called camera RAW. I have been reading about Nikon capture and using that to convert NEF to JPEG. They say that there is an automatic plug in for Photoshop when nikon software is installed.
I just installed a trial version of capture and wanted to use the NEF plugin on elements to convert, but it opens in the camera RAW plug in.I cant figure out how to open with the NEF plug in.:mad2:
Also when I try to use the capture editor, it wont let me get any pics. It says"..........NEF is not a supported image file.you may need an updated version of this software to open this image." Everything is updated and fine.
Does anyone have any experience with NEF and elements 5.0, or can steer me in the right direction?
Thanks, BB

[Frog]

Do you have the 3.7 plugin in elements 5.0?

[big baldo]

Yes I do have the 3.7 but I was wanting to open pics in the Nikon plug-in. I am experimenting with different RAW converters. Im trying to see if using Nikon capture software/plugins makes a difference when using Nikons NEF.
I still cant open anything in Capture.:mad2:

[deckcadet]

Are you using Nikon Capture 4.4 or Nikon Capture NX? I believe the D80 is only supported by Capture NX.

Incidentally, Nikon's NEF conversions are light-years ahead of Adobe Camera RAW's for most of their cameras from 2005 on.

[big baldo]

Deckcadet, HA!! that was it. I uninstalled the capture and installed the NX and everything seems to be working fine. So do you do all of your PP in Capture NX? I was going to just use the NX for NEF then convert to JPEG and open with Photoshop Elements5.0. Is that the right way to go? Im trying to figure out the best way to streamline things. I've used Nikons NEF plug-in in PSE5.0 but didnt like it(too small).

Any tips on workflow?
THanks for the help .........BB

[deckcadet]

I use NX for the majority of my PP of RAW files where I don't need any specific features of Photoshop. I find it easier to use for a lot of things, perhaps because it is really aimed dead at photography instead of all sorts of imaging. I haven't used PSE so I don't know if it has many features that PS has that NX doesn't.

I do still use Photoshop, but mainly in extreme cases where I can't do it between Capture NX and Apple Aperture.

[rsimmons]

If you're going to use NX to convert to open the files in PSE, then use .tiff files that will keep all the file information intact. jpeg files are lossy and will lose data. You can do a lot, a whole lot with NX, but it doesn't fix everything.

[big baldo]

Thanks for the help. I'm starting to figure out the getting the shot is only half the battle!!!!:thumbsup:

[rsimmons]

True, but nothing substitutes taking the best shot possible.