I have read quite a few posts on Capture 2.0, and wonder what the advantage is to using 2.0 vs Bibble? I have not been able to find much info Capture 2.0 on the Nikon site.
I saw that I 2.0 can double the file size of the D1x images, will it double the file size of the D1h? If it works this way with the D1h is it actually improving thge file size, ie: making it better for higher quality print, or is it just a gimick, as it seemed to be with the original Capture software, which I found to be useless.
Just trying to figure out if it is worth $200 if I purchase either the D1x or D1h (I am still leaning towards a DCS720x)
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
One big difference that is not discussed much is the ability of Capture (both 1.x and 2.0) to save an adjusted NEF image without having to export to another format. To me this is a huge advantage to Capture. When Capture saves the NEF, it doesn't actually modify any of the raw data, but it saves the adjustments you make in special tags with the image, only adding a few bytes to the file size.
With Bibble or QImage, your only option is to export your adjusted file to another format such as tiff, jpeg, or psd. If you're like me, you want to save the original raw file, and now you have to save the adjusted version as well.
At some point you have to export the adjusted file in order to print or display it on the web, but if you use Capture the output file can be temporary.
Ivan
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
If it's the $200 you're worried about, Nikon is currently offering Capture 2 for $99.95 if you order it within 30 days of purchasing a D1x. The special offer coupon comes in the D1x box.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I also do some work in photoshop in many images, but many times I can do all of the general adjustments in Capture, and all I use PS for is to print or save for web. So unless I do a bunch of localized work like retouching or masking, I don't bother saving that, as I can redo it in seconds. If I do do lots of PS work, I save it in PSD format, which is somewhat more robust and more efficient than TIFF.
I sure wish Capture 2 would ship, I really miss being able to use this workflow with my D1x.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Here's another advantage that is not discussed much. In Capture 1.x the Curves adjustment window is the best designed interface of any image program I have seen. It is the functional equivalent of Curves AND Levels in Photoshop, and is much more usable because you can see the histogram while adjusting curves and levels. The PS dialogs are much more cumbersome, because they are modal dialogs, meaning that you have to do your adjustments then click OK to apply them to the image. In Capture, the window always floats there so you can do your adjustments on the fly in any order and see them applied interactively. This also applies to the Sharpening and color adjustments windows.
In photoshop, it can make a difference which order you do things in, for example most people say apply sharpening as a last step. In capture, it doesn't matter, all your adjustments are applied simultaneously during export.
Bibble's interface for sharpening and curves/levels is totally unusable, in my opinon, unless you're doing a large batch and want all images adjusted identically. The reason for this is you can't adjust sharpening while viewing the image at 100%, all you get is a small preview.
For me, the bottom line is that Bibble is great as a batch processor and quickly adjusting images, but if you want to do any interactive work Capture is much superior. Of course I've heard that Capture has improved it's batch processing features with 2.0, we'll see.
Buy 'em both. They're both cheap and they both do thier respective jobs well. Get a copy of QImage and Thumbs+ while you're at it, they're cheap too and have some usefulness. Photoshop is not cheap, but it's a neccesary evil.
IVan
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Linear Mode
