This has been kind of a trying week for me, I am in the middle of moving house, so my time is very limited and I am still trying to get the telephone (and ADSL) installed at the new house. At the same time the license for my review copy of Lightroom expired this week (which caused both my copy of Lightroom 1 and Lightroom 2 Beta to stop working) and it took me a few days to find the serial number for my personal copy, mainly because it was already packed for the move. I did finally find it though and am now back in business.

The biggest thing to happen in the Nikon photography world this past week, was the release of Nikon Capture NX2. Nikon has taken the somewhat unusual approach of offering current licensed Capture NX users a FREE pass for two months, while giving new users only a week to buy a license. There is some controversy concerning the rather steep upgrade price of approximately $100 (compared to the full price of approximately $150), especially after the recent FREE Capture NX software offering for Nikon D300 purchasers, but it is an important software package for Nikon D SLR users and in comparison to the price of the higher end Nikon cameras, is not really all that unreasonable.

Capture NX 2 and Lightroom 2 Beta Interface Comparison

I am not really trying to compare the image quality of the two applications in this post but rather the interface itself. The two images below are the Edit Workspace in Capture NX 2 and the Develop Module in Lightroom 2 Beta. Obviously Nikon is aware that the Module interface of Lightroom is a big success and they are trying to achieve something similar (without infringing on any patents). If the interface does not look that much different from the last Capture NX interface to you, there are now four basic Capture NX Workspaces (Browser, Meta-Data, Multi-Purpose, and Edit) and a second monitor option for the image viewing window. It was possible to arrange the windows to your individual preference before, but now you can access different "workspaces" instantly and configure your own custom workspaces. It is not really a revolutionary re-design of the interface but it does make it a lot easier and quicker to work with the Capture NX software.

Nikon Capture NX 2 - The default image, plus D-Lighting for the deep shadows at the back of the spirit house. D-Lighting automatically boosts the shadows and color so it comes out quite a bit brighter than the basic Lightroom setting. Notice that the folders and Image browser are collapsed to the left.

Adobe Lightroom 2 Beta - The default image plus a Fill Light adjustment setting of 35. I could have brought this image a little closer to the Lightroom image by boosting the Vibrance and saturation. The collapsed pallets (left and bottom) in Lightroom are not visible but can be easily re-activated by passing over them with the mouse.