Nikon NX Studio Software v1.1.0

This review only deals with version 1.1.0 and only with the still image process/catalog features.

NX Studio allows for browsing, cataloging and geolocating images. It also allows editing RAW and JPEG images. The list of supported cameras goes all the way back to the Nikon D1 and includes Nikon 1 cameras and most Coolpix cameras! It does include minimal support for editing movies.

The software allows adding, editing and removing of keywords for each image. It also has map view that shows geotagged images on an interactive world map.

The first thing to notice after selecting an image is that there is an "Adjustments" tab and then all the image information is available under the "Info" tab. There is a histogram that can be switched between RGB and luminosity (brightness). It's all quite obvious.

There is "picture control"* that allows modifying color, contrast and saturation just like the picture control in Nikon cameras. White balance* is the next adjustment, which is used to warm up or cool down the image. Exposure adjustments are next with exposure compensation* and Active D-Lighting* (which can be applied after the exposure is made should it be turned off in the camera, for example). Apply brightness and color adjustments including contrast and saturation, then adjust levels and curves including an option for gamma. Next, there are adjustments for lightness, chroma and hue.

Details adjustments can be made including noise and sharpness (review: Topaz Labs Sharpen AI v3.3.5 to add sharpness to an image using artificial intelligence). There is a dust spot remover labelled as the "Auto Retouch Brush Tool." There are options to crop, straighten and control the image perspective. Finally, there are camera and lens corrections which has moiré reduction*, red-eye removal, color aberration corrections, distortion and vignette control, diffraction compensation* and more!

Feeling overwhelmed with all these options is not uncommon. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom have made all these adjustments much more intuitive and user-friendly plus these two programs allow greater control over these settings.

*RAW format required for this feature

Conclusion

While NX Studio is powerful, it falls short of what can be done in many other image editors on the market today. It lacks masking and batch processing as of version 1.1.0 even though several files can be selected at once and then modified together. Of course, the software is free to download and use unlike most other image editors.