Updated Sept 12--As hinted at in the next story, Nikon did indeed release View NX (version 1.0) prior to the new cameras. Released with View NX are Nikon Transfer 1.0 and Nikon PictureProject Export Utility 1.0. You need Transfer to move images from the camera or card reader to View NX, and you should use the Export Utility if you wish to use View NX with your PictureProject-maintained images.
New features of View NX (beyond those of the discontinued View) are:
- Adobe Bridge-compatible star/color ratings in an XMP sidecar (that means there's an extension added to the digital image file, much like EXIF data works).
- File keywording and renaming is (better) supported.
- Dual import of images (e.g. one to your working folders, one to your backup folders).
- New view options (NEF+JPEG combined, RGB histograms, AF sensor used).
- Quick NEF conversions and basic adjustments, including using saved presets.
- Additional features (e.g. Slideshows, email integration).
Those of us who've been using Photo Mechanic have had most of those things for some time. The difference is that Nikon NX is a free product (and apparently will come with new Nikon cameras instead of PictureProject, at least at the top of the DSLR line). I was never a fan of PictureProject and lamented the passing of View, so I'm very glad to see it back, and with the basic improvements that will make it a useful tool for the majority of the Nikon DSLR audience.
Still, after spending most of a day at the Lightroom track at Photoshop World, I came to the conclusion that multiple-software workflow solutions are looking less and less inviting, especially when they're multi-vendor and updating on different cycles and use different UIs and keystrokes. For example, a serious Nikon DSLR user might use something like View NX --> Capture NX --> Photoshop CS3 --> Portfolio as their workflow, which gives them three or four products to learn and maintain. But that can now be simplified to Lightroom --> Photoshop CS3 --> Lightroom, or two products, and you can still add in Capture NX for those times when you want the Nikon-style NEF rendering. Moreover, Lightroom (and Apple's Aperture) have opened up a new realm of photographer-centric products, whereas the multiple-program workflows tend to be mostly feature-centric products that the photographer has to figure out how to best integrate.
Think about it this way: had you committed to a workflow of View --> Capture --> Photoshop --> Portfolio a few years back, you would have been multiply disrupted: View disappeared for awhile, Capture changed to a completely new UI and feature set, Photoshop added great complexity, and Portfolio struggled to keep up with file format changes. You had 6.5 user interfaces to learn (4 initial, 2.5 changes). Even if the Lightroom/Photoshop duo goes through big changes in the next few years, that's probably only 4 user interfaces to learn (2 initial, 2 changes). At some point, photographers just want to photograph and develop, and multiple gear and logistical changes (cameras, software, workflow etc.) gets in the way of that. Moreover, if you're going to commit time to big learning curves, where do you want to do that? In View NX or Photoshop? Even Lightroom/Photoshop have some keystroke differences that are frustrating, but View/Capture/Photoshop has more to keep track of.
View NX is a 1.0 release, and as such, it seems to have a few birthing pains. I'm traveling with a MacBook Pro, so can only test it on that platform at the moment, but I see several EXIF-related issues, such as an inconsistent automatic rotation.
Don't get me wrong, I very much welcome the return of View. For the casual photographer a workflow of View NX --> Capture NX or View NX --> Photoshop Elements might be all they need, and having a free front end like View NX makes it easier for them to justify buying the other product.