Pros
Adjust exposure, white balance and picture mode (landscape, portrait, etc) on the RAW file. Nikon knows best how to change these values because they know their sensor best. A big time saver over using post software such as Aperture.
TIFF conversion includes all the picture mode tweaks that the camera would use for a jpeg file, so the converted file looks like what you expect to see (instead of a very flat, neutral RAW).
Cons
View NX2's "D-Light HS" shadow recovery tool has been widely criticized for losing color information. Apparently the pay version of the software, Capture NX2, has a better algorithm.
Summary
View NX2 version 2.5 on Mac OS 10.6 with Aperture 3.x.
Aperture's Nikon RAW conversion algorithm is poor - it results in a flat, unsharp, uncontrasty master image. Nikon shooters will benefit from using View NX2 to transfer images from the camera and perform a conversion to TIFF which renders all the in-camera settings for exposure, sharpness, picture mode, etc. NX2 starts you off with the best looking TIFF, arguably truest to what your eye saw and certainly true to an equivalent in-camera jpeg. This reduces your post processing effort in Aperture.
For the record, I experimented with 8-bit and 16-bit TIFF conversions and viewed them on a recent model Dell TN LCD monitor. With respect to image quality and color depth, my eyes cannot discern between 8-bit and 16-bit TIFF files. So my default workflow is now 8-bit TIFF (~32 MB files) instead of 16-bit (~70 MB).
YMMV
Updated on Sep 14, 2012
After NX2... I still use Aperture for digital asset management (DAM) - i.e. Aperture houses my master catalog of referenced image files. I prefer Aperture's import dialog for meta data entry. After correcting for lens distortion, if desired, I typically use Aperture for straightening and cropping images. Aperture is OK for small tweaks to brightness, contrast and such. But for serious image processing, I now use Nik plug-ins launched from Aperture in the same 8-bit TIFF format.
Updated on Sep 14, 2012
After NX2... I still use Aperture for digital asset management (DAM) - i.e. Aperture houses my master catalog of referenced image files. I prefer Aperture's import dialog for meta data entry. After correcting for lens distortion, if desired, I typically use Aperture for straightening and cropping images. Aperture is OK for small tweaks to brightness, contrast and such. But for serious image processing, I now use Nik plug-ins launched from Aperture in the same 8-bit TIFF format.
Updated on Sep 14, 2012
After NX2... I still use Aperture for digital asset management (DAM) - i.e. Aperture houses my master catalog of referenced image files. I prefer Aperture's import dialog for meta data entry. After correcting for lens distortion, if desired, I typically use Aperture for straightening and cropping images. Aperture is OK for small tweaks to brightness, contrast and such. But for serious image processing, I now use Nik plug-ins launched from Aperture in the same 8-bit TIFF format.
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Pros
There is no pros associated with this application unless you are looking for waste about 5 minutes of your day, depending on your download speed.
Cons
app opens then closes without doing anything useful. Running on SL 10.6.5
Summary
Although I credit Nikon for attempting to provide software for free, it would be better if that software did something useful. Please test your software.
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Summary
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.
This version ruined my version 1.4 which did work correctly under Snow Leopard. The program launched but had inappropriate text showing up all over the place: in the title bar, in the favorite folders area, etc. Uninstalled, redownloaded from NikonUSA's site, reinstalled - same problem. Why can't Nikon keep up w/ major OS releases?
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