Software for Nikon D200

[Tyme42play]

Hello All,

I am completely new to the Mac world. I bought my first Mac yesterday and taking it out of the box tonight.

I am a PC girl by habit but also dabble in digital photography.
I purchased the Nikon D200 and it was time to upgrade my old pc and everyone advised me to go with a Mac (truth be told I've never even touched a Mac mouse prior to yesterday) but I'm pretty good with taking good advise so I bought the IMac desk top w/20" screen.

I need to determine what the best software is for my digital photography is using a Mac - is the software that comes loaded with the mac going to be able to handle the D200 files or should I be looking for something else?

Any input would be greatly appreciated from this Mac newbie

 

[macgfxdesigner]

Hello All,

I am completely new to the Mac world. I bought my first Mac yesterday and taking it out of the box tonight.

I am a PC girl by habit but also dabble in digital photography.
I purchased the Nikon D200 and it was time to upgrade my old pc and everyone advised me to go with a Mac (truth be told I've never even touched a Mac mouse prior to yesterday) but I'm pretty good with taking good advise so I bought the IMac desk top w/20" screen.

I need to determine what the best software is for my digital photography is using a Mac - is the software that comes loaded with the mac going to be able to handle the D200 files or should I be looking for something else?

Any input would be greatly appreciated from this Mac newbie

Let me be the 1st to say welcome to the mac world and macrumors

I had an XT, 5d, 20d and always used iphoto but if you are semi pro you might want to look into aperture, great photography tool for simple retouching *color, W/B, etc* Retails for around $299.

BTW I am also a proud new owner of an 20 inch intel imac as well and love it!!!

BLISS

 

[Clix Pix]

Welcome, Tyme42play! I made the big switch back in October after years of using PCs and moving through all the various iterations of Windows....and I was very pleasantly surprised at the ease of the transition into OS X! I LOVE my iMac (20" Rev B G5) and I hope you will love yours as much.

I use Photoshop CS2 for working with my photo images; I, too, use the D200 and love that camera. Been busily collecting lenses ever since! Anyway, iPhoto is not as sophisticated for working with images if you want to get into layers and all that kind of thing. Adobe also makes Photoshop Elements 4 for the Mac, and that is a pared-down version of PS CS2 with a lot of functionality and features. I also have Apple's Aperture and like that program very much, too, especially for "cataloging" images and viewing them all quickly when first installed into the computer.

Thing is, while both iPhoto and Aperture are now Universal Binary, Photoshop CS2 is still specifically for the PPC platform. However, it WILL work (as will Photoshop Elements 4 for Mac) with an intel-based iMac because of the emulation program you've got in there, Rosetta. It may be a little slower using PSCS2 or PSE 4 in an intel machine than in a G5, but I don't know just how much, never having done so.

Hope this helps! Have fun setting up your new iMac -- you'll be surprised at how quickly and easily the process goes. It is MUCH more intuitive than using Windows and of course you don't have to fuss with virus scan programs and extra firewall programs and all that.

Enjoy!

 

[TheMasin9]

aperture vote

i have another vote for aperture, i use it to catalog and do some light editing of my photos. Ive very much moved away from iphoto except for using it for picures from my old point and shoot.

 

[mchendricks]

You might also try Lightroom from Adobe. It is in beta right now but it does show some promise.

Mike

 

[ChrisA]

Hello All,
is the software that comes loaded with the mac going to be able to handle the D200 files or should I be looking for something else?

Yes it will work with your D200.

I would seggest using iPhoto for a while an not to buy anything untill you can list (in writting) exactly why iPhoto is not cutting it for you) Once you have this list people can help with objective coments. Without it you get into a Nikon v. canon or Ford v. chevy type of meaningless argument.

The D200 can shoot in JPG or raw (NEF) format IPhoto can read both but does not take full advantage of NEF. But if you are a beginner with both Photography and Macs just stick with JPG untill you see a reason to shoot NEF

You have a lot of options with software not all of it is expensive, some is free

One thing you need to do now, not later, is work out a backup system into your "workflow". I use Apple's "Image Capture" to download images from the camera. then I burn a CD for backup then I import to iPhoto and select, crop, tag and rate the files and I'll use Photoshop Elements to make edits and finaly a second backup but this time of the iPhoto Library. Now I have three copies of the images and I can delete them from the camera's memory card. Any other system could do a well but you want your phots to service computer crashes, theft, floods and so on for the next 60+ years

 

[javabear90]

Defiantly get Aperture. I use it right now with a D70 and a D200 (backordered still). It is a fabulous program and runs suprisingly fast on a 1.5 ghz powerbook. However, I also use photoshop in conjunction with Aperture. It can do all of the "serious" editing work that Aperture can't.
-Ted

 

[Grimace]

iPhoto is an okay option, but if you're already at the D200 level, you will really appreciate Aperture. Check it out at a local Apple store or online.

 

[Abstract]

Take a good look at Bibble. I don't have any 1st hand experience using it, but Aperture and Lightroom aren't your only options. Just remember that. There's lots of options out there that aren't expensive.

Oh, and if you're looking for something like Photoshop CS2, and you really don't know how to use it to it's full potential and don't really care, then Photoshop Elements is an option, as was mentioned. Another is GIMP, which is a free program similar to Photoshop. Seashore is based around GIMP. Try this if you're interested in GIMP.

 

[ksz]

Another vote for Aperture. It performs RAW conversion very well, manages your photo collection, and has an interface that is absolutely second to none. Lightroom's interface feels positively clunky and toyish in comparison. Note, for example, the loooong list of image processing controls in the Develop Module, and their toyish appearance.