Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Adobe Camera Raw with Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Mac
For anyone with a Nikon D80 who uses Photoshop Elements 4.0 for the Mac, here are some tips if you have problems opening NEF files (Nikon's RAW format):
- The version of that plug-in that comes with Photoshop Elements is old, and does not support the D80 raw format. The automatic software update feature of Photoshop Elements doesn't update the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in.
- The D80 raw file format is supported by version 3.6 or later of the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in. As of 2007/6/12, the most current version of the ACR plug-in is 3.7. (There is an ACR 4.1 version available, but it only works with Photoshop CS3, not with Elements 4.0.) You can download it from Adobe support. Copy the file to the directory /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-ins/CS2/File Formats
- If, when opening a NEF file, you get a simple dialog that only allows changing of white balance and exposure compensation instead of the Camera Raw dialog pictured in Adobe's documentation, it may be because you installed PicturePerfect or some other Nikon software that installs its own plug-in which disables Adobe's Camera Raw plug-in. Check the second section of Three Common Problems with Adobe Camera Raw . . . for a solution. (Basically, if ou have a "Nikon NEF Plugin," you need to move, rename, or delete it.)
[UPDATE 2007/6/18: The upgrade to Elements 4.01 for the Mac is now available, and Camera Raw 4.1 works with that.]
# posted by Kris Johnson @ 6/12/2007 04:04:00 AM 
