Using the Nikon RAW NEF format and Nikon Capture NX.

Question

This is about using the RAW NEF format in Aperture together with RAW NEF capable editing programs, specifically Nikon Capture NX.
I basically agree with Aperture that it is a "workflow tool" and NOT a photo editor with all the bells and whistles of Photoshop or Nikon Capture. Apple fixed the most basic level of NEF conversion with version 1.1, great!
However, as a workflow tool for RAW images, I cannot seem to figure out how to use RAW (Nikon's NEF) files efficiently with the new Nikon Capture NX.
Nikon Capture NX is quite an interesting alternative to Photoshop. (I cannot wait or the Universal version, as with Photoshop, but that is another matter.) I like the work flow idea it uses, and I like that it edits the RAW NEF files directly, layering the edits on the RAW data. If I open an edited NEF file in Photoshop using the Nikon Plug-in, the result looks great. If I open the same file with Aperture (or using the Adobe RAW plugin) the result is basically an unedited version of the RAW NEF file. This is very disappointing.
It seems I need to export the file from Nikon Capture as a TIFF or JPG. The TIFF gives good results but takes up about 10x more disc space. With the JPG I must give up the 16-bit per channel color depth. Neither allow me to have a "RAW workflow" as advertised by Aperture.
What am I missing? Is this something Apple is going to work on by working more closely with Nikon (and Cannon)? (I figure Nikon keeps their conversion algorithms secret.)
Or are we out of luck here?
Macbook Pro 17" Mac OS X (10.4.7)
Macbook Pro 17"   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

Answer 1

How do I know? Well if you change the white balance settings in-camera, different numbers come thru in Aperture. But the numbers in Aperture, ACR and the presumed numbers in-camera do not match. I wrote Nikon about this quite a while ago and they wrote back saying we do not know how other people interprete our proprietary WB numbers. See note below for additional insight as how you might look further into it
"The shooting data I referenced is available in Nikon View Browser when viewing your images. Looking at all the images at once, it is easy to compare changes made to the camera by quickly clicking on the separate thumbnails. They displayed the differences I had mentioned before. If you do not already have the software, you can download it here:
Title: Nikon View 6.2.7 Full Version - Windows
URL: http://support.nikontech.com/cgi-bin/nikonusa.cfg/php/enduser/stdadp.php?p_faqid=13760&pcreated=1131989543
Nikon Capture will not report a temperature value for White Balance, unless a manual Kelvin setting is selected using the option in the D200. As I mentioned before, Auto White Balance, and other Auto settings in the camera may not deliver a consistent result in a burst or as separate still frames even if the subject has not moved or changed. You have a cast on that one image using Auto White Balance. This is not uncommon, just choose a different value. The value may not even accurately reflect what situation you are in. It may be sunny, and you choose cloudy. The White Balance is not measuring the ambient light, it's used to measure the temperature of the light reflecting off your subject. The closer your subject is to white, the closer the value. This is why a preset is taken with a white or neutral gray card.
Since Auto White Balance covers a wide range of temperature, the exact value is not recorded anywhere that I know of. In addition, all White Balance temperatures are approximate values, as per the manual page 35. Having a cast on an image while using Auto White Balance is very possible, just choose another value more suited to the ambient light.
Set the White Balance to K , and capture an image, and this will be reported by the shooting data in Nikon Capture. I have no idea whether ACR is reporting an accurate value or not, we do not support that software, but check this value against what you see in there software."
Regards,
Steven