Capture NX

Capture NX is a photo editing computer program developed by Nik Software in partnership with Nikon for macOS and Microsoft Windows.

In September 2012, Google acquired Nik Software, but Capture NX has remained a Nikon software and is advertised as a Nikon product.

In July 2014, Nikon released a new software Capture NX-D to replace Capture NX 2. As such, Nikon D810 is the first camera to support only Capture NX-D. Capture NX-D was developed based on SILKYPIX Developer Studio and does not contain the U-Point technology from Nik Software. Since February 2020, the current release of the software does not install on Windows 7 anymore.

On June 6, 2022, Nikon announced that Capture NX 2 and Capture NX-D will be discontinued and replaced by NX Studio. Download links for both programs were removed on June 30, 2022.

Features of both Capture NX products

 * Complete raw image format support from import to export (for supported cameras), including Nikon's own RAW format NEF (Nikon Electronic File).
 * Non-destructive image editing.
 * Color management control with Soft Proofing.
 * Color Aberration Control, D-Lighting (High Speed/High Quality), Image Dust Off, Vignette Control and Fisheye-to-Rectilinear Image Transformation.
 * Noise Reduction: global or selective adjustments.
 * Color Balance, Contrast/Brightness, Saturation/Warmth.
 * Lens correction tools, such as chromatic aberration or distortion control.
 * Auto Retouch Brush, to remove blemishes and dust from images. (not in Capture NX-D V 1.0 but will be added later)
 * Shadow/Highlight Adjustment, to open up shadows or recover blown out highlights.
 * Improved Edit List, to apply common editings like auto color aberration, auto red-eye correction, vignette control, tone curves, contrast and highlight, exposure compensation and shadow protection.
 * Filters, Ratings and Sorting Toolbar.

Features of Capture NX-D only

 * All changes are saved to a Sidecar File in subfolder NKS_PARAM.
 * At this moment relatively low performance (for versions 1.0x - 1.3x) comparing to latest versions of Capture NX 2.4x

Features of Capture NX only

 * All changes are saved to the NEF file.
 * Color Control Point editing for hue, brightness and saturation.
 * Selection Control Points, selectively edit photographs without the need to manually outline or mask the area for editing.
 * Plug-In Interface for Nik Color Efex Pro
 * Ability to use Dust Off Reference photo created by some Nikon DSLR's to automatically remove dust from images