# Adobe Camera Raw in CS3 and NEF files



## Heretotherephoto (Jan 17, 2010)

I just got CS3.  Seemed like a good price off ebay.  I have been shooting in raw and using the dis that came with my D90 to make some adjustments before making it into a jpeg for further editing in GIMP.  I know CS3 has a raw converter which can do a little more than the Nikon program.  Problem is it does not seem to work with an NEF file.  The help website seems to back this thought up.  Has anyone used RAW files from a Nikon which is NEF and then uploaded them to ACR in CS3?  If so how?

I am still waiting on my book to arrive so I can learn about this program.

Thanks


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## nemopaice (Jan 17, 2010)

I haven't used CS3, I have CS4, but I can maybe make a few suggestions. Have you checked for updates for CS3 specifically there RAW codecs. Have you tried loading them into ACR from Adobe Bridge? From bridge, double clicking the file should automatically open the NEF file into ACR, if not, Command+r on Mac and I believe CTRL+R on Windows, should open it up. 

That's what works for me. My CR2 and NEF file from both cameras open up fine. Hope it helps. If not I'd be happy to help look for a solution if nobody else has a suggestion.


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## Heretotherephoto (Jan 17, 2010)

Thanks I will give that a shot.  I haven;t had much time to play with it as I am on the road this week and haven't got my camera with me.  Scared of getting it damaged.

Hopefully when I get home the book will have shown up.


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## Big Mike (Jan 18, 2010)

It's not just a matter of .NEF files.  Every new camera model that shoots RAW, will need to have an upgrade to the ACR software.  

It's a very simple upgrade, you just download the latest version of Adobe Camera RAW from Adobe.com, then replace the previous version.


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## Dwig (Jan 18, 2010)

Heretotherephoto said:


> ...Has anyone used RAW files from a Nikon which is NEF and then uploaded them to ACR in CS3?  If so how?...



There are lots of different versions of NEF. Like all RAW files, except DNG, they are brand and model specific. You have to use a RAW converter that handles your camera's flavor of NEF.

First, you need to upgrade the ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) plugin. Download the newest version *that is compatible* with your PS/CS3. PS/CS3 works with the v4.x releases of ACR and not the v5.x, which are specific to PS/CS4 and some versions of PS/Elements. No release of PS/CS3 shipped with anything other than the oldest version of ACR v4.x.

If your PS/CS3 with the updated ACR still won't read your NEF files it means that your camera is too new to be compatible with that older version of PS. One good (and free) solution is to download the newest version of Adobe's DNG Converter (currently v5.6). You would then use DNG Converter to convert your camera specific NEF files to Adobe's "universal" DNG RAW flavor. PS/CS3 with its ACR will then be able to open and process the DNG files. In fact, any version of PS since PS/CS with ACR v2.2 will handle the DNGs.


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