Software called Picture Project came with my Nikon D70 DSLR. I recommend throwing that CD directly in the trash and downloading a free copy of Nikon View from their web site.

Nikon View is a suite that includes an image browser, a viewer, and Nikon Edit, a low-end version of Nikon Capture. The Nikon View suite is more for working with your photos, editing them, and developing JPGs from NEFs. It allows you to make exposure and white balance corrections to RAW images just like Capture. Picture project is lacking those features. And it requires you to import your photos into a database and is more for organizing and creating little projects with your photos. The built-in image editor in Picture Project is not as good as Nikon Edit and the photo viewer in Picture Project is extremely slow compared to Nikon View. And there are much better alternatives for creating projects with your photos.

I wonder if Nikon is attempting to phase out Nikon View in favor of Picture Project so that they can sell more copies of their high-end image editing application Nikon Capture. Nikon Edit (which comes with the Nikon View suite) and Capture are very similar but View is free and Capture is $99 US.

Picasa 2 is a better image organizer, viewer, editor, and project maker than both of these applications and it’s free, but it has two fatal flaws that prevent me from using it exclusively. One, it does not handle Nikon RAW images correctly — it doesn’t read the EXIF data in the images and the image data itself is being apparently misread to cause all of the RAW images to have an ugly yellow cast. Two, the image import feature in Picasa is too simplistic. Nikon Transfer (again, included with the Nikon View suite) allows you to do a variety of transformations on folder and file names as the images are imported. Picasa imports all of the images into a single folder using their naming system.

So, I’m hopeful Picasa will make some improvements before version 3. In the meantime, I’m using Nikon View to work with my digital photos. And Picture Project is uninstalled and back on the shelf.

Update Oct. 20: The latest version of Picasa has much improved handling of Nikon D70 RAW files. Thanks, Google!

Comments

1. Wayne Ostrowercha on 2005-03-21 14:35:30 wrote: I totally agree. I removed Nikon View (because the installer forced med to), had Picture Project installed for a few days, and then uninstalled Picture Project and put Nikon View back in for similar reasons. I also found that Picture Project was not able to edit some pictures, even though taken with my Nikon camera. By the way, Picasa 2 is not capable of darkening an overexposed photo, so that is another reason to have Nikon View around.

2. on 2005-04-02 07:44:40 wrote: Picasa also ignores color profiles .. Adobe RGB images look terrible in Picasa.

3. Cindy Lewis on 2005-04-07 05:32:11 wrote: *I bought the D70 while my D100 was in for repair. I am very unhappy w/ Picture Project. It does not let you have Pic Proj and NikonView 5 loaded on the same computer system. Now I have uninstalled Pic Proj and reloaded NikonV5 and my Nikon V5 is not working properly. I’m swamped w/ problems. I don’t have time for this. I would like to RETURN my D70. *

4. Chris on 2005-05-18 23:49:43 wrote: If you install and uninstall different versions of Nikon software you may get problems because the uninstall program doesn’t remove all the files. First fully uninstall all Nikon software using the “add/remove software” function. If you then explore your Nikon disc/downloaded program you will find a utilities folder. Inside this folder is a small (cleansweep?) program. Copy it to your desktop. Then double click it and follow the instructions. All it does is remove the register keys for the software and allows you to install whatever version of Nikon software you want.

5. jjgi on 2005-05-21 13:51:13 wrote: I loaded the PP (newest version 1.1) from their website as told to do by their CS rep. I don’t have ant great disregard for the new program, but I DO NOT like how it automatically pops up the last imported photos. I sometimes have some graphic or confidential photos (I’m in law enforcement) that are then there on the screen for anyone walking by to see. May be just me not knowing how to use it right yet, but I did not have to deal with that with NV-6. JJ

6. shelly on 2005-08-05 19:01:14 wrote: Can’t figure out how to transfer photos on pic. project to a cd? Any suggestions?

7. Rev on 2005-08-05 23:13:54 wrote: I use a Nikon View with my Nikon D100, for professional stuff, and the Picture Project program with my Coolpix 3200 for casual picture taking. Both seem to coexsist ok in my PC with AMD AthlonXP 1700. Perhaps one day I will only use only one of the programs. Oh Yeah any slight editing or cropping is done only in Adobe Photo Shop. One more thing.. ..“Be the camera”. LOL Best Fishes, Rev.

8. Julie on 2006-07-13 10:52:07 wrote: Hello- I uninstalled PP and went to the Nikon website and installed Nikon View. Is it possible I installed a version that no longer has the Nikon Edit that you speak of, because I find nothing that lets me edit my photos. I don’t know photshop yet, I uninstalled Picasa due to ICC problems, so, I’m currently without an editing program. Any advice would be wonderful. Thanks Julie

9. cpiv on 2006-11-08 12:56:00 wrote: I agree that picture project is junk. I was so happy with nikonview and will use the instructions to uninstall this junk and reinstall nikon view.

10. cpiv on 2006-11-10 00:22:00 wrote: I’m back with nikon view which is much easier to use. I can also use all my nikon coolpix cams, ie. 2100,3200 and 5200 with this software. thanks for the info everyone.

11. Bill Jensen on 2007-10-03 15:50:54 wrote: I agree with those who have found Picture Project to be a cumbersome joke. I can’t stand it but don’t know of anything else which can handle Nikon’s quirky NEF files.

12. Richard Naylor on 2007-12-10 20:15:54 wrote: Elements 6.0 does.