With the release of the Nikon D810 last week, we have received a number of urgent e-mails asking why Lightroom can’t see its raw files. Unfortunately, Lightroom must be updated to recognize the D810 files and, until that happens, you must use one of four workarounds. Each workaround has its pluses and minuses. The four choices are as follows:

1. Nikon Capture NX-D: Nikon has discontinued support of Capture NX2 and replaced it with Nikon Capture NX-D. While powerful, it isn’t Lightroom or Photoshop and doesn’t support any plugins. It will, however, recognize and allow you to edit the D810 raw files.
2. Nikon View NX: View NX is an image browser only. You can’t edit the images but you can view them and convert them to TIFF images. TIFF images can be imported into Lightroom or opened in Photoshop.
3. DNG Converter 8.6 (Beta): The DNG Converter will convert the D810 raw files to the DNG format, which can then be viewed and edited in Lightroom or Photoshop. This and the next option are your most versatile solution at this time. Note: The link takes you to the download page for the Camera Raw 8.6 beta plugin; the link for downloading the DNG Converter is at the bottom of the page.
4. Camera Raw 8.6 (Beta) for Photoshop CC or CC 2014 or Camera Raw 8.6 (Beta) for Photoshop CS6: A beta version of the next update to the Camera Raw plugin for Photoshop is currently available on the Adobe Labs site. It can recognize and edit D810 raw files. It will also allow you to view D810 files in Adobe Bridge. This and the previous option are your most versatile solutions at this time.

Adobe is certainly working on an update to Lightroom but it hasn’t announced any release date. It also isn’t clear whether the update will be Lightroom 5.6 or Lightroom 6. Rumors are that Lightroom 6 is coming shortly. We will let you know when an update or Lightroom 6 is available.

PS on July 31 at 10:44 am: Lightroom 5.6 is now available from Adobe. While there is no information currently available online about the update, it appears to support the Nikon D810 raw files. See Lightroom 5.6 is Available and Includes Support for Nikon D810 Raw Images.

PPS on July 31 at 1:19 pm: Information about Lightroom 5.6 and the links from which to download the update are at: https://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2014/07/lightroom-5-6-now-available.html. If you subscribe to the Creative Cloud, download the update from within the Creative Cloud app.

26 Jul This entry was written by bjzwit and published on July 26, 2014 at 4:03 pm. It’s filed under Editing Images and tagged editing, lightroom, Nikon D810, photoshop, raw. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.