I am running a MacBook Pro M3 MAX. Great computer for macro image stacking etc. Nikons NEF raw files displays fine in DxO, Topaz and other apps but not in Apples own software. I am running Sequoia 15.4.1. Is there anyone who knows a solution to this, or will apple launch an update ?
From the Z8 manual,
You can see that Nikon offers 3 different forms of RAW files. Apple accepts Lossless compression RAW files, but not the others. You didn't say what you are actually talking about.
I use High Efficiency*, which is not supported. But I don't expect the Photos app to be very useful for RAW files anyway. Photos doesn't seem to offer anything special for RAW files.
Here's what I do:I have my Z 8 save jpgs on the SD card and NEF files on the CFexpress card, and I import the jpgs to Photos. I use those jpgs in Photos to curate my pictures, rejecting most of them. I may have to make preliminary adjustments in Photos to help choose the best. With Photos editing, many of the jpgs are lovely on their own, But for the ones that seem like they could benefit from RAW information, I edit them with either Nikon's NX studio (free!) or Adobe's Lightroom classic (subscription--bah!) I get the best results I can for these selected images with the RAW editors, and I save a jpg that I can import to Photos. I sometimes find that I can further improve the image some with Photos own editor. I keep only about 15% of the pictures as "Favorites," and a bit less than a third of those are edited in a RAW editor. Photos does fine with the other jpgs.
From the Z8 manual,
You can see that Nikon offers 3 different forms of RAW files. Apple accepts Lossless compression RAW files, but not the others. You didn't say what you are actually talking about.
I use High Efficiency*, which is not supported. But I don't expect the Photos app to be very useful for RAW files anyway. Photos doesn't seem to offer anything special for RAW files.
Here's what I do:I have my Z 8 save jpgs on the SD card and NEF files on the CFexpress card, and I import the jpgs to Photos. I use those jpgs in Photos to curate my pictures, rejecting most of them. I may have to make preliminary adjustments in Photos to help choose the best. With Photos editing, many of the jpgs are lovely on their own, But for the ones that seem like they could benefit from RAW information, I edit them with either Nikon's NX studio (free!) or Adobe's Lightroom classic (subscription--bah!) I get the best results I can for these selected images with the RAW editors, and I save a jpg that I can import to Photos. I sometimes find that I can further improve the image some with Photos own editor. I keep only about 15% of the pictures as "Favorites," and a bit less than a third of those are edited in a RAW editor. Photos does fine with the other jpgs.
Apple's RAW camera support on Sequoia has a footnote for the Z8⁴…
⁴ Lossless RAW format only.
On Sequoia v15.4.1, the RAW Z8 images from Photographylife display as Finder icons, in Quick Look, and open in Preview. Those from DPReview do not.
jon-sverre wrote: … I am still frustrated. It is less than a year since I got my MacBook and transitioned from Windows. That Apple does not support the most important format for Nikon based creators is actually unbeliveable!
I get that, but look at how many different cameras are on that list, and each one, I mean each one, has a different RAW format! My Z5 is on the list and works. My Z8 has 3 different NEF formats, and one is supported! It's like if every car model had a different gasoline port, and a hose to fill the tank of a 2024 Corvette wouldn't fit a Ford Mustang, or even a 2025 Corvette!
But I see little point in editing RAW files in Photos. As I said earlier,I let my jpgs inform me which NEFs to edit in Lightroom. In any case, if you really want to load your compressed NEF files, you can use Adobe's free Digital Negative (DNG) converter to make a universally acceptable RAW picture file. This is the format that Lightroom uses when it creates a new (edited) RAW file, and Apple and Photos support it.
Maybe it's Nikon and Cannon that should come up with a single RAW format that can handle data from any of their cameras.
Apple can only implement the camera RAW support that Nikon provides them. If that excludes everything but Lossless RAW format, then blame Nikon, not Apple. Richard Taylor has mentioned Adobe's DNG converter and upon its converting the NEF to DNG, these images appear in Finder, Quick Look, and Preview as expected.
I also have a Zsh script that extracts the JPG and all internal image metadata from the RAW file. It uses the free ExifTool.
Thank you. I am still frustrated. It is less than a year since I got my MacBook and transitioned from Windows. That Apple does not support the most important format for Nikon based creators is actually unbeliveable!
I am not going to argue with you. You have found a workflow that works for you. I have to decide whether to change mine. My MacBook is a real powerhouse for big stacks using Helicon and Zerene, it is amazing how well it handles 100-200 NEF files so I will continue and find a better way.
Nikon .NEF files from my Z8 does not display in native apple apps.
