Nikon D4s Update ETA?

Let me chime in here with the other voices who have expressed frustration with Apple's tardiness in supporting the D4s. Apple sold Aperture to me as a professional application and so I feel like it is their responsibility to support the cameras professionals are using. I don't think there's any good excuse for this situation.

phosgraphis, your temporary solution works! Thank you! I just dowloaded Adobe's DNG converter:

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/cameraraw8-4-cc.html

An I was able to convert my RAW files to DNG, which can can then be imported into Aperture. Not ideal, but it will have to do until Apple gets their act together and puts out the RAW support update for Aperture 3.5.1

Aperture sees the files as RAW when you import them, and this is supposed to be a lossless file format, so I'm ok for now. At least I can work with my images in Aperture until the correct solution comes out.

It is extra work, but it can be done in a single batch, so you can get all the images coverted quickly.

Thanks!

Absolutely agree. Instead of glossy brochures, show that you mean what you say Apple.

Saw it.

So if you are using Lightroom or other Adobe projects you can use Nikon's best camera. If you are using Apple products you cannot. What is wrong with this picture?

What is wrong with this picture?

What is wrong with the picture is that Apple is a bit slower than Adobe at supporting new cameras. Apple used to be really bad, but is much better now than in the past (we will see how many days slower than Adobe's April 8 Apple is).

Note also that on my Nikons (D3, D2x, D5100) to my eyes/brain Apple's RAW conversion appears better than Adobe's ACR conversion.

And of course both Apple and Adobe would be faster at support if Nikon shared more info.

-Allen

I just received a brand new Nikon D4S today and want to echo the disappointment shared by others here.

I have hundreds of thousands of images stored in Aperture and don't want to walk away from it. But I need to use the camera. This is very frustrating. Nikon announced this camera four months ago!

Did they _ship_ the camera 4 months ago?

Yes, demo units of the D4S have been shipping that long. Production models started shipping in volume in mid-March, six weeks ago. But the SHIP date is a red herring. The D4S was in development for much longer than 4 months.

I guess I was expecting that two leaders in their respective fields (Apple and Nikon) – whose products were so intimately intertwined – would have some kind of development relationship that enabled Apple to have an Aperture update ready when the D4S hit the streets. Silly me.

Here's another workaround that doesn't involve Adobe for those, like me, who are revolting against their Creative Cloud forced-migration death march.

Nikon ships freeware with the D4S called ViewNX 2. With it, you can view and edit raw files. The editing functions aren't nearly as powerful as Aperture's. But the software works. Moreover, when you're done, you still have an editable raw file that you can import into Aperture at a later date. No translation or conversion needed. You can also take images into Nikon's CaptureNX 2 software. I've been using Capture NX for some time now. It isn't as full featured as Photoshop, but it does some things much better.

FWIW, I dtopped using Nikon software a long time ago. It was always slow, buggy, and broke every time Apple even issued a minor update ot the OS. But, beyond that, Nikon's software always installed dozens (or even more) files all over the operating system for no obvious reason. Some of these insinuated themselves deep into the operating system and were very difficult to find and eliminate. I think it's a better idea to keep that software off your Mac, but that's just my observation.

In a comment above one user indicated that Apple is a "bit slower" than Adobe supporting the D4s, and compares the (still unready) support from Apple to Adobe's April 8 release date of their support. This is misleading, since for a long time before the official release Adobe made the beta software available to D4s users to they could use the Adobe products with the new camera. Obviously, they understand the needs of these customera and have done everything they can to support them.

Apple, on the other hand, still does not support Nikon's current flagship camera, months after it has been released. They haven't made any effort to get beta software to anyone or help in any other way. They not only don't support the camera but provide no information whatsoever to their users as to when the support will be forthcoming. This is not a professional way to treat their customers, and it doesn't make it look they like are particularly concerned about those customer or with providing reasonable competition for Lightroom.

Yes, this is not professional at all, outrageously, shameful...

Here we are at 15 May and still nothing. I have had my D4S for about three weeks now and moved to Lightroom 5/PS to be able to post process my work. Dreadful performance Apple. The longer it takes the more hassle I'll have.

When Aperture 4 comes out it better have a LR5 to Aperture convertor in it !

jockybub wrote:

Here we are at 15 May and still nothing. I have had my D4S for about three weeks now and moved to Lightroom 5/PS to be able to post process my work. Dreadful performance Apple. The longer it takes the more hassle I'll have.

When Aperture 4 comes out it better have a LR5 to Aperture convertor in it !

More helpful would be an Aperture to LR, C1P, or DxO converter. We've been waiting years for Aperture 4. Why would anyone expect Apple to suddenly stay current?