# Nikon Z6 NEF files



## rockmen66 (Apr 27, 2019)

Hi, I currently use Lightroom 6.14 and have no intention of upgrading to a non-perpetual version. I have a Nikon D800 and D300 and the setup works great. I have been using Lightroom since version 1.
Now I am thinking of getting a Nikon Z6 and I will no longer be able to import my raw files into this version of Lightroom. I believe there is no way to fool Lightroom into displaying these files.
What is the simplest way to get my photos into Lightroom. Use Nikon NX-D to read the files then bulk export to 8-bit Tiff leave at that or then do a conversion to DNG from within Lightroom.
Any other ideas?


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## Hal P Anderson (Apr 27, 2019)

rockmen66 said:


> Any other ideas?



Yes. Use Adobe's free DNG converter to convert your NEFs to DNGs and import the DNGs.
https://helpx.adobe.com/ca/photoshop/using/adobe-dng-converter.html


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## clee01l (Apr 27, 2019)

I agree with Hal.  The DNG Converter preserved the RAW data that can be converted to 16 bit RGB in LR/ACR.
Your RAW NEF is 12 or 14 bit.  Why would you want to lose color definition by fixing the RGB to 8 bit color?


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## rockmen66 (Apr 28, 2019)

clee01l said:


> I agree with Hal.  The DNG Converter preserved the RAW data that can be converted to 16 bit RGB in LR/ACR.
> Your RAW NEF is 12 or 14 bit.  Why would you want to lose color definition by fixing the RGB to 8 bit color?



So what settings should I use in the Adobe DNG converter to achieve best results.  At the moment I pulled a sample Z6 NEF file from DPReview to play around with.

Any advice much appreciated.


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## Rob_Cullen (Apr 28, 2019)

Find a simple instructive video at- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqGovpuihw

One hint:  The DNG Converter works on a selected FOLDER of images. Do not select/highlight the individual NEF files when you make your selection to convert.
"To achieve best results"- the files converted to DNG are still 'raw' files with exactly the same raw data as the NEFs, so "quality" is identical, and you have a raw file that Lightroom will read.

https://theblog.adobe.com/dng-pros-cons-and-myths/https://helpx.adobe.com/au/photoshop/digital-negative.html


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## rockmen66 (May 6, 2019)

So I now have my Z6 and have tried various conversions to DNG.  I tried Adobe DNG converter( the first 2 in the attached image)  Also tried importing NEF files in to NX-I and also NX-D saving as Tif pulling into Lightroom and then converting to DNG in Lightroom. Had a bit of mixed bag of results. 

The files converted to Tif - DNG looked better but the file sizes were huge even as a DNG while the ones from the Adobe DNG converter were much smaller but the images were not so vibrant.


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## Johan Elzenga (May 6, 2019)

You are comparing apples and oranges. The Adobe DNG converted files are still raw files, and so they need to be edited. The files exported from NX are edited derivatives. Even the DNG version is (probably) an edited linear RGB file, not a raw file. That is why these files are so much bigger (raw is one color per pixel, RGB is three colors per pixel) and why they look more vibrant.


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## rockmen66 (May 6, 2019)

Good call,  Thanks


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