Nikon D300 NEF files

[Dave]

I still cannot open Nikon D300 NEF files. I just did a Windows update for
Microsoft Expression Media and it still will not open my D300 NEF files. It
sure would help if we could contact someone to help.

[Dave]

I did a Windows update that I thought was supposed to fix this problem. If
Microsoft thinks I will buy a new version every time I happen to get a new
camera, they are crazy. It is impossible to get any real support. Microsoft
wants you to pay to get any help. I wish IView had never sold it to
Microsoft. You could at least get help from them. Expression Media is
Microsoft software and Windows is their operating system, you would sure
think they would make sure we could use their software. If I do not get any
help from Microsoft I will remove the software and get something else. I
know I have had help from some Microsoft people that read these Discussions

"or" wrote:

> I use this software on a mac platform, and it works fine with d300 nef files
> here. The reason: Mac now supports d300 nef files in their leopard system,
> and expression media uses this systems engine when reading nef files
> withinthe database. I guess windows xp/vista either will use the same
> strategy some time in the near future, or you have to wait for the program
> updating to a version that supports d300. Silly really.

[or]

I think there might perhaps be a solution after all: Take a look at the front
page of this cite, there you will find a track to a nikon codec file now
being used by windows. I think it will work.

I have eitherwise had the same experience as you with microsoft´s taking
over iview, and have seriously considered quitting the software, but these
last few days seem to have brought about some change, and it looks like ms is
now trying to get some fuel into the old iview again. Thanks for that, as I
think its a great database, the best I have used actually (have used
portfolio and acdsee)

[Dave]

You lost me, what do you mean the front page?

[or]

just click the link down on this side (return to microsoft communities) in
blue:
http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/en-us/default.aspx?dg=microsoft.public.expression.media

[Dave]

I have asked this question, but I am still confused. Before I go any father
has there been an update for this problem with Windows XP? I had IView Media
and got the download for Expression Media Service Pack 1 Version 1.0.9038.0.
Is this the newest update?

I have seen that I need to download WIC. I have a problem there. I am not
sure what file is English to download. wic_x86_enu.exe or wic_x86_esn.exe?

I do not have the Nikon Codec either, do I need this file
S-NEFCDC-120WF-ALLIN.exe

Can you also tell me if this is correct for the last thing I need to do?

1. Click Start > Run
2. Type "regedit" and click OK
3. Expand the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Expression\Media\1.0
4. With 1.0 selected in the left pane of the Registry Editor, click Edit >
New > String Value
5. Type "WICExclude" (without the quotes) and press enter
6. Select WICExclude and click Edit > Modify
7. Type
"MRW,DNG,RAF,EXIF,JPE,JPG,JFIF,JPEG,DCR,MOS,MRW,ORF,PEF,X3F,STI,TIF,TIFF,BMP
" (without the quotes) and click OK
8. Close the registry editor

I do not understand the
"MRW,DNG,RAF,EXIF,JPE,JPG,JFIF,JPEG,DCR,MOS,MRW,ORF,PEF,X3F,STI,TIF,TIFF,BMP
I do not see NEF any place, what does this do? If it is Excluding files
will I still see these files?

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

You're on the right track to getting the necessary components in place to
render NEF files from your D300.

The first thing that you need to do is download Windows Imaging Component
(WIC). "wic_x86_enu.exe" is the English version of the download. I've
included a download link below:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8E011506-6307-445B-
B950-215DEF45DDD8&displaylang=en

You will also need to install the Nikon codec, which can be downloaded from
the link below:

http://www.nikonimglib.com/nefcodec/

Once you install WIC and the Nikon Codec, the final step is to set the
registry value. The steps you have are correct for Windows XP. Adding the
WICExclude registry entry forces Expression Media to use WIC to render
certain files. Since the NEF codec is available to WIC, Expression Media
will be able to render D300 files through the support of the codec. The
string text (in this case MRW, DNG, RAF,...) indicates the image items
which Expression Media should not render with WIC. Please let me know if
you have any additional questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,
and confers no rights.

[Dave]

Hi Will
I want to be sure about the Nikon Codec. I had aked them about the Codec
when I asked you. This is the reply I got from them. You will see why I am
so confused.

This is from Nikon's Support:
The codec on our site only references Windows Vista 32bit and as such it is
unlikely to work with XP. Unfortunately we can only assist with Nikon
products and the details of the support. There is no where on the codec page
that indicates that it is compatible with Windows XP but again you can try it
will not damage your computer.

They say it will not work and you say it will. That is why I am so confused.

Dave

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

The Nikon codec is designed for Windows Vista as indicated on Nikon's site
and by their support team. In our testing, the codec also allows
Expression Media to render D3/D300 NEFs on the Windows XP operating system
once WIC is installed. We have not seen issues with the Nikon codec on the
Windows XP platform as it relates to Expression Media.

If you have any other questions or concerns about this issue, please let me
know. Also, please let me know the outcome of implementing this workaround.

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,

and confers no rights.

[Dave]

Will
I have done everything you said I need to do. I still have a problem. I
can open Expression and I can only see the NEF under the Media Tab. I cannot
see the image under the Thumbnail Tab. All I see is a icon with Nef on it.
Also the everything has slowed down.

I really would like to use the Expression, but it has slowed my machine to a
crawl and I cannot see the thumbnail images. I cannot use it this way.

[Dave]

I did a rebuild and now I can see the images. However ther is still a
problem. I sized it for 640x480, I see a large square but the image size is
no larger than 160x120. Do I need to change something in the preferences?

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

Using WIC will not be as fast as using the built-in components of
Expression Media. We are planning to address the Nikon D3/D300 NEF issues
in an update for Expression Media, but I do not currently have a timeline
for availability.

If you can see the NEF in the Media tab, you should also be able to render
it in Thumbnail view. I have a few follow up questions:

1. Under Edit > Preferences > Media Rendering > Raw, is "use embedded
preview checked or clear?
2. Is this a new catalog or an existing catalog?
3. Do you see any difference based on how many NEFs you import (for
example, import 2 or 3 vs importing a whole folder)?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,

and confers no rights.

[Dave]

Hi Will

1. Raw, is "use embedded preview checked or clear?
This is Checked

2. Is this a new catalog or an existing catalog?

I had already imported the files into the catalog. The I did what you said.
So I started a new catalog and imported the files. It does not make any
difference.

3. Do you see any difference based on how many NEFs you import (for
> example, import 2 or 3 vs importing a whole folder)?

I had one folder that had just one NEF and 75 JPG, then I had another
folder that had 84 Raw files. The files are full size in the Media folder
and the Thumbnail folder they look no larger than 160x120 no matter what size
I choose. I will need stronger glasses at this size.

Is there any other setting I need to change?

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

Thank you for the additional information. I just want to make sure I
correctly understand the issue. From your last email, it sounds as though
you can see the thumbnail in Thumbnail view, however the thumbnail cannot
be made larger than 160px. Please let me know if this is not the case.

If the NEF thumbnail is appearing, but the size cannot be increased, we are
aware of this issue. This is something that we are planning to address in
Expression Media 2. Our developers are also investigating this issue in
Expression Media 1. If a fix is released, it would be released as an
update for Expression Media 1. Please let me know if I have misunderstood
the issue or if you have additional questions or concerns.

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,

and confers no rights.

[Dave]

Yes Will this is exactly what is happening.

I sure hope you make it for Expression Media 1. I had to buy another
software now so I can sort wedding images. I shoot raw then I sort the nef
images to choose what I want to process to show the bride. I it to sort the
images, I usually set it at 320x240, this will give me 4 images to look at.
I will rate them and when I have question between images I use the light
table to make the decision. The way it is now is useless to me, I cannot go
through 1000 images with the images so small. I chose 6 nef's to open in the
light table to see them larger, it took 65 seconds for the light table to
open. By the time I when through 1000 images this way it would be time to
photograph another wedding. I know I cannot be the only professional
photographer that uses your program. I found out about IView from Ed Pierce
who did a video IView. I bought it because it was a easy way to organize and
sort portrait sessions and wedding. I have already had to buy another
program now Adobe Lightroom. I like the way IView worked better, but I
needed something now. I really do not know if I would be willing to put out
more money for an upgrade unless you have Expression Media 1 working first.
That is just my feeling, but if I feel that way I would guess there are
others that feel the same way. If you do have an upgrade how will we know
about it Expression Media 1. does not have an option to check for updates.

Thank you for your help though.

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

I'm sorry to hear that Expression Media does not fit into your workflow
because of this issue. Please check back with us periodically and I would
be happy to share any information that I have regarding an update to
address this issue. Regarding how updates are distributed, we do automatic
updating through Microsoft Update, so there is no need to check for updates
through the application. Please let me know if you have any other
questions or concerns at this time.

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,

and confers no rights.

[Dave]

Thank you fro your help. I do have a different problem and hope you can
direct me to where to find a solution. The only way I can reply to you is to
open Firefox. When I use IE7 when I hit reply it will just go to the page I
was just on. I did try to ask this question on a different group but when I
click on read and rate response the page is blacked and I get a white page
and it says done on the bottom. Where do I go or can you let me know how to
fix this. I already deleted Temporary Internet Files and Cookies. This did
not help.

Again thank you for you help with Expression.

[Dave]

Thank you fro your help. I do have a different problem and hope you can
direct me to where to find a solution. The only way I can reply to you is to
open Firefox. When I use IE7 when I hit reply it will just go to the page I
was just on. I did try to ask this question on a different group but when I
click on read and rate response the page is blacked and I get a white page
and it says done on the bottom. Where do I go or can you let me know how to
fix this. I already deleted Temporary Internet Files and Cookies. This did
not help.

Again thank you for you help with Expression.

[Will Brandt [MSFT]]

Dave,

I would recommend visiting the IE7 communities if you haven't already (link
below). The IE7 community is similar to this one.

http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/list/en-us/default.aspx?dg=m
icrosoft.public.internetexplorer.general&cat=en_us_28cca3eb-7037-4d4f-bde1-d
8efee1f1420&lang=en&cr=us

You could also take a look through the IE7 Solution Center.

http://support.microsoft.com/ph/8722

Best Regards,

Will Brandt, MCSA MCTS
Online Support Engineer

Get Secure! - www.microsoft.com/security
=====================================================
When responding to posts, please "Reply to Group" via
your newsreader so that others may learn and benefit
from your issue.
=====================================================
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties,

and confers no rights.

[pwm]

I am having problems with my WIC installation (on XP SP3). I would like to
reinstall it but the link you provided (as well as every other link to the
WIC installer) just provides me with a "the page you requested cannot be
found" error.

Can you provide another link to the WIC installer or another way to repair
my WIC installation?
Thanks,
Phil