For the professional photographers as well as those with a deep passion for photography, capturing a detailed photo is always important. This is the reason why professional camera manufacturers design them to capture the photos in a raw data format also known as a digital negative.

6+ Best Raw Photo Viewer Software Download Reviews The best format to store all the required details about an image has always been through the RAW format. This is the reason why all the leading high-end camera manufacturers have their RAW format which is also referred to as digital negative. FastStone Image Viewer is a fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping, retouching and color adjustments. Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information.

To process this image, you need a converter to convert raw data to a complete image. In the case of Nikon users, they require a NEF converter.

Best Free Nef File Viewer

Zamzar-NEF to JPG

Zamzar-NEF to JPG is an online based file conversion tool that can be used as a NEF converter. The application is easy to use and as a matter of fact, it only takes for steps to complete the conversion process. It also supports drag and drops making it very efficient.

Convert NEF to JPG

Convert NEF to JPG is a standalone file converter that can handle NEF files which are the RAW data format for the Nikon cameras. The software is absolutely free for all personal as well as non-commercial applications. The software is very efficient and fun to use.

Image Converter Plus

Image Converter Plus is yet another standalone application that can serve as a NEF converter. Once installed, the process of using the software is pretty straight forward making it ideal even for starters. Unlike other converters available, with this, you are able to make adjustments depending on what you want.

Other Platform

Though there is a substantial number of converters that are available online and which leave absolutely no trace in your system. However, there is still a considerable number that comes as a standalone application, and this makes it relevant to put into consideration the platform in use to ensure it is compatible.

reaConverter for Windows

reaConverter is an image processing and conversion software that can be used as a NEF converter. In particular, the converter is great for converting the NEF images to JPEG format making it easily and viewable in several devices applications. The converter is greatly efficient and allows batch processing.

Contenta for Mac

Contenta RAW converter is an image converter that is used for processing of digital negatives for several leading camera manufacturers including Nikon of which RAW data format is NEF. With this converter, it is possible to make batch processing of the images making the process easily and efficient.

Best Nef Viewer Program

Image Converter for Android

Image Converter is an App that can be used as a NEF converter right from your Android devices. With this app, there is the benefit of converting the files to several image formats, perform image cropping, resizing, and even rotation. Also, it is possible to process multiple files at the same time.

Most Popular Software – Raw.pics.io

RAW Pics.io is an image conversion and processing software designed to work with RAW images from several cameras. The converter has the ability to handle NEF files from Nikon cameras. It is, therefore, a good NEF converter Nikon, and can be used as a NEF converter to JPG, online NEF converter, as well as Batch NEF converter. You can also see RAW File Converter

What is NEF Converter?

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NEF converter is a computer application that can come in the form of a standalone application as well as web based applications. The applications are used in the conversion of the digital negatives from a range of high-end Nikon cameras that record the image in RAW format. You can also see RAW File Viewer

This is made important so that plenty of details regarding the camera is taken into account for various application. With the converters discussed above, it is now easy and efficient to convert the NEF files to the popular image formats such as JPG which are supported by several applications and devices.

There are a lot of benefits for RAW data from different camera manufacturers. However, the images are not accessible in most software. This makes essential to have a NEF converter especially for the users of Nikon Cameras that capture images in RAW format.

Many digital camera users find that they cannot preview RAW image files on Windows computer, which makes it inconvenient to browse or edit RAW files. Saving captures in JPEG + RAW format is a workaround, but it will increase the burden of memory card space. What’s the perfect solution for viewing RAW images on Windows 10? In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to view RAW thumbnails with camera codecs and open RAW pictures with RAW viewer on Windows 10.

View RAW Files with Microsoft Camera Codec Pack on Windows 10

You may have found that Windows 10 allows users to preview thumbnails of some RAW images, like ARW, DNG and CR2, and open these RAW pictures with Photos app. As a matter of fact, Windows 10 is built-in with Microsoft camera codec pack, which automatically recognizes those device-specific file formats and allows users to preview RAW files in Windows Explorer without third-party apps.

With thumbnail preview, it would be super convenient to find or edit RAW image files with professional editing tools. Nevertheless, since Microsoft has stopped updating the codec pack, there are still plenty of RAW formats that Windows 10 doesn’t support, like NEF and ORF.

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Tip: If you want to view RAW files on Windows 7 or Windows 8, please download Microsoft camera codec pack manually.

View RAW Images on Windows 10 with Codec for Specific Camera

If Windows 10 doesn’t support the RAW image format of your camera, then it will only show the default image icons instead of thumbnails of your images. In this case, you need to install a specific codec for the RAW format or camera model, which will work like Microsoft camera codec pack and display thumbnails of the specific RAW file type.

Normally, you should be able to find the codec on manufacturer’s website, but there are also several useful third-party codec websites. Here we’re going to show how to install Nikon NEF codec to Windows 10 from such a codec site.

• Step 1. Visit http://www.free-codecs.com
• Step 2. Input “NEF codec” in the top-right search box and hit Enter.
• Step 3. From the results, click link: NEF Codec 1.31 Free Download.
• Step 4. View the information page, then click Download button on the right section and another download button on the new page.
• Step 5. Click the downloaded .exe file to start installing camera codec with setup wizard.
• Step 6. You may need to reboot your computer to make the codec work.
  

Now, your Windows 10 computer should show thumbnails of NEF images. In the meantime, you should be able to open NEF photos with Photos app. Just search for more codecs if you have another kind of RAW pictures that Windows 10 doesn’t support. Camera model info might help you find codec quickly. Please include it into searching keywords.

Open RAW Photos with RAW Image Viewer on Windows 10

If installing various of codecs hassles you, you can use RAW image viewer which usually support most RAW formats. For example, ACDSee is one of the most famous RAW image viewer software.

Premium RAW image viewers may charge you for using advanced functions, but usually less expensive than Lightroom. Another drawback is that there is no thumbnail of the device-specific RAW images in Windows Explorer, which means quick preview is not available. Instead, users need to open the RAW viewer to check all RAW images in the same folder and manage them as you like. Overall, it is still a great choice if you don’t need another professional editor program.

Pros:

• Support a wide range of RAW formats as well as common images with one tool
• Provide advanced editing functions and management options

Cons:

• No thumbnail display in Windows Explorer
• May need payment

There are many more ways to view and open RAW images, but the above three methods should work for most cases in a Windows 10 computer. In case you lose precious RAW pictures by accident, try a photo recovery software to get them back as soon as possible.