NEF files are RAW photo files taken with a Nikon camera. RAW files contain information that is specific to each camera model, therefore each RAW file is different. This can cause problems if the NEF file is opened in Photoshop, as Photoshop must be updated to support that camera model. If the Photoshop version cannot be updated, the file must be converted to another universal file type (DNG) in order to open in all versions of Photoshop.
Step
Before Starting
Step 1. Do not use the Nikon Transfer program to transfer photos to a computer
Older versions of this program may corrupt the NEF file when transferred to the computer. Instead, use the operating system's built-in file explorer application to copy the NEF file.
Method 1 of 2: Updating Photoshop
Step 1. Open Photoshop
The main reason why NEF files won't open in Photoshop is because the Photoshop Camera Raw plugin version doesn't include specific camera model information. Adobe does update this plugin to support new camera models on a regular basis, but you may have to update it yourself.
Step 2. View your Photoshop version
Click the Help menu and select About Photoshop…. For newer camera models, you must use Adobe Photoshop CS6 and below.
If you're using Photoshop CS5 or earlier, you'll need to convert the photo file first
Step 3. Update Photoshop Camera Raw plugin
Click the Help menu and select Update…. Select the Photoshop Camera Raw plugin from the list and click Update to download the latest version of the plugin.
Step 4. Rerun Photoshop
Once the plugin is updated, restart Photoshop to apply the changes. Try opening the NEF file again.
Step 5. See if your camera has got the version of support it needs
If your camera is a new model, it may not be supported by the Photoshop Camera Raw plugin. You can check the Nikon models that are already supported here.
If not, you'll need to convert the file to open it in Photoshop. See how to convert files in the next section
Method 2 of 2: Converting Files
Step 1. Understand why you should convert files
NEF files are RAW photo files that differ for each Nikon model. To open it, Photoshop must have the latest version of the Photoshop Camera Raw plugin. The latest version of this plugin is not available if you are running Photoshop CS5 or earlier, so the only way to open it in Photoshop is to convert it.
- You'll be converting the file to DNG (Digital Negative Gallery) format so you can open it in Photoshop.
- You'll also need to convert the file if you already have the latest version of Photoshop but the plugin doesn't support your new camera model.
Step 2. Download Adobe DNG Converter
This is a free utility for Windows and OS X. You can download it for free from here.
Once the download is complete, run the setup program to install this converter to your computer
Step 3. Run the converter program
After the installation is complete, run the Adobe DNG Converter program.
Step 4. Select the file to convert
Click the Select Folder… button in the first section to select the photos to convert.
You can only select a directory containing multiple photos, not a single photo
Step 5. Choose where you want to save the converted photos
Generally these photos are saved to the same location as the original photo directory.
Step 6. Specify the photo naming settings
In the third section, you can set the file name of the converted photo. Generally, these new files have the same names as the original files, but with the addition of the.dng extension.
Step 7. Define compatibility preferences
Most users can allow this, but if you want to convert your photo to open in an older version of Adobe Photoshop, click the Change Preferences… button and select the version you're using from the Compatibility drop-down menu.
If you want to embed the original NEF file into the DNG file, you can select it from the Preferences menu. This will result in a larger DNG file, but you can extract the NEF file later if needed
Step 8. Start the conversion process
Once your settings are correct, click the Convert button to start converting the file. This may take a while, especially if you're converting multiple files at once.
