I am not sure if people are aware of this but there is a completely free version of Adobe Lightroom available: Adobe Lightroom 3 Beta 2. This version works superb with high end cameras like the Nikon D700 or Nikon D3. When I first opened my low light images in LR 3 I was surprised of the quality.
I combined this new version with newly released camera profiles, also released by Adobe. This makes working on your images even more enjoyable. You can download these files here: New Nikon D700 and D3 camera profiles.
Did you know that you can set one of these profiles to be used automatically when photos are imported? In the Develop mode scroll to the right side and search Camera Calibration. Then while holding down the ‘Alt’ key, select any of the profiles.
Its not hard to install these files. Just follow the instructions below:
Overview
These updated Camera v2 beta profiles for the Nikon D3 and Nikon D700
are designed to reduce banding and highlight color artifacts. Note
that highlight areas may appear a little brighter compared to the
earlier profiles.
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Installation
If you are on Mac OS X, drag the “Camera v2 beta” folder to:
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles
If you are on Windows XP, drag the “Camera v2 beta” folder to:
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataAdobeCameraRawCameraProfiles
If you are on Windows Vista or Windows 7, drag the “Camera v2 beta”
folder to:
C:ProgramDataAdobeCameraRawCameraProfiles
Note that the above path on Windows Vista and Windows 7 may be hidden
by default. Check your folder settings.