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The biggest problem most Nikon D1, D1h, or D1x users face is dealing with the workflow associated with NEF (raw data) files. Not every image cataloging program understands NEF files, and getting NEFs from the camera through to finished image is a bit of a hassle, even with all the right software. Worse still, if you don't get all the steps right, you can lose EXIF data when you move your NEFs around.

Assuming that you own Nikon Capture, Nikon D1 owners have everything you need to manage NEF workflow, including getting reasonably fast large previews of your images. This short tutorial presumes that you've installed:

• Nikon View 4.x or later (from the Nikon View SLR CD included with camera).
  
• Cumulus Limited Edition (from the Cumulus Limted Edition CD included with camera)
• Cumulus NEF Plug-in (from the Nikon View SLR CD included with the camera).
  
• Nikon Capture 2.0.x or later (from the Nikon Capture CD)
  
• A CompactFlash card reader that supports auto detection of card insertion
  Windows XP (though these steps work similarly for other Windows versions and Macintosh OS-X)

Note: the following instructions and screenshots presume a Windows XP-based machine, but the Macintosh instructions are nearly identical except for the handling of a CompactFlash card insertion.

Additional note: reader John White reminded me of one excentricity of Cumulus: because NEF images are really TIFF files with a different extension, you need to reorder the Asset Format list in Cumulus so that NEF appears before TIFF. Quoting from John: "If you don't move the NEF image format to the top in Asset Formats in the Cataloging Options, when you double click on the thumbnail only the TIFF image created by the camera opens (smaller than the large thumbnail oddly enough). By default, the NEF format went to the bottom of the list but when I moved it to the top, double clicking (or Asset Preview) opens the full sized NEF image." (I'll be adding Cumulus set-up instructions to the full tutorial I'm working on. Here, I'll assume you've already done this.)

1. Either: (a) start up Cumulus and select the category you in which you want your D1 images to be cataloged, or (b) always exit Cumulus with a default category you want your D1 images to appear in. When Cumulus is invoked from Nikon View, whatever category is "selected" is the one that is used for the automatic cataloging.
2. Insert your CompactFlash card into the reader attached to your computer. In Windows XP, this should bring up the following autoplay menu:
   
   
   
   
3. Select Copy pictures to a folder on my computer using Nikon View 4 (and consider checking Always do the selected action to skip this step in the future).
   
4. Nikon View's transfer window should open:
   
   
   
   
5. If this is the first time you've done this, click on the Preferences icon (would you believe it's the scissors?). We need to tell Nikon View to automatically place the images in your Cumulus catalog.
   
6. Click on the Database tab and make sure that the Register in image database box is checked. Also use the Change buttons to point to the cumulus.exe file (Select image database software) and your catalog file (Select catalog file):
   
   
   
   
7. This is a good time to check your Auto launch and Transfer preferences, by the way. Make sure they're set the way you want, and then click the OK button to dismiss the dialog and return to the Nikon View Transfer window.
   
8. Click on the Transfer icon (the film strip in the upper left corner with the orange arrow). Your images should start transferring (and Cumulus will open if it isn't already):
   
   
   
   
9. Now, use Cumulus as normal. When you want to see a large preview of a NEF file or start working on it, right click on the asset and select Open with NEFLauncher (if you want to use Nikon Capture; Bibble users can select Other and point to the bibble.exe file).
10. In Nikon Capture, select Preferences from the Edit menu and make sure that Open saved image in external application is checked and points to your photoshop.exe file, and that Add saved images to Canto Cumulus 5 is checked and points to your cumulus.exe file.
11. Make your adjustments to your NEF image, as usual, then click on the Photoshop icon in the toolbar to perform any final work and printing.

That's it. Next time you stick a CompactFlash card into your computer, Nikon View pops up to transfer your images and Cumulus catalogs them automatically during the transfer. From Cumulus, you can quickly invoke Nikon Capture (I get to the large preview window in less than three seconds on my 733Mhz Dell XPS). Likewise, Capture should now be set up to automatically invoke Photoshop and Cumulus, as needed. In this scenario, Cumulus becomes your image browser and the central point of your workflow. The nice thing is that Cumulus and Capture both preserve EXIF data for your files.

Where do I get Cumulus?
D1 users: It's on a separate CD supplied with the camera. After installation, you must also install the Nikon NEF Cumulus Plug-in from the Nikon View SLR CD. You can also download a demo version of Cumulus from www.canto.com (click on the Download tab), but you still need to install the Nikon NEF Cumulus Plug-in.

Coolpix users: you don't need to install any plug-ins, as the Coolpix only creates JPEG and TIFF images, which Cumulus already understands.

Okay, that answers one question. Now how do I use Cumulus?
Want the full tutorial on how to work with Cumulus? Well, click on this link, but be warned, the full PDF file is 8MBs in size.