🚀 go-pugleaf

kat ...

      In my case, I still don't understand what the benefit of having that additional
      'control' is if the NEF image opens up looking fuzzy and lacking detail...




some people drive on the freeway ... others drive off-road
some people are happy with an automatic ... others prefer to drive a stick.

you can customize ACR so that your images will open very close to what comes out of the Nikon plug-in. the added benefit is you can further refine ACR to draw detail from over-exposed highlights or underexposed files. not everyone shoots under ideal lighting conditions. for instance i often shoot at a bird sanctuary on my way to/from work--early in the morning and late at dusk. to get in close i use an AF-S 300mm f4 which requires 1/800 shutter on a D70 to freeze birds in flight. frequently my "as-is" open with too little rez and not enough exposure. ACR allows me to override the pristine" optimization algorithims that NV or the NC-plug in will use to render the photos incorrectly.

I use ACR as my over-ride. your mileage may vary. :-)