I found that NX2 does not directly have support for Tone Mapping however you can download Color Efex Pro Filters for NX2 from http://www.niksoftware.com/ which includes tome mapping. These filters plug right into NX2 and work right along will NX2 point and selection technology. They offer a 30 day trial. You get a hand full of other nice filters as well.

Just an update on this, after trying countless software I ended up buying the Topaz software. I bought the entire package but I'm only using the Adjust and Clean 2 programs that can be purchased separately. It plugged into my Photoshop Elements 7 perfectly.

I'm extremely pleased with it for enhancing a single picture (not HDR method). I'll attach a couple of my photos so you can see what it does with little effort. Hope this helps anyone looking for this type of software.

Thanks, Gentoo!

Nice recovery Gentoo !

Has anyone used Graphic Converter before ? If you have, what are your comments about it ?

I mean as a photo retouch tool.

If deep shadows are an issue for you, I can show you how to fix those in Capture NX2. One of the things I don't tell you is when I had to save a file from a quick grab shot that I didn't have time to adjust settings for:

This is how I took the picture then the bird was gone. They only stay in one spot for a split second.

This is what I was able to save. I did this using a combination of exp. comp since I shoot RAW and D-Lighting. D Lighting in Capture NX, not the one in camera as a post process and not Active D-Lighting. If you don't shoot RAW, you can use levels and curves in combination with the D-Lighting. For bringing up shadows, NX2's D Lighting is a life saver.

Bland, I do believe if you try Capture One, your deep shadow problems will be a thing of the past. I'll even go so far to say that you'll be amazed by the difference. Please let me know your results.

Wish to thank the both of you for the info and I'll check them all out.

I'm sure tone mapping is the same as tone curve, just another name Adobe gave it in their HDR program I'm trying to do this with.

pabnj, it's interesting you mentioned the deep shadows because that is what I'm having problems with. Hopefully by Friday when the sun is suppose to come out I can get some quality shots to work with.

Bland, I am not certain what you mean by tone mapping either. If you can explain it in more detail, we may be able to help you more so.

My thoughts are you may want to try out Capture One 5. They have a color editor tool which works really well, and maybe what you looking for. I have tried NX, and Lightroom, but still have not found anything that compares to the image quality of Capture One. In deep shadows especially it by far tops them all. The program also has a great work flow capability when working with a large amount of photos. All the reviews I have read about this program place it on top as well.

I'm not sure what you mean by tone mapping, but I assume you mean tone curve and NX2 does have tone curves, and you can actually apply tone curves with the control points (see the image of a man on a boat here, for example).

One suggestion from someone who has used NX and then saw the light(room): check out Lightroom. They've either got a one-month trial of lightroom 2 that you can download or the beta version of lightroom 3, which seems a lot slower to me from the little I've played around on it, but the beta version lasts into the spring, I think. If you want a way to process whole photo shoots quickly, I don't know of another program that compares with it (I haven't tried aperture, though, which I've heard good things about).

Does Capture NX2 have a tone mapping function? I've gone through their site and couldn't find anything on it.

I'm not going to be doing HDR but want to do single shot enhancement, like Adobe CS has. I'm trying out a trail version of Adobe CS now but would rather get Capture NX2 if it has this function.

Thanks!