Perhaps somebody else is also having this problem:
I own a Nikon D800, which performs beautifully, but I have hit a snag with it: If I open its raw files using ACR (for later edition either in Lightroom or Photoshop) even though they contain a staggering amount of detail, they somehow fail to live up to the expectations a full-frame 36MP camera generates regarding image sharpness.
To further illustrate: I also own a Fuji XE-2, which has an APS 16MP sensor, which, however, offers stunning, razor-sharp images almost every time I press the shutter. Opening these files in ACR is a delight and you have to edit them much less than the D800 files to get the image you had previously visualized.
However, if I open the NEF files using Nikon's own Capture NX-D software, voilà! The images look as sharp as they should have from the start in ACR. But, if I export the resulting edit, via TIFF, either to Lightroom or Photoshop, again you feel disappointed, they are too soft: I did not pay a hefty chunk of my cash for the camera and lenses to get soft pictures.
The gist of the problem here is that Capture NX-D is a fine piece of software but it handles a little stiffly when compared to ACR and introducing it in my workflow would slow things down.
Does anyone have an idea how to overcome this problem to get sharp images from NEF files in ACR?