Paul_R
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 16/06/2006
Posts: 1948
Loc: Middlesbrough, England.
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Hi All,
As I now take the majority of my images using the RAW setting on my 400D after reading various threads on the benefits of using RAW, I now read that there are concerns with the RAW file format because there's not a single, universal format for RAW images.
So, would it better to save the RAW file in Adobe's DNG format for archival reasons (as I believe the DNG format is expected to be adopted by all the major camera manufacturers in the near future and catered for by Adobe)? Do many people do this and if so, do you then delete the RAW file and just keep the DNG file? I understand the original RAW file can be embedded into the DNG file but this would increase the file size further, but saving the DNG file only will allow it to be compressed (which, apparently, is lossless) reducing the DNG file size.
I can't see any issues in saving the DNG files and deleting the RAW files but I may wrong, hence my post  I would be interested in others opinions on this.
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Regards, Paul CRIPN
http://www.pbase.com/exposethelight
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4464
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
So, would it better to save the RAW file in Adobe's DNG format for archival reasons (as I believe the DNG format is expected to be adopted by all the major camera manufacturers in the near future and catered for by Adobe)?
I hope you're right but the signs are not good. At the moment there seem to be lots more applications that can read Canon and/or Nikon proprietary raw formats than DNG.
However I don't see the point of converting and keeping both - except as a backup, just as you would, I hope, keep at least two copies of either the raw or DNG file in case of storage medium failure.
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RichardSibley
AP Technical Writer
Reged: 03/08/2007
Posts: 41
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From memory - Adobe's DNG Converter embeds the original raw file information within the DNG file. Whilst this creates a larger file, it does mean that you can extract the raw file at a later. So you get the flexibility of DNG and option to extract the raw file should you need it at a later date.
Go to www.adobeforums.com for more info
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Monobod
'Phantom' of the forum!
Reged: 03/04/2003
Posts: 5793
Loc: Just West of Norwich, Norfolk
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Even if DNG is not universally taken up, it will always be supported by Adobe. Pentax cameras can save the raw file as a DNG and this is my chosen option. I will stick with Pentax and Photoshop so I know I will have no future problems.
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David.
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Photos hosted by Flickr.
www.flickr.com/photos/monobod/
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I see the world thro' a viewfinder, but the world watches me via CCTV!
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beejaybee
Marvin
Reged: 18/07/2007
Posts: 4464
Loc: Really Here In Name Only
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Quote:
Even if DNG is not universally taken up, it will always be supported by Adobe.
I'm sorry, but in today's market you can't rely on Adobe being around forever. If Microsoft or Google take a fancy to them, they'd be swallowed whole, and all their promises as to future plans wouldn't be worth the paper they were(n't) written on.
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alanS
Dr Dust
Reged: 30/09/2005
Posts: 3511
Loc: Up North, England.
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I'll be gutted when I can't use RSE any more. I've tried Rawtherapee but I don't like it, it's slow to implement changes and I don't like how it looks, the picture is too small and everything is fiddly and awkward. I don't like CS2 either for RAW.
I too wish that there was a standard, supported by RSE.
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Alan's defence lawyer claimed that "Booze played no part in his typo's."
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Monobod
'Phantom' of the forum!
Reged: 03/04/2003
Posts: 5793
Loc: Just West of Norwich, Norfolk
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Quote:
Quote:
Even if DNG is not universally taken up, it will always be supported by Adobe.
I'm sorry, but in today's market you can't rely on Adobe being around forever. If Microsoft or Google take a fancy to them, they'd be swallowed whole, and all their promises as to future plans wouldn't be worth the paper they were(n't) written on.
Fantasy Land surely??
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David.
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Photos hosted by Flickr.
www.flickr.com/photos/monobod/
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I see the world thro' a viewfinder, but the world watches me via CCTV!
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Paul_R
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 16/06/2006
Posts: 1948
Loc: Middlesbrough, England.
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Quote:
Quote:
So, would it better to save the RAW file in Adobe's DNG format for archival reasons (as I believe the DNG format is expected to be adopted by all the major camera manufacturers in the near future and catered for by Adobe)?
I hope you're right but the signs are not good. At the moment there seem to be lots more applications that can read Canon and/or Nikon proprietary raw formats than DNG.
However I don't see the point of converting and keeping both - except as a backup, just as you would, I hope, keep at least two copies of either the raw or DNG file in case of storage medium failure.
Thanks for the replies guys. I agree, I don't think there would be any point in keeping both types which is why i was wondering how many people actually save as DNG and delete the RAW. If I just keep my RAW files then hopefully, if RAW is no longer, I will have time to convert them to DNG, XYZ or whatever!
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Regards, Paul CRIPN
http://www.pbase.com/exposethelight
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Paul_R
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 16/06/2006
Posts: 1948
Loc: Middlesbrough, England.
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Quote:
From memory - Adobe's DNG Converter embeds the original raw file information within the DNG file. Whilst this creates a larger file, it does mean that you can extract the raw file at a later. So you get the flexibility of DNG and option to extract the raw file should you need it at a later date.
Go to www.adobeforums.com for more info
Interesting link. thanks.
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Regards, Paul CRIPN
http://www.pbase.com/exposethelight
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RDW
newbie
Reged: 16/07/2006
Posts: 3
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I don't think there's any realistic chance that the major raw formats will become unreadable in the forseeable future. Although the camera makers haven't documented them, they've been pretty thoroughly reverse-engineered, and freely-available open-source software (like dcraw) can read them. Throwing away the original raw file at this point actually narrows your options (e.g. you generally can't use the camera maker's own raw conversion software on DNGs). Although DNG can embed the original file, this is optional, makes the file bigger, and isn't the default behaviour of the DNG converter. DNG makes most sense to me as a convenient way of storing Adobe Camera Raw edits without an extra 'sidecar' file. Unless the camera makers start supporting it more widely (in the camera, or in their own software), it won't be much more than that (I don't know about Canon, but I'd be quite surprised if Nikon switched from NEF to DNG).
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Paul_R
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 16/06/2006
Posts: 1948
Loc: Middlesbrough, England.
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Quote:
I don't think there's any realistic chance that the major raw formats will become unreadable in the forseeable future. Although the camera makers haven't documented them, they've been pretty thoroughly reverse-engineered, and freely-available open-source software (like dcraw) can read them. Throwing away the original raw file at this point actually narrows your options (e.g. you generally can't use the camera maker's own raw conversion software on DNGs). Although DNG can embed the original file, this is optional, makes the file bigger, and isn't the default behaviour of the DNG converter. DNG makes most sense to me as a convenient way of storing Adobe Camera Raw edits without an extra 'sidecar' file. Unless the camera makers start supporting it more widely (in the camera, or in their own software), it won't be much more than that (I don't know about Canon, but I'd be quite surprised if Nikon switched from NEF to DNG).
Thanks for your reply and advice. Some interesting points there. I think, for now at least, I will keep the RAW files and use DNG to store Adobe Camera Raw edits as you mentioned.
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Regards, Paul CRIPN
http://www.pbase.com/exposethelight
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Paul_R
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 16/06/2006
Posts: 1948
Loc: Middlesbrough, England.
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Thought this link might be of interest:
Adobe seeks International recognition for DNG
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Regards, Paul CRIPN
http://www.pbase.com/exposethelight
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