Adobe DNG

[motordrive]

Just wondering if anyone uses Adobe DNG to convert a camera raw file to the dng raw file format. If so is there any data loss that takes place in the process. I'm thinking there must be a difference but my 72 year old eyes cannot see it.

[Manfred M]

There is NO data loss as the dng is just a "wrapper" for the raw data.

[dje]

My understanding is that the Adobe DNG converter uses lossless compression, provided that the "Use lossy compression" field is unchecked.

Dave

[george013]

I found a well summary on the net. I didn't read the whole thread. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/41321715

Be aware if you look at a RAW-file, you look at the result of the used converter.

George

[ionian]

Useful info above. I've been using dng for all of my files since I got Lightroom. My thinking was that they are likely to be supported for longer than individual camera files, and I'll want to be able to open them in whatever programme the future throws at us.

[Shadowman]

I use it for one camera which isn't supported by Lightroom yet.

[rpcrowe]

I am not crazy about DNG. I cannot put my finger on exactly why but, I seem to get better results keeping my image as a RAW file plus saving a master image as a Photoshop Document PSD, finally using JPEG from which to print. I always have the unaltered RAW file and the master image saved.

[xpatUSA]

Just wondering if anyone uses Adobe's [RAW to?] DNG to convert a camera raw file to the dng raw file format.

I do not use their converter but images can be saved as DNG from their Camera Raw (ACR).

If so is there any data loss that takes place in the process. I'm thinking there must be a difference but my 72 year old eyes cannot see it.

What can be lost is raw file meta-data that doesn't fit the available tags in Adobe's DNG spec, see:

http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/Ado...ec_1.4.0.0.pdf

Just for you I just now converted a Sigma SD14 X3F file to DNG and all of the Maker Notes are gone. Some of them may have been put instead in the XMP section of the DNG file's meta-data - certainly the ACR slider settings are in there - but I haven't the patience to compare, sorry.

[Geoff F]

What I do, John, is to convert all my Canon Raw files to DNG as I download them using Bridge. They are then stored as ACR basic edited images in DNG format for any further use. The usable images are individually moved across to CC for further work then eventually saved as Psd format.

DNG isn't really necessary but it is smaller files and without those tagged on extra 'sidecar' files. Maybe a bit time consuming to convert everything including those photos which will be rejected but it saves me confusion by doing the lot in one easy stage. And, in theory, DNG will always remain a universal format after some others may have been phased out.

At one time, when I had CS5 and purchased a new camera, those files wouldn't open in ACR so I had to do an extra process with the Adobe DNG converter software before getting the images into ACR. So I have continued with that arrangement, although I now set the Bridge options to automatically do the conversion.

[DanK]

I've never bothered. I don't see any advantage for me.

[Manfred M]

I've never bothered. I don't see any advantage for me.

Same here. It forces me to use the Adobe raw converter and I don't always get the best results with it.

[motordrive]

All good information. When I use my Olympus digital compact camera I have it set to save both RAW and JPG. When I want to use the RAW files I must use DNG as Adobe CS5 does not support this Olympus. When shooting RAW with my D700 I use the built in Nikon converter in CS5. I have been considering using DNG for the D700 as well but still thinking about it. Thanks all for your input. Happy shooting!
John

[Shadowman]

All good information. When I use my Olympus digital compact camera I have it set to save both RAW and JPG. When I want to use the RAW files I must use DNG as Adobe CS5 does not support this Olympus. When shooting RAW with my D700 I use the built in Nikon converter in CS5. I have been considering using DNG for the D700 as well but still thinking about it. Thanks all for your input. Happy shooting!
John

Just consider it a workaround until the technology catches up.

[Black Pearl]

Personally I don't see the point, its just more work and more time spent for no real world gain.

[Donald]

At one time it was thought that dng would take over the world (as everything else from Adobe seeks to do) and that we'd all better get in to saving as dng before the apocalypse.

Don't see any sign of it happening!

[John 2]

I am not crazy about DNG. I cannot put my finger on exactly why but, I seem to get better results keeping my image as a RAW file plus saving a master image as a Photoshop Document PSD, finally using JPEG from which to print. I always have the unaltered RAW file and the master image saved.

Could be to do with the fact that programmes such as PS ACR are to a degree customised to the camera's native raw format. When I first started using Fuji cameras, I was still using CS2 (cheapskate). PS had long since moved on with the result that the CS2 raw converter was not updated for the Fuji RAW format. For a while, I resorted to a DNG conversion so that I could continue to use CS2 but I soon became obvious that the workflow did not de-mosaic the files efficiently and I was left with a faint pattern, particularly in heavy crops. Moving to CS6 cured that (although ACR still wasn't that good initially).