rawformat

The state of DNG support, feb 2005

Here is a list of the software that do already support the non-proprietary DNG format:

Raw converters:

Adobe Photoshop CS (Win, Mac) with ACR 2.3 and 2.4

Adobe Photoshop Elements3  (Win, Mac)

Pixmantec Rawshooter 2005 (Win) -freeware-

Raw PhotoDesk : (Win) Improved support in V1.12

 

Programs that output to the DNG format:

Adobe DNG converter  (mac, Win)

DxO Optics Pro v2.2  (Mac, Win)

Imacon Flexcolor v4.0b10 (beta version)  (Mac, Win)

 

Image Viewers / Digital Assets Management tools:

BreezeBrowser 2.11  (Win)

BreezeBrowser Pro   (Win)

CameraBits Photo Mechanic 4.3.3  (Mac, Win) supports DNG 2.4

Cerious Thumbs Plus7, with the Digicam Raw Plug-in v 1.5 (Win)

dpMagic Plus since version 1.1.010 (add on to view your DNG in win explorer)

Extensis Portfolio7  (Win, Mac)

iView MediaPro 2.6.2 by Multimedia (Mac, Win) DNG 2.4 images in 2.6.3

Photools Imatch  (Win) since version 3.4.0.29

Polybytes PolyView : since version 4.20 (Win)

Proshooters DigitalPro 3 : initial support in 3.1

Rawview by through-the-lens (all OS: Java technology) -free for non commercial use-

 

DNG support announced:

Iridient Digital Raw Developer (Mac): in the next dot release

Phase One  Capture one  (Mac, Win) support in 2005

Qpict Media Asset Management: (Mac) in the next major release

 

When asked, some other software manufacturers answers ranged from «When market requires»

«Not until the next major release, if we support it» to «we do not see DNG as an archival format»

 

If you know another program that can open, convert, or write the DNG format, post a comment!

Calibrating Camera RAW

Adobe Camera Raw ships with default profiles for all supported cameras, but all cameras are not created equal. For optimal results, you may have to calibrate Camera Raw for your camera, to make sure that it reproduces accurate results.

Bruce Fraser describes a manual method in this article at CreativePro, shooting a Color Target (in this article, he uses the MacBeth 24 color checker, but there are different brands that manufactures them) and comparing it with a electronic version, then using the calibrate tab of the advanced controls of Camera Raw until the two images matches.

Thomas Fors has written a script to automate this procedure.
The script is currently still in beta version, but can be found on this page.
Visual vacation provides some further shooting and ACR tips about  Thomas' script.

Note: The calibrate tab is not present in Photoshop Elements' version of ACR, as you can see in this 1.76Mb PDF done by Chad Rolf at Adobe Evangelists.

Pixmantec RawShooter: free raw converter, opens DNG

Pixmantec Rawshooter essentials 2005 is a new free raw conversion software, that can perform sophisticated corrections, batch processing, side by side image comparisons, slideshow, and can open DNG files. You can download the program at the Pixmantec or Corel websites

This software will allow users of earlier versions of Photoshop or of other graphic software to discover the power of RAW images processing.

Check out Uwe Steinmuller's review of the software at Digital Outback Photo.

For the moment, the software is only available for Windows and a bug -soon to be fixed- prevents it to work on AMD Athlon processors.

DNG specification 1.1.0.0 posted

The DNG specification is now updated to the version 1.1.0.0
It is available here.

Note that this document is targeted for software developpers, but might be an interesting read to understand what DNG really is. The fact that the DNG file format is properly documented contrasts with the proprietary file formats currently used by camera manufacturers.

Thomas Knoll explains here that the DNG converter 2.4 is still outputting DNG spec 1.0.0.0, with some 1.1.0.0 tags, but that software developpers should read the new specification in order to update their third-party software for future versions of the format.

DxO Optics Pro 2.2 outputs in DNG

DxO Optics Pro 2.2 that has just been released, offers now the ability to output to the DNG format, allowing you to perform the  post-processing of the RAW files in your preferred converter.

Optics Pro 2.2 is a very powerful software that allows you to perform multiple optical corrections to your RAW files: under controlled parameters, the DxO labs shot thousands of pictures using different lens and body combinations and analysed their problems (Barrel Distortion, pincushion, Chromatic Aberration, etc.) in order to produce a mathematical model that Optics Pro 2.2 now uses as a basis for its optical  corrections of each lens-body combo.

DNG 2.4 improvements

As Thomas Knoll revealed it in the AdobeForums, the DNG Converter 2.4 now also embeds a 1024-pixel (long side) JPEG preview inside the DNG, in addition to the previous 256-pixel thumbnail.

This results in DNG files that are about 100K larger.

Another great change, in case you missed Jeff Schewe's comment, is that the DNG Converter can now embed the original Raw file inside the DNG, increasing the archival nature of the DNG files, at the expense of filesize.

So, even if your camera was already supported by the first version of the DNG converter, you should be downloading the 2.4 version as soon as possible.

Flexcolor Software Supports DNG

This update just in from Andy Batt:

Imacon's latest beta release of their Flexcolor Software (v4.0b10) adds the ability to export Imacon's RAW file format (3F) as a full fledged DNG file. All the RAW information is preserved, as well as the full complement of Meta data. Currently this software may only be downloaded by registered users of either Imacon's line of scanners or camera backs.

My initial tests are very positive. You open a folder of 3F files in the 'thumbnails' panel of Flexcolor, select all the files you want converted, and choose 'save as' DNG. The export feels very quick on my G5. The new DNG files are marked with the ".dng" extension, but are incorrectly identified in the Mac OSX Finder as "Adobe Photoshop TIFF" files (Adobe DNG files are marked as "Digital Negative"). This does not stop File Browser and ACR from identifying them however, as they open up correctly, and are identified as a "Camera RAW File" in File Browser.

A quick side by side comparison of a Flexcolor processed file and the same file exported to DNG and processed in ACR file yielded very little difference. Both files were of extremely high quality. The only significant difference was in ACR's highlight recovery feature that allowed me to pull in some highlights that were blown out in the Flexcolor file. Given my preference to work in File Browser and ACR for my digital workflow, I am very pleased that I can shoot with the Ixpress system, without compromising the speed and methodology I routinely employ.

I am very impressed by Imacon's speed and diligence to the professional photographic community. Companies like Nikon, Fuji, Kodak & Canon have all written letters (in reply) to me explaining why they are not aggressively pursuing DNG, and that while they may eventually support DNG, it won't be until a lengthy time has passed. Hopefully these companies will pay attention to Imacon's commitment to the safety of our digital archives and follow suit.

http://www.imacon.dk

Adobe Camera Raw 'Sidecar ".xmp" files'

Have you ever noticed that along with your camera raw image files, sometimes there is a sister file with the same name but with a .xmp extension? “What are these,” you ask, “and where do they come from?” Let's start with how they are created. These files are sometimes created when you process/open a camera raw file via the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) dialog. Why only sometimes? Well, that depends on how you have your Preferences set up.

To see what I'm talking about, open a file via the ACR plug-in and click on the fly-out menu (circle with a triangle on the right next to Settings) and select Preferences. If your 'Save image settings in:' is set to 'Sidecar “.xmp” files', then whenever you open and process a camera raw file via the ACR plug-in, an accompanying .xmp file will be created. Okay, so we know how these files are generated, but what are they? One thing to try for fun is to open these .xmp files in a text editor. You'll see a bunch of Metadata represented and some other fun stuff. These .xmp files are records of how you processed your file. After the files have been generated, if you re-open your original camera raw file, those settings will be re-applied. These .xmp files will also update how your thumbnails are viewed in the File Browser, for instance. Want to start over from scratch, simply move or delete that .xmp file.