xmp file or in one or another application's database. So when you add metadata to an image, it gets stored in either a sidecar. Metadata friendlyĪ related issue is that, because proprietary raw files are undocumented, Adobe treats them as read-only files, since writing to them runs the risk of overwriting potentially useful data. Subsequent releases of Adobe DNG Converter address this problem by letting you embed a bit-for-bit copy of the proprietary raw file that can be extracted at any time, at the cost of a somewhat larger file size. While the only things that could possibly use this metadata were the vendors' proprietary raw converters, few of us like the idea of losing something in the translation. The first release of Adobe DNG Converter had one potential flaw-it stripped any private metadata that it couldn't understand. So unlike the proprietary raw formats, DNG can fairly lay claim to being an archival format. The DNG format provides insurance against obsolescence because unlike proprietary raw formats, it's an open, documented format whose file spec is readily available, so any reasonably talented programmer can build a converter that reads DNG files without any reverse engineering, even if Adobe should, perish the thought, no longer be in business. The question then becomes, what happens to all the images locked up in a defunct vendor's proprietary raw format? Archival formatĪ kindly third-party vendor may decide to take on the work of reverse-engineering the format to continue support (and let's all give a huge vote of thanks to Thomas Knoll for the enormous amount of work he's already done in decoding all those proprietary raw formats), but absent that, you'll be stuck with old, non-upgradable software at best, and gigabytes of unreadable data at worst. I bear no ill will to any camera vendor, and I hope that they'll all be around for decades to come, stimulating competition and innovation, but it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that one of today's vendors may not be around five, ten, or fifty years hence. One of the major problems with camera vendors' proprietary raw formats is that they're undocumented-only the camera vendor knows for sure what they contain. To DNG or Not to DNGĪdobe developed the DNG format in response to a very real concern over the longevity of digital raw captures. My personal bias is that the advantages of DNG outweigh any disadvantages, and using DNG sends camera vendors an important message about the future of digital photography, but it is a bias. It's entirely up to you whether or not you choose to use it-Camera Raw, Bridge, and Photoshop are equally happy with proprietary raw files or DNGs-but the following discussion may help you decide. Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2Īdobe DNG Converter is a handy standalone application that converts camera vendors' proprietary raw images to Adobe's new DNG format.
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