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Archive 2014 · DNG or RAW?

  
 
kv9f68
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · DNG or RAW?


I'm pretty new to photography and just got LR 5. I'm not sure if I should use the DNG format or just stick with RAW and was wondering what method you all use and which you think is "better". I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole LR process and where all my files are and whatnot. I'm computer savvy but not THAT much

Right now I have raw+jpeg photos in a folder on my desktop and instead of just "adding" them to LR, I'm copying them (since I don't have any back-ups) into a separate Lightroom folder on my desktop. I then use that folder in LR to convert them to DNG's while erasing the raw file in the process and go back into that folder and delete the jpegs. So all I end up with in those folders are DNG's All the while I have the original raw+jpegs in the other folder. My thought is that when I get an external hard drive I can then just drag the orginal folder with the raw+jpegs to it and I'll have my backup while maintaining a LR folder on my hard drive that LR will still recognize.

I plan on shooting just raw from now on so the jpeg part won't be an issue but I have a feeling that I'm doing a lot of unnecessary work for little to no benefit. I've watched countless hours of videos and read endless articles (even got a book) on the process but still think I'm either missing something or just complicating things for no reason. I"m pretty sure I'm making this harder than it has to be.

Sorry if that's confusing but any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Just keep it simple please



Jul 26, 2014 at 06:28 AM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · DNG or RAW?


for me its RAW .

there is the argument that DNG is more 'future proof' than a proprietary RAW format , but I dont buy that . as yet I've not come across a new piece of raw software that cant use RAW files from my first DSLR , so I have little doubt that that situation will continue .

there may be a few advantages to DNG in the way your edits are stored but I would say I'd still go with RAW



Jul 26, 2014 at 09:41 AM
melcat
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · DNG or RAW?


kv9f68 wrote:
I'm not sure if I should use the DNG format or just stick with RAW and was wondering what method you all use and which you think is "better".


I think DNG is better but I use Canon and Sony raws.

DNG is better because it contains the camera-specific parameters for raw processing, and because it is a documented format.

However, nontechnical people usually put more credence in the original raw as some type of "proof" that an image has not been tampered with. You will, e.g., often see in the rules of competitions that if your entry is short-listed you must supply the raw, and not a DNG unless your camera produces only DNG. Therefore, it's wise to keep the raws. In my case, I do so mainly in case someone infringes my copyright. As I have to keep the .CR2 and .ARW files, there is at the moment no advantage for me in also using DNG, in either its normal form or the one in which it also embeds the original raw.

My thought is that when I get an external hard drive I can then just drag the orginal folder with the raw+jpegs to it and I'll have my backup while maintaining a LR folder on my hard drive that LR will still recognize.

This is a very bad idea. You are backing up something different (original raws) from that which you want protected (DNGs). You aren't backing up the entered metadata (captions, keywords etc.) or the edits.



Jul 26, 2014 at 10:11 AM
RyanGphoto
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · DNG or RAW?


I didn't realize about the copyright infringement and not sure I would buy that they won't take a DNG file over the Raw file for that.

For me it's DNG as it's about 15-20% smaller and also it's an open format which I believe should be around for far longer.

That's just my take

Ryan G



Jul 26, 2014 at 10:04 PM
mogud
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · DNG or RAW?


I shoot only RAW. DNG has the sidecar encorporated into the DNG file as opposed to separate and hence is small size.

I think Adobe is pushing their DNG file format so that they don't have to always issue updates to Camera RAW and a new versions of Lr everytime a camera manufacture introduces a new camera with a new RAW format.



Jul 26, 2014 at 10:45 PM
kv9f68
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · DNG or RAW?


Thanks all. Just about what I thought...50-50 for raw vs. dng I guess I'll continue to use dng since its taking up less hard drive space.

Melcat, thanks for the warning about my raw back-ups not holding the edits I've made to them in the dng format but I'm also backing up LR weekly. That should take care of that I assume?



Jul 27, 2014 at 05:23 AM
Ian.Dobinson
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · DNG or RAW?


kv9f68 wrote:
Thanks all. Just about what I thought...50-50 for raw vs. dng I guess I'll continue to use dng since its taking up less hard drive space.

Melcat, thanks for the warning about my raw back-ups not holding the edits I've made to them in the dng format but I'm also backing up LR weekly. That should take care of that I assume?


Lightroom holds all its edits in the LRCAT file . you can have it create .XMP sidecar files which need to be kept in the same folder if you want your edits to travel with the RAW file . If your just using LR on the one machine it doesnt use these sidecars as the CAT still holds the edits info .

as for backing up . if your letting LR backup each week then yes you are taking care of most of your edits . your better off doing a manual backup whenever you've done anything major in LR though .
BUT you must make sure those backups are moved to a different drive as its pretty pointless letting LR backup and those backups staying on the same drive .




Jul 27, 2014 at 05:49 AM
viczig
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · DNG or RAW?


I keep my .nef files. Although the idea of 15 to 20 percent reduction in files sizes is appealing my line of thinking is what if some new software comes along that does a better job of handing the .nef files plus it has the organizing features of Lightroom. I wouldn't go back and reprocess all of my images but the .nef file of my favorites are still there. Also if I change my mind I can batch convert my Library at any time to DNG files.


Jul 27, 2014 at 12:54 PM
kv9f68
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · DNG or RAW?


Ian.Dobinson wrote:
as for backing up . if your letting LR backup each week then yes you are taking care of most of your edits . your better off doing a manual backup whenever you've done anything major in LR though .
BUT you must make sure those backups are moved to a different drive as its pretty pointless letting LR backup and those backups staying on the same drive .


I have the automatic backup set for once a week when I exit just in case I open it and do some messing around. However if I do any decent amount of work I do manually set it to back it up when I exit that session like you suggested.

Didn't really think about the backup going to a different drive though. Makes total sense but something that I overlooked and will take care of. Thanks.



Jul 27, 2014 at 02:06 PM
Alan321
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · DNG or RAW?


I'm a raw fan.

DNGs will hold the edit commands that you make in Lr but I don't want that because writing to the image files slows things down. Instead, I keep all of the info in the Lr catalog and make sure that it gets backed up often and to different drives - not all at the same place at the same time. So for me there are no DNG files and no XMP files.

If the time ever comes when a camera manufacturer goes bust or otherwise decides that it will no longer support older raw formats then I rely on third-party software to carry on. If they decide to abandon it too then I'll use DNG converter for whatever version of DNG is the current standard at the time to convert the affected raw files to DNG. Until then it is not necessary.

Furthermore, if you convert to DNG and abandon raw then you lose the opportunity to use Canon and Nikon software on the respective raw files. They don't support DNG. And you should know that there is more manufacturer-specific metadata information available in those programs than is available in Adobe software - such as which AF sensor was on your subject (so you might then know that a blurry shot could be because you drifted off target rather than because of a focus problem, for example).


Do the automatic Lr backups every session regardless of what you did. Then it happens even if you forget about it. They are each put into a dated folder. You still need to make backups to other drives. And back them up to other drives, etc. Ultimately you need to ensure a single device failure, power failure, theft or other disaster doesn't take out all copies of all data. Spread them around.

- Alan



Jul 29, 2014 at 12:46 PM





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