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 p.2 #10 · How long will RAW files be readable? | |
harrygilbert wrote:
Except for Canon, whose latest version of DPP will not allow adjustment of RAW files (as RAW, only minimum adjustment as TIF) taken by my Pro1. And has formally dropped support for my 5D (still works, but EOS Utility won't recognize the camera when plugged in as earlier versions used to do). Hewlett-Packard refused to update drivers for it's S-20 film scanner between XP SP-2 and SP-3, rendering a perfectly usable film scanner inoperable.
I just checked, and you can still open Pro1 Raw files in Canon DPP. You can also open them in Photoshop.
The question is whether you can open the files or not. It's not about Hewlett-Packard or film scanners or other devices.
harrygilbert wrote:
And how much longer will Adobe make DNG converter available?
Doesn't matter. DNG is open source.
harrygilbert wrote:
Decades? Heck, PCs today are technically obsolete after 6 months, and often functionally obsolete after 2 years as interfaces, peripherals, and operating systems are constantly superseded.
Again, that's not the question. But you are wrong. Technically obsolete? Nonsense. You don't have to be caught up in consumerism and buy on a six month or two year cycle. My seven+ year old computer is running quite nicely beside my two month old computer. Just like DSLRs, they don't stop functioning just because a newer one becomes available.
harrygilbert wrote:
Go try and buy some backup tape cartridges. I've already run into newer PCs dropping support for parallel, series, and SCSI ports (my older tape drives), and hard drive interfaces older than SATA.
You know, a person has the most success responding when they actually read what I wrote. The part about active archiving / backup and migrating to new media.
It is foolish and approaching stupid to depend on obsolete old clunky tiny little bits of media. That's about the policy, without regard to any individual. The amount of data stored on them is so small and they take up too much space.
Consolidate data on new media, especially if you are buying new computers every two years or more frequently as you advise. Check media every few months. A good way to do that is to rotate backup media. Have three copies (one off-site) of any files that are archived (infrequently accessed, not connected to the computer as a rule). Then when bits start to drop off tapes, one can do the migration that should have been done years ago. I last used tape backup in the mid 1990s.
harrygilbert wrote:
On the other hand, I still have hundreds of pages of color negatives and slides that I can scan in and process digitally, not to mention thousands of black & white prints -- some dating to the 1900s.
By that you mean the 1990s. I have negatives and prints from the 1960s. I'm not unaware of their characteristics. I have set up a darkroom again to print and I have begun scanning stuff.
You would be well advised to scan everything in ASAP so that you no longer have no backup for those images as they increasingly risk mildew, fungus, mold, and damage from residual chemicals, air pollution, and dye fade. Your colour negatives, slides and prints are the most vulnerable. Further, they are at risk to theft, vandalism, and fire. Let's not forget that some of them can be mis-located and end up being discarded by mistake, too.
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