Traveller_Jeff

I have a Nikon D500. To process my NEF images in Photoshop, I've been using the Adobe converter software for years. My question has to do with the option of just converting to simple DNG, or to opt for the embedding of the original NEF file in the DNG in case I want to revert to the original raw file. When processing hundreds of images, the consideration is of importance, since the simple conversion takes about 1 second per image, but the full conversion (NEF+DNG) takes around 7 seconds per image.

Does the quality of the DNG image suffer if I choose the DNG-only option? Thank you in advance for your advice and suggestions.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

My first question is why do you want to go to dng? What does your nef file lack that dng has?

Dng/native raw has been the subject of 5 times more posts than there are UHH members.

As far as the quality of the dng file, I don't use dng myself but I suspect that the quality would not change by embedding the original raw file. However the size of the file will most likely be larger. That means you will have to have more disk space to store everything.

In addition, I have heard that conversion to dng strips out some of the makers notes that are proprietary to the manufacturer, so the embedded raw file may not be identical to the original raw file. I do not know if this is true or not, but I would think it's a concern. My wife was an archivist, and advised me to ALWAYS SAVE THE ORIGINAL.

Traveller_Jeff

Up to now, I have been using a stand-alone Photoshop - CS5 to be exact. CS5 cannot open Nikon NEF files. In fact, I understand that every Nikon model's NEF formulation differs from every other one, and no stand-alone Photoshop program can do that. For that reason (and for others of which I am unaware), Adobe has created DNG conversion software that is backward compatible with all earlier Nikons. CS5 can open DNG files, but not NEFs.
I understand that if I were to switch to Photoshop CC for which there is a $10 monthly fee, that there would be no need for DNG conversion. I may start to go that route, but I spent a fair amount for the software I own, and I know it well and am not sure I want to get on a new learning curve just now.

I tend to keep my original NEF files anyway (although I have deleted a fair number of older ones - why should I keep what I'm sure I'm never going to need to use again?). So, if there's nothing to be gained by embedding NEF files with the DNG, I'd like to stop doing that. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't losing quality by doing so. Your last sentence is of intellectual interest, but since I'm not a professional, I don't know that it really matters to me. Thanks for your time.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The quality doesn't suffer, but your ability to edit your dng files is mostly non-existent outside the Adobe world, unless your camera captures dng as it's native raw format.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

I convert all of my Canon RAW files to DNG and then delete the Canon files. I have been able to edit the DNG files in many programs "outside the Adobe world," including Word, Publisher, Paintshop Pro, Photo-Paint, Photomatix, onOne, Wondershare Filmora, Landscape Pro, Optics Pro, CorelDRAW, and Topaz Studio, just off the top of my head.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

The problem is not with Photoshop, it's with CS5. The older versions are not compatible with newer versions of ACR, which is what does the raw file interpretation. Since you can't update your ACR your program is not able to read newer NEF files. Updating to the subscription based CC LR/PS set will fix that for the cameras you have. Newer cameras will be covered by updates to ACR (included in the subscription) but there's usually a time delay of a month or two before ACR will include the newest model (only a problem if you're an early adopter of new cameras).

Dng will continue to work for you if you don't need to upgrade from CS5 so you don't necessarily need to go to the subscription version. Note that there is also a time delay between introduction of a new camera (and NEF format) and updating the dng converter, but it's generally less of a delay than for the ACR. And if you're saving your original NEF files there's no need to duplicate them in the dng version.

Personally, I like the subscription version LR/PS because I use some of the newer features, but YMMV. The cost (in my opinion) is small compared to other photographic expenses (I'm an amateur) and in fact is significantly less than various impulse purchases I make.

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

The camera manufacturer's is always better to convert RAW files. But Adobe DNG has its uses. For example, several years ago, Kodak released one of the first digital cameras. A few years later, I needed one of the images I had taken with that camera. Unfortunately, Kodak's converter had been discontinued and only worked in Windows 98. Only Adobe DNG was able to save the day and open the image to a TIF file that I could use in Photoshop. So, I suggest you keep a current version of DNG for the inevitible day when a given manufacturer stops supporting their own proprietary system.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

No. The image is not affected. My concern is the ACR edits and where they are stored. If you can store them as a sidecar file, that is definitely an advantage. I've tested images from RAW compared to DNG conversion. I saw no difference on the file level. What I didn't test was if the data from the ACR edits was saved within the DNG or as a sidecar file.
--Bob

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Sidecar files irritated me, and that was the #1 reason I went all in with DNG. If you save your edits to the DNG file via ACR, then DNG will have those edits. Same with all the programs I use. If I choose to save the edits to the DNG from any program, the edits are there next time I open the DNG.

Traveller_Jeff

All I can say is that all of you know much more about this subject than I do. What is an ACR file? What does that abbreviation mean? This is why I’m here. I’m here to learn whatever you would like to teach me. Thanks.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Adobe Camera RAW - a program to convert the various RAW files produced by different cameras to a format for viewing, editing and storage.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

To each his own. I prefer the .xmp files. If I want to try some different processing on a photo, I simply copy it to another directory and it's the same file that came from the camera. I find the sidecar files quite useful.
--Bob

Traveller_Jeff

Please discuss: What exactly are "sidecar files", and what does the abbreviation ACR mean? I get that it's an intermediate state of the image structure neither NEF nor RAW. I get that. But what does ACR mean? I've googled it but that didn't help. Thanks.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Sidecar files are files that have all the information in it about the editing that you did to the RAW file. IMHO, it's the stupidest thing ever, especially since one could easily put that editing information directly into the RAW file without affecting the original information contained in the RAW file. That's what Adobe has done with the DNG file. Having a sidecar file can get really messy for those of us who grew up with file management systems other than Lightroom, and those sidecar files can easily get lost. Even Lightroom, which some claim is the best file management system, not only sometimes loses track of the sidecar files, it also quite often loses track of the photo files themselves. Learn file management in Bridge and you'll never have a problem with losing files.

ACR is Adobe Camera RAW, which is Adobe's software that opens RAW files from every manufacturer for editing. ACR comes as an integral part of Photoshop and Lightroom, and probably Elements, too.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

If you use LR, the edits are contained in the catalog AND in the sidecar files (if you have LR generate them). If you use dng in LR, the edits are contained in the dng file and the catalog. If you don't use dng you should back up your sidecar files. If you do use dng you should back up your dng files. That will give you two copies of your edits, one in the LR catalog and one in either the dng file or the sidecar file, whichever you use.

Note that LR does not modify a raw file when you edit an image. However, a dng file is rewritten if you edit it, since the edits are added to the dng file and the preview is updated.