cr2 vs dng (Page 4): You never need two separate .cr2 files. That's the point. Two different PP programs will each create their own proprietary sidecar file for the same exact raw...

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

russelray wrote:

Not really.
Two separate CR2 files vs. two separate DNG files saves about 50%.

You never need two separate .cr2 files. That's the point. Two different PP programs will each create their own proprietary sidecar file for the same exact raw file. And is the savings really 50%, especially once you start editing the DNG files?

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

mwsilvers wrote:

Wait this is not making any sense. If I have a an ... (show quote)

I'm using every digital photo editing that has been on Planet Earth since 1993. No problem with any of them.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

mwsilvers wrote:

You never need two separate .cr2 files. That's the point. Two different PP programs will each create their own proprietary sidecar file for the same exact raw file. And is the savings really 50%, especially once you start editing the DNG files?

Sadly, though, the sidecar files are easily lost, and once that happens, the edits are lost, too.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

russelray wrote:

I'm using every digital photo editing that has been on Planet Earth since 1993. No problem with any of them.

Right. Can you use the same exact DNG file with each of them without overlaying the results of the different programs or creating duplicate copies? You intially indicated something about copying and renaming DNG files.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

russelray wrote:

Sadly, though, the sidecar files are easily lost, and once that happens, the edits are lost, too.

Sad for some perhaps since a number of people here seem to have problems managing their image files. I am no more likely to lose a side car file then I am to lose the original raw file it's based on. And I've never lost one of either yet. I am very careful when deleting of moving any files.

Bill_de Loc: US

mwsilvers wrote:

You never need two separate .cr2 files. That's the point. Two different PP programs will each create their own proprietary sidecar file for the same exact raw file. And is the savings really 50%, especially once you start editing the DNG files?

Tell me if I understand what you are doing. I think you are developing your .cr2 file in more than one program, and creating a new sidecar for each. The changes in the second or third program will only be seen when the file is opened in the program that created it, so are not cumulative. ???

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mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Bill_de wrote:

Tell me if I understand what you are doing. I think you are developing your .cr2 file in more than one program, and creating a new sidecar for each. The changes in the second or third program will only be seen when the file is opened in the program that created it, so are not cumulative. ???

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Correct. The changes are not cumulative and each program has no idea changes were made by another program since those changes are only in proprietary side car files that can't be read by the other programs.

Its a great way to evaluate and compare raw processing in multiple PP prgrams. I recently compared eight different programs that way. Some of those programs did not read DNG format files, but they all read my Canon .cr2 files. I also own a few programs, and depending on what I'm doing one of them may be better suited to give me the exact results I'm looking for than the others. I can usually figure out which one will give me my preferred results fairly quickly.

For some, the DNG format may be the perfect solution, for others though, it may not be.

Bill_de Loc: US

mwsilvers wrote:

Correct. The changes are not cumulative and each p... (show quote)

Thanks.

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russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

mwsilvers wrote:

Right. Can you use the same exact DNG file with each of them without overlaying the results of the different programs or creating duplicate copies? You intially indicated something about copying and renaming DNG files.

Yes. I never alter the original DNG file because it's my inventory. When I create something for someone else, who isn't necessarily computer literate, sidecar files getting lost is a big problem.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

mwsilvers wrote:

Sad for some perhaps since a number of people here seem to have problems managing their image files. I am no more likely to lose a side car file then I am to lose the original raw file it's based on. And I've never lost one of either yet. I am very careful when deleting of moving any files.

I'm careful myself, but when one has 19 employees sending all sorts of creations to hundreds of Clients, sidecar files get lost. All those Clients are why I have so many digital editing programs on my computers. Each time a Client buys a creation and wants me to send it to them so that it can be read by [insert name of digital editing program here], it's important that I send them a file that can be read by that program. So far, every. single. program. I have tried with DNG reads the DNG files. They don't all read the proprietary manufacturer's files.

Bill_de Loc: US

russelray wrote:

Yes. I never alter the original DNG file because it's my inventory. When I create something for someone else, who isn't necessarily computer literate, sidecar files getting lost is a big problem.

Is your raw file a finished product that you would send to someone? I never have, but maybe that's just me.

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mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

russelray wrote:

I'm careful myself, but when one has 19 employees ... (show quote)

If you are using .DNG files as part of your process flow in a business and you are concerned about access by a number of people and version control issues as well as having some type of raw standard across camera types, that's a very different issue than faced by me or the average individual shooter. In that kind of a situation I would also probably want to use .dng files.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Bill_de wrote:

Is your raw file a finished product that you would send to someone? I never have, but maybe that's just me.--

Yes. Then they can make additional fine adjustments as they see fit. They are buying them, and they pay well, so I'm going to meet their needs and wants.

Bill_de Loc: US

russelray wrote:

Yes. Then they can make additional fine adjustments as they see fit. They are buying them, and they pay well, so I'm going to meet their needs and wants.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

mwsilvers wrote:

If you are using .DNG files as part of your process flow in a business and you are concerned about access by a number of people and version control issues as well as having some type of raw standard across camera types, that's a very different issue than faced by me or the average individual shooter. In that kind of a situation I would also probably want to use .dng files.

Exactly. I'm not saying anyone else is wrong in what they are doing. I'm simply adding to the conversation by telling what I'm doing, and why.