isthataone

I am embarrassed to be asking for help figuring out how to open these.

I have many tens of thousands images in my iPhoto library, and have held on to this older operating system, because it is the last one that will allow iPhoto to work. (iPhoto has enough post processing options for me - it does what I need it to do, and doesn't confuse me!)

Until now I have had no trouble opening my Olympus E-30 raw images in iPhoto so I plugged along getting some gorgeous images using old m42 lenses and extension tubes..

Then for my birthday I splurged on a new upscale mirrorless body and a not-at-all-cheap macro lens. I was lured by some of the things these later mirrorless cameras can do, and the probably stupid ideas that 20 mp files were better than what I get with the E-30.

This new camera does its RAW in ORF, and iPhoto says it can't open the images. Even trying to re-name those files as RAW hasn't helped.

Anybody have any ideas how I can get these image files into my iPhoto library?

Any ideas about other ways to work with these files?

I appreciate any suggestions!

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Because I'm not familiar with iPhoto I can't offer specific advice. Others in similar upgrade predicaments have been able to work around the RAW limitation by using other converters to obtain Tiff or DNG formats. A bit of a nuisance though to have a 2 stage workflow.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Unfortunately, that is a dangerous OS to use on the Internet. It no longer receives security patches on Apple’s Patch Tuesdays.

.ORF files are incompatible with that OS.

A newer Mac capable of running MacOS 10.15.7 Catalina or 11.1 Big Sur, and the latest Apple Photos with the Raw Power plug-in, would solve your issues safely. A lot has improved since El Capitan!

A Mac lasts a long time. But its useful and practical service life is 5 to 7 years. My 2010 Mac Mini has 8GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive. But it is stuck back at 3-4 MacOS generations ago. It’s an unsafe, obsolete computer that I keep off the Internet and use only as a media server connected to a smart TV.

My Late 2013 iMac has 16GB RAM and a 2TB SSD, so it’s reasonably quick. But it tops out at MacOS 10.15.7. Its primary service life is maybe another year or two. I’ll replace it with a new Apple Silicon powered Mac when the time comes.

Technology moves faster all the time. Blink, and it passes you by.

BurghByrd Loc: Pittsburgh

Elaborating a bit on the anwers provided so far, based on your descirption it seems that the files you are trying to read in are more "advanced" then the software you are trying to use. In other words, the file format didn't exist when the software was developed; newer software (Mac OS) should be able to handle it. BTW, there is a photos app included with the latest Mac OS. Good luck.

sr71 Loc: In Col. Juan Seguin Land

Orphoto has your solution, convert it to dng or tiff.

ecurb Loc: Metro Chicago Area

Update the CODEC for your new camera files.

K7DJJ Loc: Spring Hill, FL

if you can run the Olympus Workspace program you can open your files.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

He's running El Capitan, MacOS 10.11. He needs 10.12 through 10.15 to run Oly Workspace. BUT, he can't, unless willing to give up iPhoto. His computer does support up to 10.13 High Sierra.

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Actually High Sierra is the last OS that runs iPhoto but it will still not open the newer ORF files so there would be no benefit upgrading to that. I strongly suggest you forget shooting RAW and change your new camera settings to shoot jpeg. iPhoto will open jpegs from any camera and I doubt, unless you're a professional with critical end results required, that you'll notice any difference in your photos. I know many, many Hoggers rant on about how you have to "shoot RAW to be a real photographer" and "you get more data out of a RAW file than a jpeg" but this just isn't true. If you still have your old E-30 try changing that to shooting RAW+Jpeg and see if there's any real difference in the resulting pics. Also the Photos app in the later OS's is nothing like the old iPhoto - I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't like it - I don't Cheers JohnR

isthataone

Thanks for the advice... I didn't know High Sierra could still run iPhoto!

That info might not help me with the new-to-me camera, but it might appease the various banks that want me to upgrade my browsers!

Actually I definitely could see the difference on the jpeg vs Raw files when I did both for a while with the E-30.

Maybe with the newer MFT cameras it doesn't make a difference. It sounds like their jpeg files are a lot bigger than the E-30's.

I am definitely still learning and trying to adjust!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The things about raw that many miss:

You should use a calibrated, profiled, wide-gamut monitor. Adjusting without this yields false color on all devices.

You should adjust the raw files to optimize the images. Without optimizing them manually, you miss all the advantages of raw captures.

isthataone

iPhoto lets me do quite a lot of adjustments, much more than Photos, at least as far as I can tell, without spending a lot of time in that newer ( dumbed down ?) Apple app.

So yes, I always go in a tweak this and that.

Then if I am going to do a print for a show, I have to go in again and tweak the tweaks, print trial 4x6's to get an enlargement that looks anything like what I see on my screen. It is time consuming, but I usually end up with prints that please me.

It is an expensive process with my canon Pro-100, the ink is not cheap, so I generally only do it for prints that are going to be exhibited.

Calibrating my displays , is something I know I should do more of, but other than using the Apple software o the computers, I haven't attempted anything more technical. Chicken, I guess. I am old, and was trained mainly as a sculptor .... those are my excuses.

Anyhow thanks for the advice.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

My prints are always a satisfying match to my calibrated iMac monitor. I calibrate with a DataColor SpyderProX. It is worth every penny. A few minutes effort each month keeps my monitor honest.

isthataone

i actually bought one of those... but chickened out.

Maybe you will give me courage to go ahead.

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

But don't delete the original orf files.