Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (
More info?)
I have a Pentax istDS.
Before I convert the Pentax raw files to DNG files I use the Pentax Browser
to rename the raw files, after discarding the bad ones, AND then saving all
the EXIF data on a spread sheet. That way all the EXIF data is preserved,
although it is all not on the individual file.
AE
"John Francis" <johnf@panix.com> wrote in message
news:ddaufb$idi$1@reader2.panix.com...
> In article <d4ydnZ4BVoe5c2XfRVn-oA@speakeasy.net>,
> Paul Furman <paul-@-edgehill.net> wrote:
>>G.T. wrote:
>>
>>> Just wondering if anyone here is committed to DNG? I finally tried it
>>> out
>>> last night and really like the fact that the files converted from my
>>> Rebel
>>> XT RAW files are 75% the size of the original RAWs. Adobe says the
>>> compression is lossless, does anyone know for sure whether all info is
>>> retained?
>>>
>>> My current workflow is Canon DPP to Photoshop CS but I wouldn't mind
>>> switching to DNG Converter to Adobe Camera RAW to Photoshop if my images
>>> will be safe.
>>
>>I use it to reduce file size and make what I think will be a better
>>supported archive for future use. My Nikon D70 files lose a few odd ends
>>in the EXIF data, that is common for some of the shooting information to
>>be in a non-standard format and no other program can recover it all
>>either. I forget what exactly, do a comparison & check for yourself.
>
> Actually, you lose information because it *isn't* in the EXIF data.
> That's because EXIF doesn't have tags for some of the data (such as
> exactly which lens you are using, for one example), so the camera
> manufacturers have to resort to other ways of storing this stuff.
>
> That said, DNG V3.x has the ability to store all this private
> MakerNote data in the DNG file for those manufacturers who use a
> private RAW file format that is basically an extension to TIFF/EP.
> This includes Canon, Nikon & Pentax, and possibly a few others.
> While no software I know of is capable, at present, of reading
> and displaying this manufacturer-specific private data from the
> saved copy of the MakerNote tag, it is at least theoretically
> possible. This makes switching to DNG even less risky.
>
> Despite that, though, I still recommend archiving the original
> RAW file. Maybe I'm over-cautious, but DVDs are cheap.
>
> I'm just about to switch to DNG myself, so my process will be:
>
> o Create 2nd copy of files to a removable HDD
> before deleting from CF cards/microdrives
>
> o Archive original camera RAW files to DVD or CD
>
> o Convert RAWs to DNG
>
> o Copy DNGs to removable HDD (and possibly to DVD)
>
> o Original RAW files can now be deleted from system
> (although I'll probably keep selected images online,
> just in case I want to use a different RAW converter)
>
> o All the usual image editing stuff.
>
> o Save processed files to removable HDD and to CD.
>
>
>
>