Best format to save raw files as?

tijuana taxi

tijuana taxi

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Rich
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My version of Lightroom v6.14 doesn't recognise the raw files from one of my cameras. I don't want the subscription version, mainly because the standalone is fine for two out of three of my cameras.
I have Photoshop Elements 2018 and the included ACR does see the raw files that LR doesn't.

My question is what do you think is the best format to save them in so I can save and process them further in Lightroom?
 
.TIFF or .DNG but they both preserve different priorities, I tend to save in .TIFF which I believe is better for editing in Adobe products but they are large files.
 
In your position I’d download the free Adobe DNG converter and use that. Not only will the resulting DNG files be handled exactly like any other raw file by lightroom, but I’d imagine it’s probably a bit quicker than opening the files in ACR in Elements and resaving them.

If you’re set on converting them in Elements then I’d say either a PSD or TIF file would be best.
 
Thanks all, I have been leaning towards the Tiff format, first time I have come across this problem.
Did try the dng converter, but prefer doing one at a time in PSE and some are fine after the ACR adjustments

I tend to only convert those that I want to print either at home or saved for my yearly travel photobook.
So in general they get saved as a full size jpeg in Adobe RGB format
 
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Anything with layers I use PSD, failing that it's DNG. Dont use Tiff much, I used to use it, and it's a fine format, it's just my way of working doesn't need it.
 
I would use whatever you find easiest. Just be aware that converting to DNG is fundamentally different to converting to tiff. The DNG converter isn't a 'raw converter' in the usual sense, it just converts from one raw format to another. A tiff file is no longer raw, so some of the decisions you make when converting to it aren't reversible (an extreme example would be saving as black and white). Personally, I do save as tiff before loading into (e.g.) Photoshop, but that's because I'm using a non-Adobe raw converter (I like the results from the camera manufacturer's own converter).
 
Retune said:
I would use whatever you find easiest. Just be aware that converting to DNG is fundamentally different to converting to tiff. The DNG converter isn't a 'raw converter' in the usual sense, it just converts from one raw format to another. A tiff file is no longer raw, so some of the decisions you make when converting to it aren't reversible (an extreme example would be saving as black and white). Personally, I do save as tiff before loading into (e.g.) Photoshop, but that's because I'm using a non-Adobe raw converter (I like the results from the camera manufacturer's own converter).
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From what I understand, most raw formats are based on a modified version of TIFF.

The Wikipedia entry regarding raw files says "Many raw file formats, including IIQ (Phase One), 3FR (Hasselblad), DCR, K25, KDC (Kodak), CRW CR2 CR3 (Canon), ERF (Epson), MEF (Mamiya), MOS (Leaf), NEF (Nikon), ORF (Olympus), PEF (Pentax), RW2 (Panasonic) and ARW, SRF, SR2 (Sony), are based on the TIFF file format."

Personally, I've always regarded as converting to DNG an unnecessary extra step, preferring to keep my raw files exactly as they came out of the camera.
These days I find there are several raw developer programs that, in my opinion, do a better job than Adobe.
However, in the case of an Adobe program that cannot deal with a native raw format, I guess there is no alternative but to convert to DNG.
 
Brian G said:
I've always regarded as converting to DNG an unnecessary extra step
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Well, that's your position, but it's not unnecessary if it's necessary to a given individual.
Brian G said:
keep my raw files exactly as they came out of the camera.
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DNG conversion doesn't degrade them, it just makes them more universally readable, so why fuss about it?

To me, the free Adobe DNG converter is a nifty workaround.
 
Brian G said:
From what I understand, most raw formats are based on a modified version of TIFF.

The Wikipedia entry regarding raw files says "Many raw file formats, including IIQ (Phase One), 3FR (Hasselblad), DCR, K25, KDC (Kodak), CRW CR2 CR3 (Canon), ERF (Epson), MEF (Mamiya), MOS (Leaf), NEF (Nikon), ORF (Olympus), PEF (Pentax), RW2 (Panasonic) and ARW, SRF, SR2 (Sony), are based on the TIFF file format."

Personally, I've always regarded as converting to DNG an unnecessary extra step, preferring to keep my raw files exactly as they came out of the camera.
These days I find there are several raw developer programs that, in my opinion, do a better job than Adobe.
However, in the case of an Adobe program that cannot deal with a native raw format, I guess there is no alternative but to convert to DNG.
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That just means they re-used the overall file structure defined in the TIFF standard when creating the various raw file formats. This makes sense - why reinvent the wheel? DNG files, which also use this file structure, contain the raw image data straight from the sensor, just like the camera manufacturers' own raw files. But normal .tiff files, like those generated by standard raw converters, no longer contain this data. I agree that DNG conversion is usually an unnecessary step, but it's pretty much forced on you if you want to conintue using an older version of LR or ACR for raw conversion. I would in any case always keep the original raw file as it came out of the camera. If you only have the DNG, you can generally no longer use (e.g.) the camera maker's own raw converter (which may do a better job than LR/ACR), unless you choose the option that allows you to regenerate the original raw from the DNG (which makes the file size much larger). Sometimes you may also need the original raw for a competition or media outlet that requires an out of camera file to prove there has been no manipulation. And of course any file conversion is something else to go wrong and potentially corrupt your image.
 
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tijuana taxi said:
My version of Lightroom v6.14 doesn't recognise the raw files from one of my cameras.
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Depending on which camera you may be able to use EXIF tool to adapt the file to look like a supported camera if the sensors are the same.
I'm sure I read someone doing that on Olympus over at e-group.
 
I've done that in the past, e.g. with Nikon D70s files, where just changing the Model tag to make them look like D70 files was enough to process them in an older converter. But as you'd still want to back up the original file before messing with it, it's probably simpler and cleaner to convert to DNG if you want to use LR/ACR.
 
I have always used DNG as the file size is slightly smaller. I have never encountered any issues with loss of quality etc.
 
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