Converting to .DNG on Import

FiestaRed

FiestaRed

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Mike
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Whenever I import photos into Lightroom I let the programme convert my files to .DNG after importing them. I've just watched a LR Video and that says DO NOT convert your photos to .DNG.

Can I ask what people on here do regards converting to .DNG, good idea, bad idea? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don’t convert, but it’s personal preference. If you search YouTube you’ll find respectable vloggers that say .dng is the best thing since sliced bread. You probably can’t go wrong either way. One popular argument is that .dng is a ‘safer‘ option, as there is a risk that camera makers proprietary formats could be lost at some stage in the future - make of that what you will, are Canon, Nikon, Olympus etc more likely to go to the wall than Adobe and for it to happen so suddenly that folks have no time to convert to tiff or whatever?
 
Thanks for the reply Trevor.

I've just gone back to that part of the video and watched it again and the reason given is that some competitions will not accept .DNG files. The video is all about preparing and doing the PP for competition photos, so I guess that the "not" converting to .DNG is mainly aimed at people who do that.
 
Mike, that sounds a bit odd to me. (But then again, I am odd lol) Why would any competition want a raw file, which is what .dng files are, surely the processed image would be .jpg or .tiff? I’m not too sure I’d want to enter any competition asking for my raw files :)
 
happy haggis said:
Mike, that sounds a bit odd to me. (But then again, I am odd lol) Why would any competition want a raw file, which is what .dng files are, surely the processed image would be .jpg or .tiff? I’m not too sure I’d want to enter any competition asking for my raw files :)
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Many competitions ask to see the raw file once you've won to check on how much post-processing you've made, such as dropping in skies, etc. Not that I've ever won any. Nor entered any.
 
I would say a DNG is more like a PSD than a camera raw file... you can export an edited DNG, that's why they won't accept them. The DNG conversion also strips out a lot of metadata and usually don't work with OEM software.
 
I regularly enter national and international competitions. It is normal for them to indicate the right to ask to see a Raw file or original JPEG file in a few cases. This will usually be for categories where editing is very limited such as wildlife or photojournalism. They would only normally ask to see such images if the image had received an award and there was a reason to be suspicious. Sadly a minority of photographers are prepared to cheat. I cannot see that DNG would not be acceptable as it is a Raw file and still has the original Raw data and metadata. The main difference is that it also includes editing steps so contains more than the original Raw file. A salon or one of its patrons conducting an investigation will utilise all relevant evidence.

Many years ago I used dng files for a time but have not done so recently. I do not think that there are very significant advantages to using dng or not. It is a fine balance so either decision is OK. If Nikon, Sony and Canon all decided to use dng then it would become the universal format that Adobe wanted and I am sure we would all use it then.

Dave
 
I always used to covert to DNG when I shot Canon, mainly to keep the file and edits together. However since switching to Fuji I’ve started using the native raw files as Lightroom isn’t the best at rendering Fuji files, so I retain the flexibility to use another application if I need to.
 
Same as above, when entering competition submit jpeg file or print and often asked for raw file if you reach final 10 or so.
 
I prefer to keep my raw files exactly as they came out of camera.
 
Thanks for all the help. Really appreciated.
 
I was once told that a RAW file could be used in a court of law where a DNG can’t.

I prefer not to convert and to know I’ve kept the original raw. Ultimately you are relying on Adobe’s interpretation of the raw file rather than Canon, Nikon etc. So I’d rather not lose any information.... although I do use Lightroom so it’s probably a moot point.
 
Sometimes dng's can be useful - don't knock 'em - but using them isn't something I've ever worried about - but then none of my images is likely to feature in a competition or a court case. To think that makers' raws might become obsolete is a faux concern though - they might, and so might dng! - but there'll always be a workaround. It reminds me of the oft-touted idea about tightening a drill chuck, that you should use the chuck key in each of the three holes in sequence to even out the wear. Utter nonsense because use over time would be random and so even out the wear anyway.
 
Bebop said:
I was once told that a RAW file could be used in a court of law where a DNG can’t.

I prefer not to convert and to know I’ve kept the original raw. Ultimately you are relying on Adobe’s interpretation of the raw file rather than Canon, Nikon etc. So I’d rather not lose any information.... although I do use Lightroom so it’s probably a moot point.
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Sorry to disagree but courts would consider any technical evidence and remember that DNG files can be set to include the original manufacturers Raw file. In any case the actual data which leads to the image formation is not changed. Remember also that Pentax, Hasselblad and Leica use DNG format as their camera Raw file so DNG files must be acceptable. It may be that there is more scope to alter the content of some DNG Raw files but the skill and knowledge to do this would be very specialised and for what purpose; surely not to just cheat in a photographic competition. I have had a little experience of investigating potential cheating and none of the individuals had done anything very sophisticated. I do not bother to convert to DNG myself but not because of any specific disadvantage. It is a pity that Nikon and Canon did not agree to use DNG.

Dave
 
@Dave Canon It's just something I was told by someone who worked in the judicial system that I always remembered. I'm no legal expert myself. It was a few years ago and perhaps there are DNG files and DNG files, as you say. I've never felt the desire or need to convert to DNG.

I know for the recent countryfile calendar competition, entrants who were 'chosen' had to send the raw files of a couple of photos either side of the one they wanted. Presumably they would also accept DNG files.

I seem to remember an anteater image having been composited and losing first prize after they had scrutinised the raw images in a major wildlife competition a few years back.
 
Some images are eliminated just on examination of the JPEG file entered. For nature and Travel no cloning was generally allowed. However, rules have recently relaxed a little even in these subjects and may allow a little cloning at edges as long as the main subject is not involved. Competitions like the Countryfile Calendar tends to attract a lot of attention so they probably feel it is necessary to check on the chosen images. Apart from the special sections, most Club, National and international Salons sections will allow almost anything provided all parts of the image are your own and based on a photographic capture. Even then there are many grey areas such as the use of complex Plug-ins. I think probably the worst form of cheating is to plagiarise.

Dave
 
Dng's have the metadata embedded. This can cause an issue with backups if you make significant changes to your metadata. E.g change your name in the copyright for images in your library from Joe Bloggs to Joseph Bloggs and your backup software may well see every dng as being changed and add a lot of disk space or bandwidth...
The argument about the files not being readable in the future is red herring. There are open source raw viewers for almost all raw formats, these are not going to disappear.
The final reason I don't convert is there is really little point!
 
The main reason that I see for the conversion of proprietary raw files to dng is to reconcile camera raws with conversion software that's earlier than the camera. This is an invaluable and enabling bridge function. Otherwise, why bother?
 
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