Category Archives: DNG

Nokia introduces DNG color profiles for Lightroom, Camera Raw

DNG, Lightroom, Mobile, Photography

I’m excited to see the passionate photographers at Nokia helping people not only capture full-fidelity raw files & support open standards, but also use those images efficiently in their photo workflows. Nokia’s Tiina Jaatinen writes,

The DNG format gives you access to pure and untouched visual information, allowing you to do more with your images using the professional workflow you can use with SLRs. […]
A raw DNG image file contains a lot of information about the image such as camera details, exposure settings, date, and so forth. A color profile tells even more information about the image – specifically how Adobe Lightroom should convert the colors of the raw image file.

Check out her chat with Juha Alakarhu, the head of imaging technologies at Nokia, for more details plus download links.

Lightroom 5.3, Camera Raw 8.3 for CC, CS6 now available

CC, DNG, Lightroom

In addition to the new cameras listed below, Photoshop CC users get new features including Auto Levels-like functionality and Auto Straighten. PM Sharad Mangalick writes,

Please note that this is the final version of Camera Raw 8 and DNG Converter 8 that will be available for Photoshop CS6 customers on Windows XP, Windows Vista or Mac OSX 10.6.  Impacted customers can continue either update to compatible operating system or continue to use Camera Raw 8.3 for Photoshop CS6.

Photoshop CS6 customers on Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OSX 10.7 (Lion), Mac OSX 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or Mac OSX 10.9 (Mavericks) will not be impacted and will continue to receive updated camera support through future ACR 8.x dot releases.

Newly added support for Tethered Capture in Lightroom 5.3:

  • Canon EOS Rebel T4i / EOS 650D / EOS Kiss X6i

New Camera Support in Camera Raw 8.3 & Lightroom 5.3

  • Canon EOS M2
  • Canon PowerShot S120
  • Casio EX-10
  • Fujifilm XQ1
  • Fujifilm X-E2
  • Nikon 1 AW1
  • Nikon Coolpix P7800
  • Nikon Df
  • Nikon D610
  • Nikon D5300
  • Nokia Lumia 1020
  • Olympus OM-D E-M1
  • Olympus STYLUS 1
  • Panasonic DMC-GM1
  • Pentax K-3
  • Phase One IQ260
  • Phase One IQ280
  • Sony A7 (ILCE-7)
  • Sony A7R (ILCE-7R)
  • Sony DSC-RX10

For a list of bugs fixed, please see the Camera Raw & Lightroom posts, respectively.

Phones adding raw image support

DNG, Mobile, Photography

Exciting news for all of us who love wringing maximum dynamic range & quality out of our images:

  • “For the better image quality and flexibility of raw photos,” writes CNET’s Stephen Shankland,
    “Nokia’s Lumia 1520 will shoot with Adobe’s DNG format. Similar raw support will come to the Lumia 1020 in early 2014.” Check out the Nokia blog for more details. Nokia’s head of imaging Juha Alakarhu notes, “If you shoot with RAW, you can take benefit of the continuously developing algorithms in the future. Who knows what these tools will offer in 10 years!”
  • Meanwhile Google is working on a new Android camera API that features raw support. (And sorry, I’m not going to call it “RAW,” as it’s neither a proper name nor an acronym. I can’t read it without hearing “RAW is WAR!!” ;-))

At what point will it seem silly & archaic to call these things “phones,” instead of highly programmable cameras that just happen to make phone calls?

Demo: Making your raw photos much easier to transfer

DNG, Lightroom

Following Friday’s post about shrinking raw images for emailing, here’s a demo of how Colorati makes it much faster & easier for clients to submit work for manipulation:

Uploading your Raw files can be painfully slow. We came up with a solution that enables you to shrink your files and upload them in a fraction of the time. In this video we show you how to do this and still retain the full quality of your Raw files.


This demo applies to Lightroom 4 (and thus 5), but Smart Previews in LR5 streamline things substantially. Colorati’s Leon Sandoval writes, “Essentially, when we edit the DNGs, we have a series of self-prescribed hoops we jump through to extract a clean, functional set of XMPs that will match up with the client’s full size CR2s or NEFs. Smart Previews [in LR5] eliminate the need for this completely,” making the process significantly easier.

Make your raw files small enough to email

DNG, Lightroom

It sounds a little crazy, but George Jardine has found a clever use of Lightroom 5’s Smart Previews feature: you can shrink your files by a factor of 10x, then email them around together with their intact Develop settings. Raw files from his Canon 5D Mark III fall from ~27MB to ~2MB, trading some resolution (from 5760 to 2560 pixels wide). Kind of a funky technique, but neat to know that it works. Meanwhile I’m staying tuned for the day when the underlying tech enables fast syncing among desktop & mobile devices & the cloud.

Camera Raw 7.4 Release Candidate now available

CS6, DNG

Camera Raw 7.4 and DNG Converter 7.4 Release Candidates are now available on Adobe Labs. (Remember, release candidates are versions that we think should be ready for use, but which still need a bit more testing & are being offered as public previews.) This release includes bug fixes, new camera support, and new lens profiles.

New camera support:

  • Canon EOS 1D C
  • Casio Exilim EX-ZR700
  • Fujifilm X100s
  • Fujifilm X20
  • Hasselblad Lunar
  • Leica M
  • Nikon 1 V3
  • Nikon 1 S1
  • Pentax MX-1

Check out the Lightroom Journal for a list of lens profiles added & bugs squashed. [Via]

The DNG format evolves to support HDR, more

DNG, Photography

The Digital Negative format lets you convert your proprietary-format raw files (NEF, CR2, etc.) into a format that’s fully publicly documented (more future-proof). Now the standard has been extended to support 32-bit floating point data (capable of representing hundreds of f-stops of dynamic range), plus optional lossy compression (JPEG-like sizes with the flexibility of raw), and more. Check out the DNG 1.4 specification notes on the Lightroom Journal for more info.

Camera Raw 7.1 & DNG Converter 7.1 now available

DNG

Per the Lightroom Journal:

Camera Raw 7.1 is now available on Adobe.com and through the update mechanism in Adobe Photoshop CS6. Camera Raw 7.1 adds new Defringe controls to help address chromatic aberration. Defringe is available as part of the Lens Correction panel. Camera Raw can also now read 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit HDR files. Supported HDR formats are TIFF and DNG.  Photoshop CS6 customers can upgrade to Camera Raw 7.1.  Customers of previous versions of Photoshop can utilize DNG Converter 7.1 for raw file support for newly added cameras.

See the LR Journal post for a list of the dozens of cameras now supported & new lens profiles added.

Camera Raw 7.1 adds HDR tonemapping to CS6

CS6, DNG

According to the Lightroom Journal,

Camera Raw 7.1 and DNG Converter 7.1 Release Candidates are now available on Adobe Labs.  This release includes bug fixes, new camera support, and new lens profiles.  Camera Raw 7.1 Release Candidate includes new Defringe controls to help address chromatic aberration.  Defringe is available as part of the Lens Correction panel.  7.1 Release Candidate can also now read 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit HDR files.  Supported HDR formats are TIFF and DNG.

 
New camera support:
  • Canon EOS 1D X
  • Canon EOS 5D Mk III
  • Canon PowerShot G1 X
  • Canon PowerShot S100V
  • Fuji FinePix F505EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F605EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F770EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F775EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS30EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS33EXR
  • Fuji FinePix X-S1
  • Nikon D4
  • Nikon D800
  • Nikon D800E
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5
  • Pentax K-01
  • Samsung NX20
  • Samsung NX210
  • Samsung NX1000
  • Sony Alpha NEX-VG20
  • Sony SLT-A57

 

Related/previous: Lightroom 4.1 adds HDR toning, improved defringing.

ACR 6.7 for CS5 supports D4, 5D Mk III, more

CS5, DNG, Photography

Camera Raw 6.7 [Win|Mac] and DNG Convertor 6.7 [Win|Mac] are now available as a final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS5.  This release includes bug fixes, new lens profiles, and new camera support:

  • Canon EOS 1D X
  • Canon EOS 5D Mk III
  • Canon PowerShot G1 X
  • Canon PowerShot S100V
  • Fuji FinePix F505EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F605EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F770EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F775EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS30EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS33EXR
  • Fuji FinePix X-S1
  • Nikon D4
  • Nikon D800
  • Nikon D800E
  • Olympus OM-D E-M5
  • Pentax K-01
  • Samsung NX20
  • Samsung NX210
  • Samsung NX1000
  • Sony Alpha NEX-VG20
  • Sony SLT-A57

 

For more details about lens profiles supported & bugs fixed, please see the Lightroom Journal. [Via Dave Howe]

Camera Raw 6.7 available on Adobe Labs

CS5, DNG, Lightroom

Camera Raw 6.7 (required for full compatibility between Lightroom 4.0 and Photoshop CS5) & the free DNG Converter (which can make your raw files readable by any DNG-capable app, including older versions of Photoshop & Lightroom) are available as release candidates from Adobe Labs. New cameras supported:

  • Canon EOS 1D X
  • Canon EOS 5D Mk III
  • Canon PowerShot G1 X
  • Canon PowerShot S100V
  • Fuji FinePix F505EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F605EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS30EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS33EXR
  • Fuji FinePix X-S1
  • Nikon D4
  • Nikon D800
  • Nikon D800E

See the Lightroom Journal for a full list of camera profiles added.

Lightroom 3.6, Camera Raw 6.6 available on Adobe Labs

DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 3.6 and Camera Raw 6.6 are now available as Release Candidates on Adobe Labs.  The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers.

New camera support in these releases:

  • Canon PowerShot S100
  • Nikon 1 J1
  • Nikon 1 V1
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1
  • Samsung NX5

In addition, the releases add support for numerous lens profiles while squashing a number of bugs. Please see the Lightroom Journal for details.

Lightroom 3.5, Camera Raw 6.5 updates available

CS5, DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 3.5 (Mac|Win) and Camera Raw 6.5 (Mac|Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3.  These updates include bug fixes, new camera support and new lens profiles. New camera support:

  • Fuji FinePix F600EXR
  • Hasselblad H4D-60
  • Leaf Aptus II 12
  • Leaf Aptus II 12R
  • Nikon Coolpix P7100
  • Olympus E-P3Olympus E-PL3
  • Olympus E-PM1Panasonic DMC-FZ
  • 150Panasonic DMC-G3
  • Panasonic DMC-GF3
  • Pentax Q
  • Phase One  IQ140
  • Phase One  IQ160
  • Phase One  IQ180
  • Phase One  P40+
  • Phase One  P65+
  • Ricoh GXR MOUNT A12
  • Sony Alpha NEX-C3
  • Sony Alpha NEX-5N
  • Sony SLT-A35
  • Sony SLT-A65
  • Sony SLT-A77
  • Hasselblad “FFF” files created by the Hasselblad Phocus software for currently supported models are also now supported. (FFF files created using the FlexColor software are not supported)

 

For a list of lens profiles added & bugs fixed, please see the Lightroom Journal post.

Lightroom 3.4 & Camera Raw 6.4 are now available

CS5, DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 3.4 (Mac|Win) & Camera Raw 6.4 (Mac|Win) are now available for download, adding support for the following cameras:

 

  • Canon EOS 600D (Rebel T3i / Kiss X5 Digital)
  • Canon EOS 1100D (Rebel T3 / Kiss X50 Digital)
  • Fuji FinePix S200 EXR
  • Fuji FinePix F550 EXR
  • Fuji FinePix HS20 EXR
  • Fuji FinePix X100
  • Hasselblad H4D-40
  • Kodak EasyShare Z990
  • Nikon D5100
  • Olympus E-PL1s
  • Olympus E-PL2
  • Olympus XZ-1
  • Samsung NX11

 

The releases also add support for dozens of new camera profiles, add new tethered camera support, & fix a number of bugs. For a complete list, see Tom Hogarty’s post on the Lightroom Journal.

DNG Converter PowerPC support ending

DNG

Over on the Lightroom Journal, PM Tom Hogarty reports that the recently posted DNG Converter 6.4 will be the last to support PowerPC Macs.

As Tom explains, although Photoshop CS5 & Lightroom 3, following Apple’s lead with Snow Leopard, no longer support PPC, the team has maintained support in the DNG Converter.  That way customers who couldn’t upgrade to CS5/LR3 could convert their files to be backward compatible.

Supporting aging systems comes at the expense of enhancing the apps for the future, and the overlap between people using the very latest, high-res SLRs together with 5+ year-old Macs has gotten small. Thus 6.4 will be the last PPC-compatible release of the converter.

Just to be clear, DNG files themselves are unaffected, so in the future you could use an Intel-based Mac (or a PC) to convert proprietary formats for use with PPC-based Macs.

Lightroom & Camera Raw updates now available

DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 3.4 and Camera Raw 6.4 are now available as Release Candidates on Adobe Labs, adding support for the following cameras:

  • Canon EOS 550D (Rebel T3i / Kiss X5)
  • Canon EOS 1100D (Rebel T3 / Kiss X50)
  • Hasselblad H4D-40
  • Olympus E-PL1s
  • Olympus E-PL2
  • Olympus XZ-1
  • Samsung NX11

As Lightroom/ACR PM Tom Hogarty explains on the Lightroom Journal,

The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that this update is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers.  The final releases of Lightroom 3.4 and Camera Raw 6.4 may have additional corrections or camera support.

See the rest of Tom’s post for more info on lens profile updates & bug fixes.

Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 now available

DNG, Photography

Lightroom 3.3 (Mac|Win) and Camera Raw 6.3 (Mac|Win) for CS5 are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3.  These updates include bug fixes, new camera support and new lens profiles. Cameras added:

  • Canon         PowerShot G12
  • Canon         PowerShot S95
  • Nikon          D7000
  • Nikon          Coolpix P7000
  • Nikon          D3100
  • Olympus     E-5
  • Panasonic  DMC-GF2
  • Panasonic  DMC-GH2
  • Pentax        K-5
  • Pentax        K-r
  • Ricoh          GXR, GR LENS A12 28mm F2.5
  • Samsung    NX100
  • Samsung    TL350 (WB2000)
  • Sony           A560
  • Sony           A580

For a complete list of lens profiles added & bugs fixed, please see Tom Hogarty’s post on the Lightroom Journal.

Remember that if you’re using an older version (Lightroom 2.x, Photoshop CS4, etc.), you can use the free DNG Converter (Mac|Win) to save disk space (losslessly compressing your proprietary camera files) while making images compatible with your app.

Lightroom 3.3, Camera Raw 6.3 available on Adobe Labs

DNG, Photography

Lightroom 3.3 and Camera Raw 6.3 are now available as Release Candidates on Adobe Labs, fixing bugs while adding new lens profiles & new camera support:

  • Nikon D7000
  • Nikon Coolpix P7000
  • Nikon D3100
  • Canon PowerShot S95
  • Canon PowerShot G12
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2
  • Samsung NX100
  • Samsung TL350 (WB2000)

 

According to PM Tom Hogarty,

This release also introduces the Adobe Lens Profile Downloader.  The Lens Profile Downloader is a free companion application to Photoshop CS5, Photoshop Lightroom 3, and the Camera Raw 6 plug-in. It allows customers to search, download, rate and comment on the online lens correction profiles that are created and shared by the user community.

See Tom’s entry on the Lightroom Journal for complete details.

Camera Raw 5.7, Lightroom 2.7 now available

CS4, DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 2.7 (Mac | Win) and Camera Raw 5.7 (Mac | Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2. These updates include camera support for the following models:

  • CanonEOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
  • Kodak Z981
  • Leaf Aptus-II 8
  • Leaf Aptus-II 10R
  • Mamiya DM40
  • Olympus E-PL1
  • Panasonic G2
  • Panasonic G10
  • Sony A450

Release Notes:

  • Camera Raw 5.7 includes an updated demosaic algorithm designed to provide compatibility with settings applied in Lightroom 3 beta 2.
  • Lightroom 2.7 also includes the same updated demosaic algorithm. The updated demosaic algorithm will appear as a subtle shift in noise characteristics at default values.
  • By default Camera Raw will display the image adjustments exactly as performed in the Lightroom 3 beta 2 develop module. However, at this time Camera Raw 5.7 is unable to support further adjustments to the following settings or tools:
    • Highlight Priority and Color Priority post-crop vignette
    • Enhanced Luminance and Color Noise Reduction
    • Grain effects
    • Process Version

To everyone who provided feedback on our Camera Raw 5.7 and Lightroom 2.7 Release Candidates, thanks.

Camera Raw 5.7, Lightroom 2.7 now available on Adobe Labs

DNG

Camera Raw 5.7 and Lightroom 2.7 are now available on Adobe Labs. The release includes new camera support for the following models:

  • Canon EOS 550D (Digital Rebel T2i/ EOS Kiss X4 Digital)
  • Kodak Z981
  • Leaf Aptus-II 8
  • Leaf Aptus-II 10R
  • Mamiya DM40
  • Olympus E-PL1
  • Panasonic G2
  • Panasonic G10
  • Sony A450

Users of older versions (CS3, LR1, etc.) and even DNG-compatible third-party applications can use the free DNG Converter to make images from these cameras (and the hundreds of others already supported by LR/Camera Raw) compatible with their apps.

Release Notes

  • Slideshow playback on Windows could cause Lightroom and/or the computer to crash. This has been corrected in Lightroom 2.7
  • In Lightroom 2.7 the camera raw cache limit was increased to 200GB
  • Please provide feedback on the Camera Raw plug-in on the User to User forums
  • Please provide feedback on the Lightroom release candidate here.

[Via]

Camera Raw 5.6, Lightroom 2.6 now available

DNG, Lightroom

Camera Raw (Mac | Win) and Lightroom (Mac | Win) have been updated to versions 5.6 and 2.6, respectively. These releases add new camera support for the following models:

  • Canon EOS 1D Mark IV
  • Canon EOS 7D
  • Canon PowerShot G11
  • Canon PowerShot S90
  • Leaf Aptus II 5
  • Mamiya DM22, DM28, DM33, DM56, M18, M22, M31
  • Nikon D3s
  • Olympus E-P2
  • Pentax K-x
  • Panasonic FZ38
  • Sigma DP1s
  • Sony A500
  • Sony A550
  • Sony A850

    • See the Lightroom Journal for additonal release notes. As always, you can use the free (and now updated) DNG Converter (Mac | Win) to make files from these cameras compatible with older versions of Photoshop & Lightroom, as well as other DNG-savvy software.
    [Update: Added the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV that I’d originally neglected to mention.]

Camera Raw 5.6, Lightroom 2.6 available on Adobe Labs

DNG, Lightroom

Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6 are now available for download from Adobe Labs. These releases add new camera support for the following models:

  • Canon EOS 7D
  • Canon PowerShot G11
  • Canon PowerShot S90
  • Leaf Aptus II 5
  • Mamiya DM22, DM28, DM33, DM56, M18, M22, M31
  • Nikon D3s
  • Olympus E-P2
  • Pentax K-x
  • Panasonic FZ38
  • Sigma DP1s
  • Sony A500
  • Sony A550
  • Sony A850

According to Camera Raw/Lightroom PM Tom Hogarty, “The Lightroom 3 beta has not been updated with this new camera support. If you’re working with one of these newer cameras and the Lightroom 3 beta, please use the DNG Converter 5.6 Release Candidate to convert proprietary formats to DNG files that can be used in the Lightroom 3 beta.”

Because this is a release candidate, we’d be glad to get your feedback via the Camera Raw User to User forum.

"dpBestflow" aims to drive best practices

DNG, Photography

There are a million ways you can process, manage, and archive your images–but how should you? What techniques best capture and preserve your creative output?

To address these questions, the Library of Congress, working with ASMP, has just announced “dpBestflow” (Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow). Two years’ worth of research have produced “real-world solutions for preserving the quality and integrity of digital images; proven best practices that have been shown to produce superior results; and guidelines for streamlined production workflows.”

The site is loaded with resources, ranging from a quick reference sheet* to a detailed glossary. I haven’t gotten to read the materials in detail, but the effort seems like a great response to persistent real-world issues. [Via project contributor Peter Krogh.]

* Nice to see this guidance: “Use DNG to archive raw file data… A DNG archive can be validated with a much higher level of certainty than any other image file format.”

Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 Now Available

CS4, DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 2.5 and Camera Raw 5.5 are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2 (choose Help->Updates). Direct download links are here. These updates include camera support for the following models:

  • Nikon D300s
  • Nikon D3000
  • Olympus E-P1
  • Panasonic DMC-FZ35*
  • Panasonic DMC-GF1

Release Notes:

  • Camera Raw 5.5 and Lightroom 2.5 include a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response. Olympus, Panasonic and Sony are among the more popular camera manufacturers affected by this change. The demosaic correction provides a subtle visual improvement to the processing of those raw files.
  • Lightroom 2.5 corrects for the following problem in Lightroom 2.4. Lightroom 2.4 on Windows continued to display the import dialog when a memory card was detected regardless of the preference setting “Show import dialog when a memory card is detected.”

[Via Tom Hogarty/Lightroom Journal]

* Note that in Europe and Japan this model is marketed as the DMC-FZ38. Unfortunately, due to a metadata difference between these cameras, files from the DMC-FZ38 will not be supported until the next Camera Raw and Lightroom updates.

Camera Raw 5.5 now on Adobe Labs

DNG

Over on the Lightroom Journal, Tom Hogarty reports that the Camera Raw 5.5 and DNG Converter 5.5 Release Candidates are now available on Adobe Labs. He writes,

The release includes new camera support for the following models:

        •        Nikon D300s

        •        Nikon D3000

        •        Olympus E-P1

        •        Panasonic DMC-FZ35

Of course you’ll also be able to read raw files from the new Ricoh GR Digital III but because they’re DNG files you didn’t need to wait for this update.

This release also includes a correction to the demosaic algorithms for Bayer sensor cameras with unequal green response.

Please provide feedback on your experience with the Camera Raw 5.5 plug-in and the DNG Converter on the Camera Raw User to User forum.

Camera Raw updates to continue for CS4 PPC

CS4, DNG

Evidently the Creative Suite FAQ addressing Adobe’s plans to discontinue PowerPC support in future versions of the Suite isn’t quite clear enough regarding Camera Raw updates.
This About.com article states that Adobe will no longer be issuing Camera Raw updates for PowerPC customers, but that’s not the case: updates will continue for all Photoshop CS4 customers during the CS4 life cycle, just as in previous releases.
Tom Hogarty from the Camera Raw/Lightroom team is touching base with Tom Nelson, the author of the article, to provide clarification. In the meantime, I thought you’d like to know the scoop.

Using DNG profiles: A video demo

DNG, Photography

Last summer I wrote,

When we look back at how things changed with the arrival of Lightroom 2, I think the new DNG Profile Editor (presently kind of a sleeper technology) will stand out as transformative.

I still believe that’s true, but I think photographers need an assist in learning how to make profiles practical. The inclusion of camera profiles in recent updates to Lightroom & Camera Raw greatly simplifies their use, and now Julieanne Kost has posted a 15-minute walkthrough showing their use & benefits:

(For higher-res viewing, I recommend clicking the full screen option above, or watching the video on the Adobe TV site.)

Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4 Now Available

DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom 2.4 (Mac|Win) and Camera Raw 5.4 (Mac|Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms (Help->Updates) in Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2. According to the Lightroom Journal, these updates include camera support for the following models:

  • Canon   EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i/EOS Kiss X3 Digital)
  • Canon   PowerShot SX1 IS
  • Epson     R-D1x
  • Hasselblad   CF-22
  • Hasselblad   CF-22MS
  • Hasselblad   CF-39
  • Hasselblad   CF-39MS
  • Hasselblad   CFH-22
  • Hasselblad   CFH-39
  • Hasselblad   CFV
  • Hasselblad   503CWD
  • Hasselblad   H2D-22
  • Hasselblad   H2D-39
  • Hasselblad   H3D-22
  • Hasselblad   H3D-31
  • Hasselblad   H3D-39
  • Hasselblad   H3DII-22
  • Hasselblad   H3DII-31
  • Hasselblad   H3DII-39
  • Hasselblad   H3DII-39MS
  • Hasselblad   H3DII-50
  • Kodak   EasyShare Z980
  • Nikon   D5000
  • Olympus   E-450
  • Olympus   E-620
  • Panasonic   Lumix DMC-GH1
  • Pentax   K-7
  • Sigma   DP2
  • Sony   A230
  • Sony   A330
  • Sony   A380

Note: Hasselblad support is for the 3FR file format only. The Hasselblad FFF file format is not currently supported.

Check out the rest of the entry for details on Lightroom bug fixes, as well as DNG format options and & spec updates.

Camera Raw 5.4 supports 24 new cams, now on Adobe Labs

DNG

A new release candidate (5.4) of Adobe’s Camera Raw plug-in for CS4 products is available for download from Adobe Labs.

Newly supported camera models:

  • Canon EOS 500D (EOS Rebel T1i)
  • Epson R-D1x
  • Hasselblad CF-22
  • Hasselblad CF-22MS
  • Hasselblad CF-39CF-39MS
  • Hasselblad CFH-22
  • Hasselblad CFH-39
  • Hasselblad CFV503
  • Hasselblad CWDH2D-22
  • Hasselblad H2D-39
  • Hasselblad H3D-22
  • Hasselblad H3D-31
  • Hasselblad H3D-39
  • Hasselblad H3DII-22
  • Hasselblad H3DII-31
  • Hasselblad H3DII-39
  • Hasselblad H3DII-39MS
  • Hasselblad H3DII-50
  • Kodak EasyShare Z980
  • Nikon D5000
  • Olympus E-450
  • Olympus E-620
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
  • Sigma DP2

A corresponding Lightroom update is in the works, but it’s not available yet.

The release also includes new DNG Compatibility conversion options, meant to help address the additional options available with an upcoming revision of the DNG Specification. The latest version of the free DNG Converter (downloadable from the same page) converts the raw files from well over 200 cameras, including those mentioned above, to be compatible with DNG-reading software (including previous versions of Camera Raw).

Why post on Labs before declaring the update complete? According to the Labs page, “The Camera Raw team would like the community to help verify the quality of the plug-in through normal usage as this will ensure that the plug-in is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.”

If you have feedback on this release, please visit the Adobe User-to-User forums.

Camera Raw 5.3, Lightroom 2.3 now available

DNG

Lightroom 2.3 (Mac|Win) and Camera Raw 5.3 (Mac|Win) are now available as final releases on Adobe.com. These updates include camera support for the following models:

  • Nikon D3X
  • Olympus E-30

This update also includes preliminary support for the recently announced Epson R-D1x (and R-D1xG). In addition, Lightroom 2.3 expands the number of languages supported & includes a variety of bug fixes, as described on the Lightroom Journal.

Users of older versions of Photoshop (CS3 and earlier) and Lightroom (1.x) can use the free DNG Converter (Mac|Win) to make files from the D3X, E-30, and over 200 other cameras compatible with their software.

Camera Raw 5.2 packs enhancements, compatibility

DNG

The newest rev of Camera Raw for Photoshop CS4 (Mac|Win) adds some much-requested improvements

 

  • Targeted Adjustment Tool (TAT) for on-image adjustments (i.e. click and drag on a certain color or tonal range to adjust the corresponding values)
  • Output sharpening for print or screen output
  • "Snapshots" for saving multiple sets of settings per file
  • Camera Profiles for enhanced raw file interpretation now available in the Calibration panel

 

Newly supported camera models:

  • Canon EOS 5D Mark II
  • Canon PowerShot G10
  • Panasonic DMC-G1
  • Panasonic DMC-FX150
  • Panasonic DMC-FZ28
  • Panasonic DMC-LX3
  • Leica D-LUX 4

Lightroom/Camera Raw PM Tom Hogarty provides additional details about the Panasonic/Leica support on the Lightroom Journal blog.  I imagine other Camera Raw/photography-oriented sites and blogs will offer more in-depth coverage of the TAT and other functional improvements soon.

Lightroom 2.1, Camera Raw 5.1 now available

DNG

Lightroom 2.1 (Mac, Win), Camera Raw 5.1 (Mac, Win) and the DNG Converter 5.1 are now available on Adobe.com. Both releases include new camera support for the following models:

 

  • Canon 1000D (Digital Rebel XS/EOS Kiss F)
  • Canon 50D
  • Fuji FinePix IS Pro
  • Kodak EasyShare Kodak Z1015 IS
  • Leaf AFi II 6
  • Leaf AFi II 7
  • Leaf Aptus II 6
  • Leaf Aptus II 7
  • Nikon D700
  • Nikon D90
  • Nikon Coolpix P6000
  • Olympus SP-565 UZ
  • Pentax K2000 (K-m)
  • Sigma DP1
  • Sony A900

 

The recent Camera Raw 4.6 release added the same support to Photoshop CS3.  Note that if you’re not using CS3/CS4 or Lightroom 2, the free DNG Converter can make your files compatible with earlier versions and with other DNG-savvy software (not to mention smaller and more portable as well).

 

Lightroom 2.1 fixes are covered in this Read Me file.

 

Lightroom/ACR PM Tom Hogarty notes, "The beta versions of the Camera Profiles and DNG Profile Editor on Adobe Labs have also both been updated. The Profile update includes additional profiles and incremental improvements to the previous beta profiles. The DNG Profile Editor update includes minor enhancements."

Camera Raw, DNG Converter 4.6 now available

DNG

Camera Raw 4.6 and the DNG Converter 4.6 has been posted to Adobe.com for Mac and Windows.  This release adds support for raw formats from the following 15 camera models:

 

  • Canon 1000D (Digital Rebel XS/EOS Kiss F)
  • Canon 50D
  • Fuji FinePix IS Pro
  • Kodak EasyShare Kodak Z1015 IS
  • Leaf AFi II 6
  • Leaf AFi II 7
  • Leaf Aptus II 6
  • Leaf Aptus II 7
  • Nikon D700
  • Nikon D90
  • Nikon Coolpix P6000
  • Olympus SP-565 UZ
  • Pentax K2000 (K-m)
  • Sigma DP1
  • Sony A900

 

Lightroom/Camera Raw PM Tom Hogarty notes, "You won’t find this update listed on our traditional Camera Raw page as we are moving quickly towards updates specific to the Camera Raw 5 and the CS4 release. For our Lightroom customers, similar camera support can also be found in Lightroom 2.1 currently available on Adobe Labs as a Release Candidate."

 

Note that if you’re not using CS3, the free DNG Converter can make your files compatible with other DNG-savvy software (not to mention smaller and more portable as well).

Make instant JPEGs from raw files

DNG

Michael Tapes from RawWorkflow.com has teamed up with the guys from Imagenomic (known for Noiseware) to create the very cool–and free–Instant JPEG From Raw utility.  It doesn’t interpret or convert your raw image data; rather, it just pulls out the JPEG preview embedded by your camera*.  It can optionally downsample these JPEGs to a lower resolution as well.  Check out a quick video demo of the tool in action.

 

I think there are some especially interesting possibilities here with DNG.  As you may know, when you edit the settings of a DNG file using Camera Raw or Lightroom, you can opt to update the embedded JPEG data as well as the settings themselves.  This means, as photographer Peter Krogh likes to say, that a DNG file can serve as a “job jacket”: a container that holds your negative, your development instructions, and your print.  The IJFR utility provides an immediate way to extract not just the data your camera captured, but the data as processed per your instructions.

 

*Worth another mention: Bridge CS4 now offers the ability to browse just embedded JPEG data, bypassing the raw processing stage to enable quick initial passes through a shoot.

Camera Raw 4.6 available on Adobe Labs

DNG

The Camera Raw 4.6 and DNG Converter Release Candidates (RC) are now available on Adobe Labs.  As Lightroom/Camera Raw PM Tom Hogarty explains,

 

The “release candidate” label indicates that the plug-in is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Camera Raw team would like the community to help verify the quality of the plug-in through normal usage as this will ensure that the plug-in is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

 

This release includes official camera support for the following cameras:

 

  • Fuji Finepix IS Pro

  • Nikon D700

  • Nikon D90

  • Nikon Coolpix P6000

It also adds preliminary (unofficial) support for these new camera models:

  • Canon Rebel XS

  • Canon 50D

  • Olympus SP-565 UZ

  • Sony A900

  • Sigma DP1

 

Tom explains a bit about what unofficial support means later in his post.

Photos in motion; DNG sprouts wheels

DNG, Photography
  • As you probably don’t need me to tell you, Canon has just announced the 5D Mark II, complete with the ability to record HD-resolution (1080p) video.  This follows on the heels of Nikon’s D90, itself capable of 720p video capture.  My initial thought was that DSLRs capturing video is kind of like dogs walking on their hind legs–not done well (e.g. no autofocus), though interesting to see done at all.  Nikon’s sample videos, however, have gotten me thinking about the possibilities, and film effects pro Stu Maschwitz sees lots of promise.  (He calls Canon’s decision to shoot at 30fps instead of at 24 "almost unbearable," however.)

  • On the other end of the tech spectrum, I’m a big fan of the little Flip video camera.  Now a guy named Reid Gershbein has given a tilt-shift appearance (how, he doesn’t say) to footage from the wee cam.  Hmm–this may motivate me to try applying Lens Blur as a Smart Filter on video using Photoshop Extended.

  • Ikonoskop’s rather potent-looking, weirdly named A-cam dII is, it would appear, first to support DNG for motion capture. "The buzz at IBC is DNG," they write, "so people seem to understand and start to follow our lead in DNG together with Adobe." [Via Scott Sheppard]

  • Interesting video of an SLR: Nikon D3 Shutter Release in Super Slow Motion. [Via Zalman Stern]

  • Photojojo’s got some ideas on making flipbooks from your video content.

The DNG Profile Editor: What's it all about?

DNG, Photography

When we look back at how things changed with the arrival of Lightroom 2, I think the new DNG Profile Editor (presently kind of a sleeper technology) will stand out as transformative.  The technology was largely developed by Eric Chan, a bright young guy on the Camera Raw team (and aspiring photographer).  I’ve always found his explanations lucid and highly readable, so I’m delighted that he’s written a guest blog post on the subject.  Enjoy.  –J.

 

Hi everyone. My name is Eric Chan and I’ve been a Computer Scientist at Adobe since February, which doesn’t exactly explain how I ended up on John Nack’s blog. [People often wonder how they ended up here…  –J.] Well, John kindly invited me to share some thoughts on the new color profiles for Lightroom 2 and Camera Raw 4.5… "Whoa, hold on there!" you say, "New profiles? What new profiles? I didn’t see any new profiles!" Ahh, that’s because the new profiles are currently undergoing a public beta and aren’t shipping directly with LR 2 and CR 4.5. Instead, they’re available as a separate download from the Adobe Labs web site. Why a public beta? Simply because there have been many changes under the hood, and we want to give folks a chance to try the new profiles and provide feedback before we bake them for final release.

 

But I’m getting ahead of myself here. Let me backtrack and give you the big picture first. As it turns out, there’s quite a bit more going on here than just a new set of color profiles.

Continue reading →

Lightroom, ACR support D700

DNG, Lightroom

A number of people have written in to ask when Lightroom and Camera Raw will support the brand-new Nikon D700.  Good news: they already do–unofficially–in Lightroom 2.0/Camera Raw 4.5.  Unofficial support simply means that you can view and edit D700-generated NEF files normally, but because the camera is so new, Adobe QE folks haven’t tested it to the point that they feel comfortable declaring official support.  The DNG Converter can convert D700 NEFs so that they can be used in LR 1.4, Photoshop CS2, and other DNG-enabled tools.

 

Note: LR2/ACR 4.5 add official support for the Olympus E 420 and E 520.

A pair of video interviews: DNG to Little Shop of Horrors

DNG
  • I stepped out onto the Adobe basketball court the other day to record a brief interview with Frederick Johnson from the Lightroom team.  If you can deal with the squinting and excess of "you knows" (I know, I know… y’know?), you might dig out some salient bits.  (And hey, you hadn’t thought of They Live in a while anyway, right?)
  • My pal & fellow Photoshop PM Bryan O’Neil Hughes was in Florida last week and appeared on Photoshop User TV with Scott Kelby and crew.  Bryan focuses particularly on the DNG format.  He notes, "I wish I’d mentioned that the DNG Converter allows people who haven’t upgraded to realize the benefits of raw with their newer camera in older copies of Photoshop." (Also–seemingly apropos of nothing–yes, I am a very angry man. ;-))

Camera Raw 4.5 RC now on Labs

DNG

Lightroom/Camera Raw PM Tom Hogarty has announced that the Camera Raw 4.5 and DNG Converter Release Candidates (RC) are now available on Adobe Labs.  He writes,

 

The ‘release candidate’ label indicates that the plug-in is well tested but would benefit from additional community testing before it is distributed automatically to all of our customers. The Camera Raw team would like the community to help verify the quality of the plug-in through normal usage as this will ensure that the plug-in is tested on a diversity of hardware and software configurations not available internally at Adobe.

This release includes new camera support for the Olympus E 420 and E 520 camera models.

Please provide feedback on your experience with the Camera Raw 4.5 plug-in and the DNG Converter on the Camera Raw User to User forum.  Lightroom customers who would like to use the new support provided for the Olympus cameras can download the DNG Converter release candidate and convert your raw files to DNG before importing them into Lightroom 1.4.1.

DNG codec for Vista available; DNG spec updated

DNG

Adobe has posted release candidate (i.e. feature-complete beta) of the Adobe DNG Codec for Microsoft Vista.  This free download enables Vista users to view DNG files in the Windows Explorer and Photo Gallery.

 

The posting coincides with the DNG Specification being updated to version 1.2.  Tom Hogarty writes,

 

This update addresses several industry requirements for the DNG format including the formalization of the concept of a "camera profile" and a metadata tag to validate your image data.  The definition of a camera profile for the DNG format as well as the allowance for multiple camera profiles to be embedded in a single DNG file will provide the industry with the ability to characterize raw data in an efficient and standardized format.  (Think ICC profiles, but for raw data.)

 

Check out the rest of Tom’s post for more details on the changes.  Developers can grab the updated DNG SDK here.

DNG submitted to the ISO

DNG, Photography

"The DNG format was supposed to be the future, an open standard for RAW files that every manufacturer could use," writes Digital Photo Pro’s Dave Willis.  "Here’s a look at how the revolution has panned out."  Dave talks with my boss Kevin Connor about the problem that gave rise to DNG:

"Our philosophy on this from the beginning, sort of my personal belief," continues Connor, "is that eventually the proprietary system is just going to break. When we came out with the first camera RAW plug-in, we were supporting around 25 cameras. We’re now supporting more than 175 cameras—in other words, more than 175 different file formats. And when you’re talking about images, people don’t want to keep those images for just five or 10 years. Professional photographers want to know those images will be fine for 50 years—100 years—from now. If you think about the rate of new-camera introductions, how many new file formats will there be? A hundred thousand? It just seems that it’s going to reach a point when it becomes unmanageable."

It’s true that we haven’t yet seen big camera vendors like Canon and Nikon adopt DNG, though maybe we’ll see more progress now that DNG has been submitted to the ISO as a vendor-independent standard.  In any case, the format is providing real-world benefits today:

  • Converting to DNG saves disk space and eliminates the need to use separate sidecar files for raw settings.  (I knocked 1.5GB off the 7GB of photos from our wedding photographer.)
  • Because of these benefits, customer feedback indicates that 40% of Lightroom users are converting to DNG on import.  (It’s a one-click set-and-forget option that’s also available in Adobe Bridge CS3.)
  • DNG lets Adobe support new cameras in older versions of Camera Raw without having to constantly revise and test those versions.  Photographers and use the free DNG Converter (Win | Mac) to process their proprietary raw images to DNG.  The upshot is that we can spend our time building good new functionality instead of updating old software.

[Via]

[Update: I neglected to mention that yes, Adobe will be providing a DNG-viewing codec for Windows Vista, making it possible to view DNG files right within the operating system. Expect this free download to be posted soon. –J.]

DNG sprouts wheels, gets cinematic

DNG

Aiming to help drive standards & interoperability in video workflows, Adobe has announced CinemaDNG, a cousin of the DNG (Digital Negative) standard for raw image capture.  According to the press release,

Adobe is working with a broad coalition of leading camera manufacturers
including RED, Panavision, Dalsa, Weisscam, and ARRI along with software vendors including Iridas and The
Foundry to define the requirements for an open, publicly documented CinemaDNG file format that will lend
predictability and consistency to digital production workflows.

As with the established still-image form of DNG, Cinema DNG helps minimize the risk that
proprietary or camera-specific file formats will be unsupported in the future, because CinemaDNG will provide an
open, durable, standard format.

CNET covers the news while noting some of Adobe’s other video-related announcements this week, including a demo of automatic text-to-metadata speech transcription & support for Sony’s XDCAM EX tapeless video format in CS3 tools.

Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 4.4.1 now available

DNG, Lightroom

Lightroom & Camera Raw PM Tom Hogarty reports that revised versions of the two tools have been posted:

The Lightroom 1.4.1 and Camera Raw 4.4.1 updates have been posted to the following locations: Lightroom (Mac, Win), Camera Raw (Mac, Win). The updates provide all of the changes included in the original Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 releases but also include corrections for issues described below and in previous blog posts. The Camera Raw plug-in will also be available later this evening via the Adobe Update Manager and the Lightroom update can be located by choosing ‘Check for Updates…’ under the Help menu. The Lightroom and Camera Raw team apologize for any inconveniences caused by the issues presented in the initial updates

Check out Tom’s post for full details.

A note about the Lightroom/Camera Raw update

DNG, Lightroom

Ugh.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Lightroom team has uncovered some problems with the Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 releases posted on Thursday.  The updates have been pulled down temporarily while the team addresses the problems.  In the meantime Lightroom PM Tom Hogarty has posted details and guidance on how to roll back to previous versions.  The most serious issue is that the time stamp generated by your camera & stored in EXIF metadata can get overwritten when you update other file metadata.

On behalf of everyone involved, I’m sorry about all this hassle.  We’ll straighten things out ASAP.

[Update: Tom has posted an apology.]

Lightroom 1.4, Camera Raw 4.4 now available

DNG, Lightroom

Adobe has released updates to Photoshop Lightroom (Mac|Win) and the Photoshop Camera Raw (Mac|Win) plug-in, both available immediately for download from Adobe.com or via the Adobe Update Manager (choose Help->Updates from within Lightroom or Photoshop). The releases provide added raw file support for nine additional digital cameras, including the Canon EOS 450D and Nikon D60–bringing the total number of supported cameras to nearly 200. Lightroom 1.4 also provides updated printer driver compatibility for Apple Leopard Mac OS X 10.5.

Canon

  • EOS 450D

Fujifilm

  • S100FS

Nikon

  • D60

Olympus

  • SP-570 UZ

Pentax

  • K20D
  • K200D

Sony

  • A200
  • A300
  • A350

According to the release notes, Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 include corrections for the following issues:

* Previous camera profiles identified in the Calibrate panel of the Develop module may have displayed poor results at extreme ends of the temperature and tint ranges. A new camera profile identified as Camera Raw 4.4 is now available and will be applied by default to all images without existing Camera Raw or Lightroom settings. The creation of new default profiles will also include the updated Camera Raw 4.4 profile. Images edited in Camera Raw or Lightroom with earlier profiles will retain the earlier profile value and visual appearance.

* In previous grayscale conversions the Color Noise setting was disabled and this could result in an image with excessive noise when grayscale channel mixing is applied.  Both the tool and effect have been enabled in Lightroom 1.4 and Camera Raw 4.4 providing the ability to reduce noise in grayscale conversions.  In order to return to the prior visual appearance, Color Noise reduction can be set to zero.

Lightroom 1.4 includes corrections for the following issue:

* Compatibility with legacy printer drivers on OS X 10.5 (Leopard) has been updated.