Raw in DNG
Convertire file RAW in DNG con DNGConverter
Trascrizione di un articolo del blog di Dmitri Popov, pubblicato il 27 gennaio 2011
digiKam è dotato di un'elegante strumento di modifica in serie che ti permette di convertire file RAW nel formato DNG. La questione è, naturalmente, perché dovresti volerlo fare. Dopotutto digiKam può gestire i file RAW senza alcun problema, dunque perché aggiungere un ulteriore passaggio al tuo lavoro con le fotografie?
As you might know, RAW is not a file format, but rather an umbrella term that describes multiple file formats controlled by multiple hardware manufacturers. The RAW formats themselves are specific to digital camera manufacturers. For example, Canon cameras store RAW files in the CR2 format, while Nikon cameras use the NEF format. Besides being proprietary, RAW formats are often poorly documented and encumbered by patents.
The Digital Negative (DNG) format introduced by Adobe Systems, Inc in 2004 is designed to overcome these shortcomings by providing an open, well-documented universal format for storing RAW files. If you would like to know more about the DNG format, the DNG articles and links Web site provides a wealth of valuable information on the topic.
Being an open and well-documented format, DNG is suited particularly well for long-term archiving of digital photos. Of course, the CR2 and NEF and other RAW formats are widely adopted and supported, so they are not going away anytime soon. But there is no reason why you shouldn’t save your RAW files in the DNG format to be on the safe side. After all, storage is cheap nowadays, and the DNGConverter utility makes it supremely easy to convert RAW files to the DNG format.
Using DNGConverter couldn’t be easier. Launch the utility, add the RAW files, specify a few options, and hit the button. For complete peace of mind, you might want to enable the option which embeds the source RAW file into the resulting DNG file.