Is DNG camera specific? Problems with K3.

<p>Today I had the luck of a nice day, and decided to put the new stuff through its paces at the Aalst carnival. I wanted to oust some stuff but I found that Aperture cannot open the raw files, even though I had chosen DNG in order not to have problems. Is thai normal? I assumed DNG was completely standard, and therefore would not have any problem with any software. Or is there anything else to know?<br>

Viceversa I managed to have the GPs on, it needs calibration (I had done it but obviously does not "stick" and must be repeated.</p>

<p>Here is some info<br>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Negative<br>

I use it with Lightroom and never had an issue.</p>

Aperture needs to be revised. There is some variant that Pentax introduced. Run your K-3 DNG files through the free

Adobe DNG converter app. Then Aperture will work with them.

 

ME

<blockquote>

<p>Run your K-3 DNG files through the free Adobe DNG converter app.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>p.i.t.a.--yes?</p>

<p>The Adobe DNG converter isn't as convenient as working directly from Lightroom. I've used it only for testing Fuji raw files from the X-A1 and X-M1 to see how well Lightroom handled Fuji RAFs. The Adobe DNG converter needed approx 15 seconds or so per raw-to-DNG conversion. Okay for folks who work on only one or two photos at a time, but not conducive to the usual Lightroom workflow for multiple photos per session.</p>

<p>Thanks, the adobe DNG converter route works, but I dug a bit yesterday and looks like the lens corrections might be lost, that's the reason the DNG is non standard according to someone. Any confirmation? The converted DNG is about 10% smaller, possibly due to this missing information? Anyway, the K3 seems great, the Sigma slightly less so when compared with the 12-24, except for the 2mm, that is...</p>

<p>Yes, DNG is a standard - sort-of. The format is standard, but it allows storing in it various metadata information, some of which may be company specific - that is the part that is no longer standard.</p>

<p>See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Negative_(file_format)">Wikipedia article on DNG</a> that Antoni already linked to.</p>

<p>For example (<strong>emphasis</strong> is mine):</p>

<blockquote>

<p>A DNG file always contains data for one main image, plus <strong>metadata</strong>, and optionally contains at least one JPEG preview.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>And later on:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Metadata as defined in the DNG specification is also put into that TIFF assembly. Some of this metadata is based on the characteristics of the camera, and especially of its sensor. <strong>Other metadata may be</strong> image-dependent or <strong>camera-setting dependent</strong>.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>To expand on what <a href="/photodb/user?user_id=3668464">Laurentiu</a> said: It is possible to build an app that processes all DNGs, but that's not what Apple did. So, you have to wait for an update to handle the DNGs from a new camera.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>looks like the lens corrections might be lost, that's the reason the DNG is non standard according to someone. Any confirmation?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>If you are referring to the lens corrections that recent Pentax cameras make in-camera, I believe that these are limited to jpeg files and do not get included in the raw DNG file. I do believe that the Pentax-provided development software has a method of applying these corrections to an outputted raw file (PEF or DNG I do not remember), similar as how the in-camera color settings can be replicated.<br>

I don't remember if Aperture has a database of lens corrections that can be applied to an image during processing similar to how Lightroom does. I find this tool in Lightroom extremely valuable.</p>

<p>The "non-standard" components of the K-3 DNG file may be related to the new white balance controls which are unique to Pentax.</p>

<p>ME</p>

<blockquote>I believe that these are limited to jpeg files and do not get included in the raw DNG file.</blockquote>

<p>In fact they are, you can turn ON/OFF the correction when developing, but the data is there, I verified in the manual. Aperture unfortunately doesn't support lens correction (one of the few gripes I have with it, other than not supporting the K3 yet ;-)</p>