DNG History and Summary

Barry Pearson has recently posted a number of blog posts outlining his experience learning and writing about the DNG format since it was introduced. They’re an excellent resources so I’ve added links/summaries to his posts below.

DNG Part 1 – Seven years of writing about Digital Negative Format
This article provides the background on all of the material Barry has written on the DNG format

DNG Part 2 – Timeline for the Digital Negative Format
The timeline of major DNG announcements is covered as well as this interesting tidbit:

“During the first 5 years when about 38 camera models were launched that wrote DNG, Adobe software added support for about 21 Canon models, about 20 Nikon models, and about 22 Olympus models. Camera models that write DNG are almost certainly launched at a much higher rate than camera models that support any other individual raw image format, including NEF, CR2, and ORF.”

DNG Part 3 – The tragedy of OpenRAW
The story of the OpenRAW initiative

DNG Part 4 – DNG is the ONLY archival raw file format
Barry outlines the value of the DNG format

I’d like to thank Barry for putting these articles together, summarizing his tireless efforts over the years to document and chronicle the progress of DNG.

How to optimize Lightroom performance

Anita Dennis, Learning Resources Senior Content and Community Lead, recently published a new support document, “Optimize performance | Lightroom” in response to a suggestion over at feedback.photoshop.com.

“Optimize performance | Lightroom” explores hardware configurations, Lightroom catalog and preview settings, and system maintenance tasks that can help Lightroom run at peak efficiently. Check it out and give us your feedback. Answer the question, “Was this helpful,” at the top of the article and share comments on how we can improve the content.

Thanks to customer Chris Niestepski for starting the discussion and prompting us to create the doc.

Additional Information

How to tune Photoshop for peak performance

Lightroom 3.4.1 and Camera Raw 6.4.1 now available

Lightroom 3.4.1 and Camera Raw 6.4.1 are now available on Adobe.com and through the update mechanisms available in Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3.  This update addresses an issue introduced in the Lightroom 3.4 and Camera Raw 6.4 release where, in very rare cases, JPEG files could become corrupted after editing the metadata in the file. This update also corrected another rare issue that could cause valid JPEG files to appear with incorrect color.

 

Potential JPEG Bug in Lightroom 3.4 and Camera Raw 6.4

The Lightroom and Camera Raw team would like to inform you of a potentially severe bug that was introduced in the Lightroom 3.4 and Camera Raw 6.4 update.  Please note that this bug only impacts customers who are saving metadata to JPEG files with a rare characteristic.(JPEG files must have an unusually large block of private camera data included in the file to be susceptible to the bug*)   This scenario is so rare that we do not believe that it is necessary for customers who have already upgraded to revert to the previous version of Lightroom or Camera Raw.  However, the bug could cause image corruption which falls within our highest severity category of bugs.  The team believes it’s very important to notify you of the risk and provide an estimate of when we will be able to deliver a correction in the form of Lightroom 3.4.1 and Camera Raw 6.4.1.  We intend to have these updates available by Friday, May 27th.

If you do work with a significant number of JPEG files in Lightroom or Camera Raw and routinely update metadata(keywords, captions, etc) it would be prudent to wait for the updated release of Lightroom and Camera Raw.

The team would also like to thank Doug Cooper who reported this issue on the Lightroom Feedback Portal.  Rare bugs like this make it quite difficult to pinpoint the source of the problem or even create a reproducible scenario but thanks to Doug’s persistence we were able to track down this bug quickly.

*To date we’ve only found one camera that generates these large blocks of private data, the HP PhotoSmart R607.

DNG Converter 6.4 last to support PowerPC Mac Systems

The Camera Raw team recently provided a release candidate of the Camera Raw 6.4 plug-in and the DNG Converter 6.4 application. For those not familiar with the DNG Converter it’s a free, standalone application that is able to convert over 300 proprietary raw formats to the openly documented DNG file format.  When a new proprietary raw file format is released, essentially every new camera model with raw capability, we need to update the DNG Converter so that it’s able to convert that proprietary format to the DNG format.

The PowerPC(PPC) Mac systems, commonly referred to as G4 or G5 systems, represent a significantly different platform than the Intel-based solutions Apple started offering in January of 2006.  Due to the differences in software development environments, Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom 3 both dropped support for PowerPC systems in 2010.  However, we’ve extended PowerPC support for the DNG Converter into 2011 in order to ensure that customers who are still utilizing PowerPC Macs and are unable to upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop and Lightroom would be able to read raw files from the most recent camera models by converting the proprietary file to DNG and opening the DNG file in a previous version of Photoshop or Lightroom.  However, there is increasing overhead required to support the PowerPC code base in the DNG Converter so the final DNG Converter 6.4 update will be the last update to support PowerPC systems.

[Side Note: It’s come to my attention that many comments have been getting trapped in the Lightroom Journal’s spam filter.  I’ll be watching more closely to make sure that your comments are published. -TH]

Lightroom Plug-in Resources

We’ve been celebrating “Plug-in Week” on Lightroom’s Twitter and Facebook channels and I’d like to wrap up the week by providing a list of plug-in resources. These are in no particular order and please feel free to point out resources I’ve missed and I’ll add them to the list.(Listing every plug-in would just recreate the Lightroom Exchange so I’ve focused on the larger collections)  The individuals responsible for the plug-ins below add a tremendous amount of value to the Lightroom community so please join the Lightroom team in thanking them for their efforts.

  • The official Lightroom Exchange hosted by Adobe
  • Jeffrey Friedl’s Lightroom Goodies page
    • The most prolific Lightroom plug-in developer, Jeffrey’s site is an amazing wealth of solutions
  • Timothy Armes’s Photographer’s Toolbox page
    • Timothy has a diverse set of add-ons for Lightroom from image processing to metadata handling
  • Vladimir Vinogradsky’s Plug-in Page
    • Vladimir’s plug-ins have become quite popular for MobileMe integration as well as exporting to Costco, Snapfish and Adorama
  • The Turning Gate Web Gallery Plug-in Site
    • The Turning Gate provides the most comprehensive set of web gallery solutions for Lightroom
  • John Beardsworth’s Lightroom plug-ins
    • John’s plug-ins help extend Lightroom’s Digital Asset Management(DAM) capabilities
  • Todd Dominey’s Slideshow Pro
    • Todd’s Slideshow Pro gallery is one of the most popular and elegant web gallery solutions for Lightroom
  • Sean McCormack’s assorted plug-ins
    • Sean provides several web gallery plug-ins as well as assorted plug-ins including a model release metadata solution
  • Matt Dawson’s The Photo Geek’s Web Site
    • Photoshop Elements integrations tools and much more
  • Lightroom Plug-ins Site
    • Handy solutions like automatic backup removal and a new soft proofing plug-in
  • Nik Software
  • OnOne Software

Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 Now Available

Lightroom 3.2 and Camera Raw 6.2 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 features for Lightroom.

New Camera Support

  • Canon EOS 60D
  • Casio EXILIM EX-FH100*
  • Fuji FinePix HS10
  • Leica S2 (DNG*)
  • Panasonic DMC-FZ100
  • Panasonic DMC-FZ40 (FZ45)
  • Panasonic DMC-LX5
  • Pentax 645D
  • Samsung NX10
  • Samsung TL500 (EX1)
  • Sony A290
  • Sony A390
  • Sony Alpha NEX-3
  • Sony Alpha NEX-5
  • Sony SLT-A33
  • Sony SLT-A55V
  • *The DNG raw file format is supported in previous versions of Lightroom and Camera Raw. This update improves the color and noise profiles for these models.

    New Lens Profile Support

    Lens Mount Lens Name
    Apple Apple iPhone 4 (back camera)
    Canon Canon PowerShot S90
    Canon Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
    Canon Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
    Canon Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
    Canon Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
    Canon Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
    Canon Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
    Canon Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
    Canon Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM
    Canon Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
    Canon Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
    Canon Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
    Canon Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM
    Nikon Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
    Nikon Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED
    Nikon Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR
    Nikon Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G
    Nikon Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
    Nikon Nikon AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2D
    Nikon Nikon AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D
    Pentax smc PENTAX-D FA645 55mmF2.8AL[IF] SDM AW
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 33-55mmF4.5AL
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 35mmF3.5AL[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 45mmF2.8
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 45-85mmF4.5
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 55-110mmF5.6
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 75mmF2.8
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 80-160mmF4.5
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 MACRO 120mmF4
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 150mmF2.8[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 150-300mmF5.6ED[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 200mmF4[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA*645 300mmF4ED[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 300mmF5.6ED[IF]
    Pentax smc PENTAX-FA645 400mmF5.6ED[IF]
    Samsung Samsung EX1
    Samsung Samsung 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 OIS
    Samsung Samsung 30mm f/2
    Samsung Samsung 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED OIS
    Phase One Schneider LS 80mm f/2.8 (For 645DF System)
    Nikon SIGMA 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM (Nikon mount)
    Nikon SIGMA APO 70-200mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM (Nikon mount)
    Sony Sony E 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 OSS (For NEX System)
    Sony Sony E 16mm F2.8 (For NEX System)
    Canon TAMRON 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A14E
    Canon TAMRON 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A18E
    Canon TAMRON 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC B003E
    Canon TAMRON 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 Di A031E
    Canon TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di A061E
    Canon TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC A20E
    Canon TAMRON 55-200mm F/4-5.6 DiII A15E
    Canon TAMRON 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di A17E
    Canon TAMRON SP 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 DiII B001E
    Canon TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII A16E
    Canon TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII VC B005E
    Canon TAMRON SP 180mm F/3.5 Di MACRO 1:1 B01E
    Canon TAMRON SP 200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di A08E
    Canon TAMRON SP 28-75mm F/2.8 Di A09E
    Canon TAMRON SP 60mm F/2 DiII MACRO 1:1 G005E
    Canon TAMRON SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di A001E
    Canon TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 272EE
    Nikon TAMRON 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A14N
    Nikon TAMRON 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A18N
    Nikon TAMRON 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC B003N
    Nikon TAMRON 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 Di A031N
    Nikon TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di A061N
    Nikon TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC A20N
    Nikon TAMRON 55-200mm F/4-5.6 DiII A15N
    Nikon TAMRON 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di A17N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 DiII B001N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII A16N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII VC B005N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 180mm F/3.5 Di MACRO 1:1 B01N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di A08N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 28-75mm F/2.8 Di A09N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 60mm F/2 DiII MACRO 1:1 G005N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di A001N
    Nikon TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 272EN
    Pentax TAMRON 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A14P
    Pentax TAMRON 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A18P
    Pentax TAMRON 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 Di A031P
    Pentax TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di A061P
    Pentax TAMRON 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di A17P
    Pentax TAMRON SP 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 DiII B001P
    Pentax TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII A16P
    Pentax TAMRON SP 28-75mm F/2.8 Di A09P
    Pentax TAMRON SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di A001P
    Pentax TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 272EP
    Sony TAMRON 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A14S
    Sony TAMRON 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII A18S
    Sony TAMRON 28-200mm F/3.8-5.6 Di A031S
    Sony TAMRON 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di A061S
    Sony TAMRON 55-200mm F/4-5.6 DiII A15S
    Sony TAMRON 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di A17S
    Sony TAMRON SP 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 DiII B001S
    Sony TAMRON SP 17-50mm F/2.8 DiII A16S
    Sony TAMRON SP 180mm F/3.5 Di MACRO 1:1 B01S
    Sony TAMRON SP 200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di A08S
    Sony TAMRON SP 28-75mm F/2.8 Di A09S
    Sony TAMRON SP 60mm F/2 DiII MACRO 1:1 G005S
    Sony TAMRON SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di A001S
    Sony TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 Di MACRO 1:1 272ES
    Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZE
    Canon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 ZE
    Nikon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/28 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Distagon T* 2/35 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/21 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Distagon T* 2,8/25 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/50 ZF.2
    Nikon Zeiss Planar T* 1,4/85 ZF.2
    Canon Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM**
    Canon Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM**
    Canon Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS**
    Canon Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM**
    Canon Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM**
    Nikon Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D**

    **These lens profiles were in the previous release but have been updated to address quality concerns.
    NOTE: The Pentax, Tamron and Zeiss profiles are the result of collaboration between Adobe and the respective lens manufacturer.

    Lightroom 3.2 Release Notes

    • Direct publishing to Facebook and SmugMug is now available
    • Tethered capture now supports the Leica S2
    • A larger list of corrected issues has been included as part of the Lightroom 3.2 Release Candidate notes. Additional issues have been address in the final Lightroom 3.2 update:
    • Fixed authentication issues that could be experienced with the Facebook publish collection
    • Adressed performance issues that could occur while reviewing images in Loupe view
    • Corrected several Adobe Photoshop Elements upgrade issues
    • Corrected a file renaming bug involving date or time fields
    • Export with watermark will now function correctly when choosing the Limit File Size option

    Camera Raw 6.2 Release Notes

    • Scroll bar arrow performance has been improved
    • Fixed: Slow Scrolling could occur when working with the Mac Trackpad and a multiple image selection
    • Full screen performance issues have been addressed

    George Jardine publishes new Lightroom 3 Tutorials

    Adobe’s former Lightroom evangelist, George Jardine, has published a collection of video tutorials for Lightroom 3. This series focuses primarily on organizational and file management workflows in Lightroom’s import dialog and Library module. George also created an incredible series of Lightroom podcasts with industry influencers that are definitely worth a listen if you didn’t catch them when they were first released.

    Lightroom 2.7 and Camera Raw 5.7 Now Available

    Lightroom 2.7 and Camera Raw 5.7 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:

    • 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

    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

    Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on our Camera Raw 5.7 and Lightroom 2.7 Release Candidates.

    Update for Leica M9 Customers

    The Lightroom 2.6 update included a bug that could cause Lightroom to crash unexpectedly when encountering certain raw files from the Leica M9 camera. This bug is an unfortunate consequence of attempting to tune our raw processing algorithms specifically for the M9 camera based on feedback on our Lightroom 2.6 Release Candidate. Due to the severity of this bug, we have released Lightroom 2.6.1 with a correction for the issue. This update is only applicable to photographers working with files from a Leica M9 camera.

    Lightroom 2.6.1 : Mac, Windows

    Thanks for your patience while we resolved this problem.