Canon IXUS 240 HS
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS
Nikon D800
Samsung DV300F
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Nikon Coolpix P510
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Nikon Coolpix S9300
OpenRAW Website Launches
With the recent controversy over the encryption of white balance data in Nikon D2x digital SLR RAW files still raging, the launch today of OpenRAW, “a group of photographers and other interested people advocating the open documentation of digital camera RAW files” is very timely indeed.
“Most camera manufacturers use a proprietary file format to store the raw data from their digital cameras. In the short history of digital photography, manufacturers have dropped support for asset management applications, abandoned settings from older RAW processor versions and changed the methods of storing basic camera settings without documentation. The undocumented changes in RAW file formats have already cost users of RAW images time and money.”
Website: OpenRAW
OpenRAW Press Release
4/25/2005 - For Immediate Release: OpenRAW Web Site Launched;Confronts Issues Crucial to Quality Digital Photography and Archiving of Photographic Images
The OpenRAW Working Group launched a website today at http://www.OpenRAW.org designed to solve issues crucial to the future of photography.
Digital technology is revolutionizing the photography industry, and an emerging part of that technology is the set of RAW camera file formats. Most professional photographers prefer using RAW image capture because it offers the highest quality and the greatest creative control.
The grass roots OpenRAW group arose out of photographers’ frustration with camera manufacturers’ refusal to openly document their proprietary RAW file formats. That lack of file format information inhibits innovation, limits image processing choices, and endangers the long-term accessibility of millions of photographs. The goal of the new website is to obtain complete documentation by manufacturers of their RAW file formats.
“Our primary strategy is to educate the public and the manufacturers,” said Juergen Specht, the Japan-based German photographer who is spearheading the OpenRAW group. Specht also founded the highly regarded D1scussion mailing list for Nikon dSLR photographers, and hosts a similar 1Dscussion group for Canon photographers. Specht continued, “Once photographers understand what’s at stake, and once digital camera manufacturers understand how their profitability will be enhanced by the release of the RAW file format specifications, our goals will be realized.”
The Importance of RAW File Formats
A RAW file contains unprocessed sensor data and other vital shot information from a digital camera. The many RAW file formats are proprietary, and typically differ from camera to camera. RAW file formats let photographers:
* Preserve the maximum amount of original image data.
* Adjust settings such as exposure and white balance after the shot is taken.
* Transcend the limitations of fixed in-camera processing.
* Obtain the highest possible image quality from each file.
* Improve image quality over time as RAW processing capabilities advance.
* Possess an archival image whose longevity can rival, and potentially outlast, film.
The Problem of Undocumented RAW File Formats
Undocumented RAW file formats present a number of challenges. The problems include:
* Limitation of image processing choices that meet differing workflow and quality needs.
* Increased probability that, over time, a RAW file will become unreadable or unable to be processed properly.
* Waste of 3rd party software development resources.
The OpenRAW Solution
The OpenRAW group wants camera manufacturers to publicly document all of their RAW image file formats: past, present, and future. By doing so, manufacturers will provide photographers with a maximum set of processing choices and the best guarantee of future image decoding.
There are already instances of encrypted data in RAW files and dropped support by manufacturers for older camera models. The OpenRAW solution will prevent more such problems. The OpenRAW solution represents a win for photographers, a win for manufacturers, a win for software developers, and a win for the longterm transmission of human culture.
For more information please visit the OpenRAW web site: http://www.OpenRAW.org
Contact Info:
Web: http://www.OpenRAW.org
Email: OpenRAW AT OpenRAW DOT org
Canon IXUS 240 HS Review
Canon PowerShot SX240 HS Review
Nikon D800 Review
Samsung DV300F Review
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Review
Nikon Coolpix P510
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
Fujifilm X-Pro1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V
#1 Stephen
I still don't see what Nikon is so paranoid about. They say they don't want the images to be rendered incorrectly by any software to proserve their uniqueness.
With that line of reasoning, they should also only allow them to be printed on printers approved and calibrated by Nikon. Some for monitors. It just doesn't make sense to me.
10:33 am - Monday, April 25, 2005
#2 Stanley Krute
Hi Stephen
> It just doesn't make sense to me
Nor, I'd aver, does it make sense to
Nikon. They're just tap-dancing
Cluetrain data for Nikon:
You make lots of money from the camera platform.
They make little money from the Capture gamb it.
When they come around and release their RAW specs, if it's not way too late, they'll see how sales bump right up.
We photographers spend lots of money on lenses and bodies. It's irrational, and thus not long sustainable, for Nikon to kill their
golden geese, cameras and lenses, in a futile quest for an improbable software grail.
Cheers,
-- stan
9:23 pm - Tuesday, April 26, 2005
#3 Stanley Krute
The gist of Nikon's NEF message:
"Please enter this box. It's locked,
but that's for your own protection.
Have a nice day."
Not a good way to converse with
your customers.
-- stan
9:25 pm - Tuesday, April 26, 2005
#4 Rich Wagner
Stephen wrote:
> It just doesn’t make sense to me
In the long run, it makes $$$ and cents to Nikon. If no one else can read their RAW files and Capture (or its successor) becomes the only RAW converter available, they've locked the market on Nikon RAW processing. No Adobe, no Bibble, no C1Pro... The only logical explanation of encryption of the WB data was to give competetive advantage. We'll see where this goes.
Best,
--Rich
12:17 am - Monday, May 2, 2005