In my last post I featured the nifty “DNG Recover Edges” and made the point that it only works on DNGs. I discovered this nifty, free application while researching my column for the latest October/November 2009 issue of AfterCapture. In “Catching Up with the Amazing DNG” I celebrate how far the DNG has come in five years, since it was publicly announced by Adobe on September 27, 2004.
If you would appreciate a little background information on the DNG or to better understand how this amazing file format continues to pick up steam in its march towards a universal standard, give my piece a read. It’s based in large part by conversations with Adobe’s Tom Hogarty and digital workflow guru Peter Krogh.
Both touched on some pretty heady technical developments about the DNG, which were both hard to understand and even harder to communicate. However, both Hogarty and Krogh insisted that what really matters when considering the DNG is to realize that each evolution in the file’s makeup as well as the industry’s greater use of the DNG results in greater, more tangible workflow benefits.
Choice DNG Resources
Whether you read my article or not, I thought you’d be interested in having the “Excellent DNG Learning Resources” I included with it — right here, online, with hyperlinks and all. They are to help you keep using, learning about, and respecting the amazing DNG!
• DNG Square One •
Adobe’s official DNG homepage is where photographers head to download the latest version of the free DNG Converter. However, there’s also the free DNG Profile Editor, with educational resources for using this supremely powerful tool for creating or editing custom camera profiles. The DNG 1.3 Specifications PDF is also worth downloading. It’s not meant for “real people,” but a quick glance is pretty cool, and it helps illuminate the true extent of Adobe’s DNG transparency.
• Go Wiki on DNG! •
The Wikipedia “Digital Negative (file format)” article provides a surprisingly clear, in-depth overview on the DNG, including a wealth of great links.
• Barry Pearson on All Things DNG •
Digital imaging expert Barry Person has gone beyond the call with his “DNG Articles and Links.” Lucid and deeply knowledgeable, Pearson goes into complex tech issues, but he covers the basics quite well in accessible, jargon-free language. A great variety of links, including must-sign DNG petitions.
• Where To Find The DNG Answers •
Peter Krogh hosts “The DAM Forum,” an amazing workflow resource for photographers. The forum includes a section dedicated to DNG issues that addresses scores of diverse, real-life issues. Cleanly organized, with a nice sense of dialog. Krogh (and others) answer tricky, specific issues for multiple programs. Amazing that this free!
• Peter Krogh’s Damn Fine Book •
Krogh is in class of his own when it comes to illuminating the DNG in terms of practical, real-life workflow solutions. That’s exactly what he did in the first edition of his brilliant The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers. In Krogh’s second edition of The DAM Book (O’Reilly Media, 2009), the DNG plays an even larger role. This is book is a must for photographers trying to grasp the big picture of the DNG’s place in modern imaging practices.
• Understanding DNG’s New Compatibility Preferences •
In his “New DNG Specification” blog post, Krogh gives both a simple answer and a deeper explanation to one of the DNG Converter’s new compatibility options (also featured in Camera Raw), which relate to developments in the DNG spec 1.3. It is easy to learn what version to select as a default—the most recent—but its important to understand why this option exists and how you might want to use them.
• DNG as Solution to Data Corruption •
With the DNG spec 1.2, Adobe introduced the validation “hash” technology that promises to dramatically improve the archival security of images. It will take some time to fully mature across the industry, but it is a technology that all photographers will want to be aware of. Krogh’s offers a great introduction in his “DNG Validation Hash” blog post.
• Getting to Know DNG 1.3’s Opcodes •
The new opcodes introduced in DNG spec 1.3 are will allow new levels of RAW processing control, such as sophisticated lens distortion correction. Few photographers will want to understand the exact technology, but most photographers will appreciate having a sense of the theme. The Digital Photography Review Web site features a few interlinked articles related to opcodes. Start with “DNG updated to allow RAW corrections.”