Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
01-23-2012, 02:24 PM   #1
Inactive Account




Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 47
If I set my camera to RAW - use PEF or DNG?

Do I want PEF or DNG?

01-23-2012, 02:27 PM   #2
Senior Member




Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Innsbruck
Posts: 283
almost no difference, i am shooting DNG, because to me it seems a bit easier to handle with PS etc.
01-23-2012, 02:33 PM   #3
Pentaxian
normhead's Avatar

Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Near Algonquin Park
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 40,442
DNG for sure. 10 years from now, who knows if anything will be able your current PEF... it will probably never be a problem with DNG.
01-23-2012, 02:36 PM   #4
Pentaxian
ducdao's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Montreal/Vermont
Posts: 2,160
QuoteOriginally posted by hambone Quote
Do I want PEF or DNG?
I always set it to PEF as PEF doesn't compress the file hence faster saving time (less CPU usage) but use more disk space

With DNG, the camera will compress the file so more CPU usage but less disk space usage.

Just for comparison purposes in term of disk usage, for my K10D which is 10MP

RAW in PEF takes ~16MB
RAW in DNG takes ~10MB

01-23-2012, 02:38 PM   #5
Pentaxian
ducdao's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Montreal/Vermont
Posts: 2,160
QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
DNG for sure. 10 years from now, who knows if anything will be able your current PEF... it will probably never be a problem with DNG.
There are plenty of softwares that convert PEF to DNG, if PEF is no longer supported so is probably Pentax
01-23-2012, 02:49 PM   #6
Senior Member




Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: europe
Posts: 156
QuoteOriginally posted by ducdao Quote
I always set it to PEF as PEF doesn't compress the file hence faster saving time (less CPU usage) but use more disk space

With DNG, the camera will compress the file so more CPU usage but less disk space usage.

Just for comparison purposes in term of disk usage, for my K10D which is 10MP

RAW in PEF takes ~16MB
RAW in DNG takes ~10MB
never heard this reason but it sounds like good one, although in my case I would privilege the disk space rather than camera CPU.

Would you know the values for a K5?
01-23-2012, 03:00 PM   #7
Pentaxian




Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Sweden
Posts: 2,106
QuoteOriginally posted by ducdao Quote
I always set it to PEF as PEF doesn't compress the file hence faster saving time (less CPU usage) but use more disk space

With DNG, the camera will compress the file so more CPU usage but less disk space usage.

Just for comparison purposes in term of disk usage, for my K10D which is 10MP

RAW in PEF takes ~16MB
RAW in DNG takes ~10MB
Are you sure? If I recall correctly I used PEF with the K10d because it did compress the files and I could fit more pictures on the card compared with the DNG that was uncompressed.

Now with the K5 they are both compressed and I use DNG because PEF where unsupported by different softwares when the K5 was new.

01-23-2012, 03:02 PM   #8
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
GregK8's Avatar

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Western New York
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 614
What are you crazy? That's like asking "ViM or emacs?"
01-23-2012, 03:45 PM   #9
Veteran Member




Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 1,889
There's no qualitative difference I've ever seen between the two, when it comes to the image data stored in them. Both produce photos equally well in an editor that supports them. However, DNG is an open standard, the spec is available to anyone that wants it, and far more software supports it as a result.

It would be interesting to see benchmarking of the rate at which our cameras save the two formats to card. I can't see any significant advantage of uncompressed formats, due to the time taken to write the additional data. I'd think that the processing time to compress a raw file during its creation would be inconsequential compared to the write time of the overhead of other format.
01-23-2012, 03:55 PM   #10
Pentaxian




Join Date: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,112
[deleted]

Last edited by beholder3; 08-12-2013 at 01:56 AM.
01-23-2012, 04:36 PM   #11
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jatrax's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cascades
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,991
QuoteOriginally posted by beholder3 Quote
I prefer DNG because when using a RAW converter like Lightroom or using free software to store metadata (such as geotagging, categories and such) all this is stored directly in the DNG-RAW as it would be stored in a JPEG. If using PEF everything is stored in separate XMP files on your disk which need to be administered in parallel with the PEF. I like everything in a single file. There are others who prefer it exactly the other way around.
+1 I think this is the real advantage of DNG. I started using DNG because it works flawlessly with Adobe software. No waiting for Adobe to update anything when a new camera comes out, it just works. But after I learned how PEF and other RAW files afaik handle the extra information in xmp "sidecars" I was glad I started with DNG.

But in truth this is just a personal decision, both formats work fine and I am delighted that Pentax has given us the option to choose what we want to use.
01-23-2012, 05:06 PM   #12
Pentaxian




Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: New York
Posts: 4,833
I prefer DNG to PEF. DNG had fewer glitches when I tested the 2 formats. For example, PEF colors were off when viewed in Picasa, DNG colors were good.

As far as compression, I think both formats create roughly the same size files with the Kr and K5.
01-23-2012, 06:04 PM   #13
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jatrax's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cascades
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,991
QuoteOriginally posted by DeadJohn Quote
For example, PEF colors were off when viewed in Picasa,
Forgot about this since I do not use Picasa but I have seen several threads mentioning this issue.
01-23-2012, 06:49 PM   #14
Senior Member




Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 116
I used to shoot PEF but one too many app that didn't recognize them and I switched and haven't looked back. Years ago, to a Pentax shooter, I would have said PEF. Maybe a year and a half I'd have said use whichever your software likes, but as of last year I stopped even thinking about PEFs. I can't think of any advantage through the disadvantages.
01-23-2012, 07:47 PM   #15
Pentaxian
ducdao's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Montreal/Vermont
Posts: 2,160
QuoteOriginally posted by Gimbal Quote
Are you sure? If I recall correctly I used PEF with the K10d because it did compress the files and I could fit more pictures on the card compared with the DNG that was uncompressed.

Now with the K5 they are both compressed and I use DNG because PEF where unsupported by different softwares when the K5 was new.
My bad, you are right. I mixed it up. PEF is 10MB while DNG is 16MB, I just tested it
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
camera, dslr, k-5, k-5 ii, k-5 iis, k5, pef, pentax k-5
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
RAW-- PEF vs DNG... difference? CEWren Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 9 07-23-2011 10:34 PM
UFRAW and K5 raw files (DNG and PEF) sterretje Pentax K-5 & K-5 II 3 11-23-2010 11:39 PM
K10D - Pef vs Dng Raw roscot Pentax DSLR Discussion 21 05-02-2007 02:01 PM
Pentax PEF vs DNG camera RAW Quality benjikan Pentax DSLR Discussion 3 03-22-2007 09:42 PM
RAW - PEF vs DNG??? rprii Pentax DSLR Discussion 7 12-11-2006 08:51 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 05:43 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top