I would like to know why one should use DNG and not PEF. I for one use PEF because most programs does not alter the RAW file if it is PEF which happens when you use DNG i.e the date changes. The preview is very low res in the DNG so it is difficult to judge if the shot will be sharp when processed or not.

So, again, why do you think it is better to use DNG instead of PEF?

[peterjcb]

Just a hint. Set your camera to shoot .jpg only. Review the picture after you take it with that little > button way to the left of the camera's eyepiece. If you like the shot and want to have a RAW file, it's still in the camera's memory until you take another shot or turn your camera off. You can save that RAW file while the image is on your review screen by pressing the AE-L button on the upper right hand corner of the camera. It will ask you if you want to save the RAW file; you can select that option and press "OK". Then when you download your pictures to your computer, you will have both a .jpg file and a RAW file (choose .DNG for your standard in the Menu if that's what you want, rather than PEF). Then you can manipulate the RAW file with suitable software. I've found PhotoShop Elements to be an economical and effective program to do this. Adobe has an "add on" free software on the internet so Elements can handle .DNG RAW files. Those DNG files, when converted to .jpg using the software, give you way more latitude to adjust exposure, contrast, hue, white balance and many other parameters for a perfect final product.

Done this way, with the AE-L: button, you don't fill up your card with large unwanted RAW files - only the ones for the pictures you really like and want to work with more in post-processing, either now or when you're ready to do this more advanced development of your pictures.

John

Thanks for the tip John...I did set my RAW files to .DNG but I'll be shooting photos in .jpeg most of the time right now....good point about saving that special photo.

[RGlasel]

why one should use DNG and not PEF

Both file formats contain the same information, but DNG files fit an openly distributed, royalty-free set of guidelines, that both the camera manufacturer and the software developer have to follow. There are fewer restrictions on what can be done with DNG files, between different software and different makes of camera.

when you use DNG i.e the date changes

The shooting date and time supplied by the camera is embedded in EXIF information, and that doesn't get changed by a program opening DNG files. If the software is saving a modified DNG or PEF file (it doesn't matter which) under a new file name, then the file creation date is changed, but that is the way the computer's file system works, and nothing to do with the format your camera saves images as.

The preview is very low res in the DNG so it is difficult to judge if the shot will be sharp when processed or not.

Has nothing to do with the file format and everything to do with how the software generates preview images from RAW files (of whatever format).

The other complaint about DNG files is that they "look" different than PEF files. That is also a software issue, where a program is applying a different profile to one file format vs. the other. It is most likely to happen if the software doesn't have a specific profile for that model of camera, and it uses a generic profile instead to convert the data saved by the camera into an image for viewing.

You might prefer to use a specific program that can open PEF files over another program that can only open DNG files, because that program has better features or a better camera profile, but the future is DNG for everything because it reduces the cost to develop and maintain imaging software, while still making it possible to use every feature camera manufacturers could possibly add.

[RGlasel]

I'll be shooting photos in .jpeg most of the time right now

Which is fine if you want to eliminate the separate process of post-processing, but if you don't like the way your camera generates a JPEG file from the "raw" image data, your ability to make the image look the way you want it to is greatly reduced. It's like sending your film to the drugstore or developing it yourself. It's your choice and if I took most of my pictures under "normal" conditions, I might save all my photos as JPEG as well. Since I end up doing some post-processing on all of the photos I want to keep, regardless, I save as RAW only and export the altered images as JPEGs. One method is not necessarily better than the other.

[PALADIN85020]

I would like to know why one should use DNG and not PEF. I for one use PEF because most programs does not alter the RAW file if it is PEF which happens when you use DNG i.e the date changes. The preview is very low res in the DNG so it is difficult to judge if the shot will be sharp when processed or not.

So, again, why do you think it is better to use DNG instead of PEF?

Primarily because most software programs will recognize DNG, while PEF is proprietary with Pentax and many programs will not work with it. Don't look at the DNG file when previewing, look at the similarly-identified .JPG file, if you have both. My software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 10) does not change the date or any of the EXIF data on DNGs.

John