[Kobayashi.K]

Nothing wrong with PEF.
Actually not many camera brands support DNG.

Neocamera
Search Digital Cameras by Features and Specifications | Neocamera
Search with the DNG box checked: Pentax, Ricoh, Casio, Leica, Samsung, Sigma.
That's it.

[mtkeller]

DNG shooters include Leica mirrorless SL, SL2 and SL2S cameras, all digital Leicas in fact, so there you are: the best people shoot DNG.

Wait, people take pictures with Leica cameras? I thought they just spent a fortune on them and then put them in a display case?

[StiffLegged]

Wait, people take pictures with Leica cameras? I thought they just spent a fortune on them and then put them in a display case?

Not every Leica owner puts the camera in a display case, I met one in the past decade who actually used his. And many years ago one actually loaned me a Leicaflex SLR and three lenses for a memorable weekend’s shooting!

[jatrax]

I have researched online and the majority of posts state that you lose some raw data if you shoot DNG instead of the camera's RAW format.

I think you need to do your research again.

[JohnMc]

That doesn't solve the problem with existing PEFs other than using the Adobe RAW converter.

This problem has cropped up quite often, unfortunately I don't recall the solution if any. There are several threads on issues of PEF files on various MacOS versions which should turn up using the search function.

Never had that issue, but then I never really relied on using the OS as (raw) file browser. I do sometimes now veiw that way using cover flow, but haven't used .pef for many years due to um, quirky support in the various editors. When I switched ti outputting dng the only editor I had at the time that would open .pef was DCU which I found horrendous to use.


What I found was it could give more 'pleasant' results in fewer steps with some images, but ultimately you could get the same with .dng and the other editors. Basically I found they were equal but had differnt starting points and required perhaps different tweaks to end up at the same place. The mythical data loss is mostly just file compression differences.

[Kobayashi.K]

If you are shooting PEF you can also convert to DNG with Digital Camera Utility 5 (Tools menu) in an emergency situation.

[retpgmr]

First, I want to thank all who have replied to my original post. I was totally aware I could choose to shoot in .DNG or convert .PEF to .DNG. Maybe I need to further explain my predicament. I originally had a Pentax KS2 that I always shot in .PEF. I never had any problem seeing these .PEF raw files in Finder or Preview.app on my Mac running Catalina. I then replaced my KS2 with a full frame format K1 Mark II. This is when the problem started. The .PEF files that were created with a K1 Mark II full frame camera were NOT viewable in Finder or Preview.app on the same Mac running Catalina. That is why my original question was asked to anyone currently running macOS Big Sur who also owns a Pentax K1 Mark II camera if they were having any problems viewing these .PEF photos in Finder or Preview.app on the Big Sur Mac. Is there anyone who can answer this question? Thanks

[Not a Number]

According to Apple Support the Pentax K-1 is support but only for single shot RAW files. So pixel shift (and possibly HDR) RAW files are not supported. The K-1 ii is not listed as of Feb 02, 2021.

Since the support document does not specify the RAW format it is possible that DNG will not be supported natively either.

Digital camera RAW formats supported by iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

[JimJohnson]

DNG - according to what I read from Adobe, their DNG format is simply an envelope for whatever comes out of a supporting camera's RAW format. The envelope contains instructions on how to read the camera's native RAW data plus a copy of the actual RAW data - for one or many images (like RAW HDR). So in regards to PEF vs. DNG, either way you essentially have a PEF file. Ditto goes for post-processing software that supports DNG. Opening the DNG file, the software first gets instructions on how to load the RAW data.

Adobe offers a software utility to 'convert' many camera manufacturer's proprietary RAW format into DNG files. So if you have PEF files, try using Adobe's tool to create DNG files and see if they will load on your Mac.
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/adobe-dng-converter.html

[LuK5]

Adobe offers a software utility to 'convert' many camera manufacturer's proprietary RAW format into DNG files. So if you have PEF files, try using Adobe's tool to create DNG files and see if they will load on your Mac.
Adobe Digital Negative Converter

This is super useful thank you

[stevebrot]

I have researched online and the majority of posts state that you lose some raw data if you shoot DNG instead of the camera's RAW format.

For Pentax, PEF and DNG are data equivalent and probably data identical.


Steve

[Phyllis]

If you are a Lightroom/Photoshop user (and don't already know this), Lightroom Queen Forums is a fantastic resource.

Thank you for this forum info!

[JimJohnson]

For Pentax, PEF and DNG are data equivalent and probably data identical.


Steve

Steve, if I understood what I read/heard on Adobe's DNG Converter page, DNG is an envelope describing how to read the native RAW file embedded inside the DNG file. In other words there is no Adobe RAW format. In every case DNG just describes how to read somebody's proprietary RAW data along with a duplicate of that data. DNG can even contain multiple images built from several RAW files, or hold multiple versions of one RAW file. These multi-image files can become quite large. It is an interesting read.

In original poster retpgmr's issue, there is a possibility that if the OS cannot directly read a PEF file, all it needs is direction via a DNG version on how to load the (embedded) data. Or the issue could be entirely different. Either way the DNG Converter is a useful tool.

[Not a Number]

The problem is as I posted earlier according to Apple's support documentation the K-1ii is not supported by the current version of Big Sur (as of Feb 2021). The K-3iii similarly will not be supported. The OS will recognize Raw files (PEF and most likely DNG as well) from the K-3ii and K-1, but not later models.

[stevebrot]

Steve, if I understood what I read/heard on Adobe's DNG Converter page, DNG is an envelope describing how to read the native RAW file embedded inside the DNG file.

You are correct, the resulting file includes a rendered image (JPEG, TIFF, PNG, etc.) and/or the original RAW (PEF, NEF, and many others, including DNG(!)) and/or both along with Adobe XMP consistent with Adobe's tools telling how to render. However, that file belongs a specific subset of the DNG standard. DNG RAW is something entirely different and more similar to PEF than a PEF converted to a DNG. There is also something called a "linear" DNG where image data (think RGB pixels) are packaged as data. Linear DNG files are very similar to TIFF image files except that they are different. A good example of linear DNG is the output of the PixelShift2DNG utility.

I'm really not much of a DNG geek except that I have a long-standing interest in creating synthetic DNG RAW files for doing forensic inquiries into things like "pulling" shadow detail from underexposed areas of the capture.


Steve