in what format to store RAW files on external storage drives ?

habsfanusa · 11-11-2018, 04:16 PM

Hi all,
not sure the title is correctly worded - apology if not. but this is a beginner's query. I'm not a beginner photographer - but I'm essentially so when it comes to post-processing, and even to computer storage - the latter is the focus of my question.

when I offload my photos to store them on my external hard drives - should i be storing as PNG or is it okay to use the default PEF format ? (almost all are in RAW - and I have thousands....). I'm at the point where i need to offload photos b/c my hard drive is full...

I don't really do post-processing - it's called procrastination - altho i use the basic tools in Photos on my MacBook for cropping and basic exposure tools. I have never used the Silky Pics software that came with my K5iiS when i bought it 5 or 6 yrs ago.

Thank you.

**sbh** · 11-11-2018, 04:27 PM

Do you mean PNG or DNG?

Basically it makes no difference whether you use DNG or PEF. I use PEF to keep it simple.

**AstroDave** · 11-11-2018, 04:29 PM - **1 Like**

I think you mean DNG (not PNG).

The general consensus is that you are probably better off saving files as DNG - they are more likely to be readable by whatever software you might be using years from now, as opposed to the proprietary PEF format.

Are your files already DNG? If so, you can just offload them to your external storage as is. If they are PEF, you will need to convert. I'm not sure if you can batch convert thousands at a time!

Wheatfield · 11-11-2018, 04:53 PM

DNG is probably the best way to go.

photolady95 · 11-11-2018, 05:31 PM

I store my .DNG just as that, .DNG. No better way to store them. To me, having the .DNG file, is like having the negative when I used to shoot film. And I use .DNG to keep it simpler.

**Just1MoreDave** · 11-11-2018, 07:13 PM

I liked the "incompatibility" of a PEF. Other software won't modify it or sometimes even read it. So it's good for an archive copy. I converted it to DNG to work with it. But when I got the K-5 IIs, Lightroom has a profile for Pentax DNGs that I like better. It's not available with PEFs, so now I start with Pentax DNGs, keep those separate, and work with converted Adobe DNGs. Lightroom makes this easy.

Eventually you want to sort your files so that the really good stuff is totally safe. It is easier to do that when the good stuff isn't all in the same pile as a gigabyte of ordinary stuff you can barely remember. So think about at least sorting, even if you don't process the images yet.

**sbh** · 11-12-2018, 04:39 AM

Originally posted by AstroDave

I think you mean DNG (not PNG).

The general consensus is that you are probably better off saving files as DNG - they are more likely to be readable by whatever software you might be using years from now, as opposed to the proprietary PEF format.

I've heard this but I personally don't share that opinion entirely. Imho the bottom line is that it doesn't matter which format is used unless there is a feature that the other format doesn't have (compression, sidecar files etc.). Tony discussed some pros and cons in a video a while back.

You Tube

**newmikey** · 11-12-2018, 05:39 AM - **1 Like**

You already have PEF's so it makes more sense to store them as they are, knowing you will always be able to convert them to another format such as DNG if and when that would ever be required. There can only be one answer: you store raws in the exact format they came out of your camera, whether that is DNG or PEF.

This is a wholly different question than the one about what the better raw format to use would be: proprietary or DNG.

**lsimpkins** · 11-12-2018, 07:03 AM

Originally posted by newmikey

You already have PEF's so it makes more sense to store them as they are, knowing you will always be able to convert them to another format such as DNG if and when that would ever be required. There can only be one answer: you store raws in the exact format they came out of your camera, whether that is DNG or PEF.

This is a wholly different question than the one about what the better raw format to use would be: proprietary or DNG.

I agree with this assessment, but would add another layer of "protection". Put a copy of the latest Adobe DNG converter program on your external drive along with the image files. That way, if in some distant future, PEF files were no longer supported with then current PP software offerings, you could still convert to DNG which would be more likely to have support. I would not go to the trouble and time involved to convert them now..

normhead · 11-12-2018, 07:50 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by lsimpkins

I agree with this assessment, but would add another layer of "protection". Put a copy of the latest Adobe DNG converter program on your external drive along with the image files. That way, if in some distant future, PEF files were no longer supported with then current PP software offerings, you could still convert to DNG which would be more likely to have support. I would not go to the trouble and time involved to convert them now..

If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs.

**newmikey** · 11-12-2018, 08:57 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by normhead

If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs.

The OP already said he has thousands of PEF files so your first sentence is a bit of a surprise to me. You are answering a different question, one that the OP never asked to begin with. Not going to redo the whole PEF/DNG discussion but here you have someone already has PEFs and is asking whether it makes any sense to literally convert all of them to DNG and get rid of the original PEFs. The answer is of course that that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

**lsimpkins** · 11-12-2018, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by normhead

If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs.

I do, but apparently the OP does (or did) not.

tom cat · 11-21-2018, 05:03 PM

I store DNG on my external drive and the JPEGs on my Mac and then use google photos to also store the jpegs on the cloud.

Not really related, but while traveling recently, my phone was lifted (Madrid) at the end of my trip and all my phone photos were automatically saved with google photos.

tom

SethZ · 12-02-2019, 06:18 PM

Bump up.
I stored my K200D shots as PEF. It's been 10 years so I don't remember why not DNG.
Now that I just bought (today) a KP is it a consensus that there is little advantage to PEF vs DNG?

**Lowell Goudge** · 12-02-2019, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by tom cat

Not really related, but while traveling recently, my phone was lifted (Madrid) at the end of my trip and all my phone photos were automatically saved with google photos.

tom

You can also use Dropbox for the same purpose. My phone automatically uploads all the photos to my drop box folder any time I am on a wifi hotspot then I can regularly Clear it out to my main library

11-11-2018, 04:16 PM	#1
habsfanusa Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Posts: 58	in what format to store RAW files on external storage drives ? Hi all, not sure the title is correctly worded - apology if not. but this is a beginner's query. I'm not a beginner photographer - but I'm essentially so when it comes to post-processing, and even to computer storage - the latter is the focus of my question. when I offload my photos to store them on my external hard drives - should i be storing as PNG or is it okay to use the default PEF format ? (almost all are in RAW - and I have thousands....). I'm at the point where i need to offload photos b/c my hard drive is full... I don't really do post-processing - it's called procrastination - altho i use the basic tools in Photos on my MacBook for cropping and basic exposure tools. I have never used the Silky Pics software that came with my K5iiS when i bought it 5 or 6 yrs ago. Thank you.

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11-11-2018, 04:27 PM	#2
sbh Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Black Forest, Germany Photos: Gallery Posts: 849	Do you mean PNG or DNG? Basically it makes no difference whether you use DNG or PEF. I use PEF to keep it simple.

11-11-2018, 04:29 PM - 1 Like	#3
AstroDave Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Location: Flagstaff, Arizona Posts: 1,637	I think you mean DNG (not PNG). The general consensus is that you are probably better off saving files as DNG - they are more likely to be readable by whatever software you might be using years from now, as opposed to the proprietary PEF format. Are your files already DNG? If so, you can just offload them to your external storage as is. If they are PEF, you will need to convert. I'm not sure if you can batch convert thousands at a time!

11-11-2018, 04:53 PM	#4
Wheatfield Moderator Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: The wheatfields of Canada Posts: 15,981	DNG is probably the best way to go.

11-11-2018, 05:31 PM	#5
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	I store my .DNG just as that, .DNG. No better way to store them. To me, having the .DNG file, is like having the negative when I used to shoot film. And I use .DNG to keep it simpler.

11-11-2018, 07:13 PM	#6
Just1MoreDave Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Aurora, CO Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 6,340	I liked the "incompatibility" of a PEF. Other software won't modify it or sometimes even read it. So it's good for an archive copy. I converted it to DNG to work with it. But when I got the K-5 IIs, Lightroom has a profile for Pentax DNGs that I like better. It's not available with PEFs, so now I start with Pentax DNGs, keep those separate, and work with converted Adobe DNGs. Lightroom makes this easy. Eventually you want to sort your files so that the really good stuff is totally safe. It is easier to do that when the good stuff isn't all in the same pile as a gigabyte of ordinary stuff you can barely remember. So think about at least sorting, even if you don't process the images yet.

11-12-2018, 05:39 AM - 1 Like	#8
newmikey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,287	You already have PEF's so it makes more sense to store them as they are, knowing you will always be able to convert them to another format such as DNG if and when that would ever be required. There can only be one answer: you store raws in the exact format they came out of your camera, whether that is DNG or PEF. This is a wholly different question than the one about what the better raw format to use would be: proprietary or DNG.

11-12-2018, 07:03 AM	#9
lsimpkins Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: SE Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 537	Originally posted by newmikey You already have PEF's so it makes more sense to store them as they are, knowing you will always be able to convert them to another format such as DNG if and when that would ever be required. There can only be one answer: you store raws in the exact format they came out of your camera, whether that is DNG or PEF. This is a wholly different question than the one about what the better raw format to use would be: proprietary or DNG. I agree with this assessment, but would add another layer of "protection". Put a copy of the latest Adobe DNG converter program on your external drive along with the image files. That way, if in some distant future, PEF files were no longer supported with then current PP software offerings, you could still convert to DNG which would be more likely to have support. I would not go to the trouble and time involved to convert them now..

11-12-2018, 07:50 AM - 1 Like	#10
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Originally posted by lsimpkins I agree with this assessment, but would add another layer of "protection". Put a copy of the latest Adobe DNG converter program on your external drive along with the image files. That way, if in some distant future, PEF files were no longer supported with then current PP software offerings, you could still convert to DNG which would be more likely to have support. I would not go to the trouble and time involved to convert them now.. If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs.

11-12-2018, 08:57 AM - 1 Like	#11
newmikey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,287	Originally posted by normhead If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs. The OP already said he has thousands of PEF files so your first sentence is a bit of a surprise to me. You are answering a different question, one that the OP never asked to begin with. Not going to redo the whole PEF/DNG discussion but here you have someone already has PEFs and is asking whether it makes any sense to literally convert all of them to DNG and get rid of the original PEFs. The answer is of course that that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

11-12-2018, 10:22 AM	#12
lsimpkins Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: SE Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 537	Originally posted by normhead If you always saved your files as DNGs it's not even an issue. There is no known advantage to saving as PEF. Universal accessibility is pretty much an accepted features of the DNG format. every Pentax camera I've had in the last 10 years supports saving the files as DNGs. I do, but apparently the OP does (or did) not.

11-21-2018, 05:03 PM	#13
tom cat New Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 6	I store DNG on my external drive and the JPEGs on my Mac and then use google photos to also store the jpegs on the cloud. Not really related, but while traveling recently, my phone was lifted (Madrid) at the end of my trip and all my phone photos were automatically saved with google photos. tom

12-02-2019, 06:18 PM	#14
SethZ New Member Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: United States Posts: 16	Bump up. I stored my K200D shots as PEF. It's been 10 years so I don't remember why not DNG. Now that I just bought (today) a KP is it a consensus that there is little advantage to PEF vs DNG?

12-02-2019, 06:25 PM	#15
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	Originally posted by tom cat Not really related, but while traveling recently, my phone was lifted (Madrid) at the end of my trip and all my phone photos were automatically saved with google photos. tom You can also use Dropbox for the same purpose. My phone automatically uploads all the photos to my drop box folder any time I am on a wifi hotspot then I can regularly Clear it out to my main library