[tibbitts]

Is there a consensus as to whether pef or dng is the preferred raw format for the K200D? If not, are there advantages and disadvantages to both? I always used my K100D in raw, but had no choice of format, of course.

[Marc Sabatella]

This is en extremely frequently asked question - you might want to check the current thread in the Post Processing forum for discussions. In theory, they produce exactly the same results, so the differences would come down to issues like:

- PEF smaller in camera (but DNG is smaller if you convert to it after the fact)
- DNG allows processing parameters, adjusted previews, and other metadata to be stored within the file itself; PEF requires sidecar files
- some believe DNG is more "future proof" (will be understood by programs 20 years form now); others believe PEF is
- your particular favorite application might work better with one or the other, even though in theory there should be no difference

[tibbitts]

This is en extremely frequently asked questin - you might want to check the current thread in the Post Processing forum for discussions. In theory, they produce exactly the same results, so the differences would come down to issues like

- PEF smaller in camera (but DNG is smaller if you convert to it after the fact)
- DNG allows processing parameters, adjusted previews, and other metadata to be stored within the file itself; PEF requires sidecar files
- some believe DNG is more "future proof" (will be understood by programs 20 years form now); others believe PEF is
- your particular favorite application might work better with one or the other, even though in theory there should be no difference

I wouldn't have thought to look through the discussions there, so thanks for pointing that out. There seems to be no consensus, so it looks like either alternative will be ok.

Paul

[Saaby]

Yeah, in case you're not aware of the fundamental difference...PEF would be Pentax's RAW file format. DNG is a standards-based RAW file format proposed by Adobe, and last I checked, only Pentax was using it.

[UnknownVT]

Yeah, in case you're not aware of the fundamental difference...PEF would be Pentax's RAW file format. DNG is a standards-based RAW file format proposed by Adobe, and last I checked, only Pentax was using it.

According to Wikipedia on DNG

" The following digital cameras support DNG, as of March 2008.

Casio supports DNG in their Exilim PRO EX-F1.
Hasselblad supports DNG, as an output format via software on their V96C digital back for the 503CW camera body and in the Hasselblad H-2D one; also the CF and CFH.
Leica's Digital Modul R for the Leica R8 or Leica R9 and the Leica M8 natively support the DNG format.
MegaVision E Series Monochrome back.
NuCoreTech PEK reference platform.
Pentax supports DNG in their K10D, K20D and K200D DSLR cameras.
Ricoh supports DNG in the Ricoh Digital GR, considered a professional compact, and the Ricoh Caplio GX.
Samsung supports DNG in their Pro815 "prosumer" camera and GX-10 and GX-20 DSLR cameras.
Sea&Sea DX‐1G underwater camera.
Seitz Roundshot D3 digital back, used in cameras such as the 6×17.
Silicon ImagingSilicon Imaging Digital Cinema SI-1920HDVR.
Sinar now uses DNG as the RAW file standard for their eMotion series of digital backs.

Some of Canon cameras can shoot as DNG using an additional free software named CHDK. "

[Jasvox]

Check this out.....if you have hours.

PentaxForums.com - Search Results


Jason

[Saaby]

That's the danger in using Wikipedia I guess.

From the "RAW File Format" page:

"In 2004, Adobe Systems developed and promoted a standardized raw image format called DNG (Digital Negative); this has been received enthusiastically by open-source developers[2] but has received little support from major camera makers other than Pentax and Samsung"

However on the same page it states

"As of 2006, several camera manufacturers have started to announce support for DNG in newer camera models, including Leica, Samsung, Ricoh, Pentax (native camera support) and Hasselblad (export). The Leica Digital-Modul-R (DMR) was first to use DNG as its native format."

[UnknownVT]

That's the danger in using Wikipedia I guess.

Yep, don't I know it.

Seems every time I quote from the Wikipedia - someone will be at pains to point out it is less than perfect.

I do agree it is less than perfect - as you just found out - where one section seems to show Pentax (and Samsung) as the only "major" manufacturer supporting DNG - but in the same article they do show a lot more camera makers - and pretty big names at that.

However, if one reads this in context - it merely shows when Adobe first attempted to make DNG a common standard for RAW - manufacturers were slow to adopt it - probably like some of us who like to wait to see how things go.......

However, in mitigation the RAW entry in Wikipedia does have links to their DNG entry - from which I got my list of manufacturers -

and to say something positive about Wikipedia, their list clearly dated from March, 2008 - seems more comprehensive than Adobe's own page for DNG support - and that Adobe page was not that obvious to find for me.