From: Graywolf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Is it better to just archive the raw files and process only the
ones I am about to use, or batch process them all and archive them
as PSD files? It seems to me that the first method would save disk
space and also allow newer versions of raw conversion to be used
in the future.
Of course I guess I could batch process them into a bunch of small
jpegs for reference, and archive the raw files themselves.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive the RAW files. If they're at all like Pentax files, they
already include a reference jpeg for general review purposes. It's
important to keep the RAW file so that you can change your mind
about your conversion variables down the road. I select only the
files I'm immediately in need of for conversion. After conversion,
I save as a PSD or tiff, sometimes with multiple versions. But I
always archive every RAW file. That's the equivelant of saving your
negatives.
I agree with Paul here: archive the PEF files, for sure. They are the
original data. I usually use iView Media Pro to generate a quickie
set of JPEG files at a modest resolution for reference as well, save
those and an iView Media Pro thumbnail catalog so I can find things
quickly, even when stored on off-line external volumes.
From: Shel Belinkoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
What do you think about archiving in DNG format? I'm unsure of it
myself,
although there may be some advantages.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
I sometimes archive as DNG to save disc space, but only when the
images are not very important. With Pentax DNG, you lose the EXIF
data. There are times when I want to go back to see what the camera
settings were, so the EXIF can be important. I think future
versions of the DNG converter will offer more support for EXIF, but
for now, the RAW file is the only way to preserve this info with
Pentax images.
I archive the PEF files, then run the DNG Converter application to
generate .DNG files for my working drive. This a) saves a bunch of
working space and b) generates a much much better JPEG preview in
each of the files, that is more useful for sorting and cataloging.
DNG Converter v3.1 preserves all the standard EXIF metadata tags,
Paul, as far as I can tell. It might not save the Pentax private
metadata, but the only application that uses that is the Pentax Lab
software which I don't use.
Godfrey
