StockPhotoTalk | Special Interest Blog

Leave Your Wife, Sign Up For OpenRAW

Something I totally forgot to mention here is OpenRAW. Leave your wife, get rid of your kids, but don´t forget to sign up for OpenRAW if you care about the future of your digital image files. Remember: if you bought a Canon EOS D30 for a lot of bucks in the year 2000, you won´t be able to open your old files with the actual version of Canon´s professional DPP software 1.6.1.

OpenRAW is not a company, it´s a very fresh movement like OpenSource or the Wikipedia:

This site was created to give photographers and everybody interested in an open documentation of proprietary RAW formats a place to voice their opinion and to encourage camera makers to openly document their proprietary RAW formats.
In the short history of digital photography, manufacturers have released numerous cameras with constantly evolving RAW formats. This has lead to the existence of a vast number of RAW "dialects," even within each major brand, that store image and camera setting data in a different manner.
In some cases manufacturers have even encrypted the data within newer RAW files. Intentionally or not this encryption has placed full access to the images stored in these files out of reach of the photographers that took them. Unless, of course, they limit themselves to tools sold by the camera manufacturer.
To date, this vast number of RAW formats has been hidden by the transparent support offered in RAW converter software, provided by both the camera manufacturer and various third parties. At the time of writing, the open source dcraw converter currently supports no less than 163 formats. However, as manufacturers lose interest in their discontinued products, and drop support for them, the true impact of all of these "dialects" will be felt.
Photographers will find their older images inaccessible, as future software versions lose support for older cameras. In the worst cases, entire brands may disappear, as has already happened with Contax.

Shortly, these problems include:

• Limiting processing choices and creative freedom
• Reducing choices for software that matches workflow needs
• Increased probability that as time passes a RAW file will be unreadable or cannot be used to reproduce the photographer's original interpretation
• Increased costs and slowed development of image processing software

The OpenRAW solution wants camera manufacturers to publicly document their RAW image formats -- past, present, and future -- and the adoption of a universal RAW format.

On the recently launched website of OpenRAW, Michael Reichmann (of The Luminous Landscape) and Juergen Specht published an article called "The RAW Flaw" (May 2005) highlighting some of the existing problems and concerns.

Aimed at Longhorn, here is "OpenRAW's response to RAW support in next version of Microsoft Windows".

For those new to the techniques and problems OpenRAW has set up a very informative FAQ-resource.

Regarding Adobe´s new DNG format, the publicly available file format designed and documented by Adobe Systems for the long term archiving of the RAW files produced by digital cameras also promoted to camera manufacturers for use as an in camera RAW format (see also "Getty, Corbis, National Geographic, ASMP, ASPP... Everyone Loves Adobe´s New .DNG Format"), OpenRAW states:

Currently the Adobe DNG format does not meet the goal of OpenRAW. At this time (May 18th, 2005) no available cameras write DNG format files. To use DNG files, existing RAW formats need to be converted. Unfortunately, since most current RAW formats are not fully documented, the conversion from RAW to DNG is still based on reverse engineering of undocumented metadata (tags). Therefore it is possible to misinterpret or lose critical information. Billions of existing RAW images have already been archived. Only open documentation of past and existing RAW formats can ensure full utilization of these archived RAW files.

DNG also allows "private data" to be stored in the DNG file. This private data is only known to the camera company that wrote the private data. Third party software that reads and/or writes DNG files will ignore private data recorded by the camera. Only the software written by the camera maker will read the private data written to the DNG file by its camera. Some of this private data might be important or useful information needed by a RAW converter. Adobe's DNG format does not eliminate the problem of undocumented RAW files but transfers the problem into another "container", the DNG file. By allowing private (undocumented) data in the DNG file, DNG does not meet OpenRAW's goals.

OpenRAW encourages you to "Act now!": sign up the Open Letter of OpenRAW and send it to the camera maker of your choice, or each of them listed.

Currently over 1,000 individuals are supporting OpenRAW and some photo related web sites and companies.

PS. Personally I´ve stepped back to film. From the image processing lab, I get prints, an overview print, a CD with all the files and -- negatives/slides. The problem is that it has become hard to find a lab capable of processing B/W-films. But that´s another story.

Here´s a related and very good blog enry to some concerns of Joerg Colberg/Conscientious that created quite an upset for a lot of people: "Thoughts about digital photography". Later Joerg points to another post of Bruce Barnbaum, "Thoughts on digital photography".

Also related:

• The Intentionality is gone: The Tidal Shift away from Photographing Memories [Digital Cameras, Photography and The Implications Part I]
• "The digital revolution is creating a gaping hole in our heritage" [Digital Cameras, Photography and The Implications Part II]

The Digital Photography Weblog: Another Blog...

What some people were expecting: the new blog "The Digital Photography Weblog" (written by Amit Malhotra/Dallas; belonging to Jason Calacanis´ Weblogs, Inc.) went online a couple of days ago. Let´s see and wait... . The subtitle "A picture is worth five megapixels" is obviously not a too bright idea moving us to streams of tears of truly felt admiration. But maybe we all can read other and better stuff than the streamlined crap "XYZ reports today that ABC will report tomorrow that yesterday 123 reviewed the new digital camera xyz" of the other digital photography hardware blogs (which means loosely translated: "Hey, you DSOAB, click here to read the reprint of that press release I discovered yesterday, cause I gotta pay my rent with these Google Ads"). Hopefully from someone with a personality and a viewpoint and not that Copy´n´ Paste-attitude.

Another new blog (?) which recently came to our attention is "Cameras – Digital Camera Reviews, Comparisons and Ratings".

Questo blog è chiuso per ferie, fino all' 8 Agosto 2004

[© Grace and Katie]

Chiudo, per un circa settimana, questo weblog. Infatti, a mio modesto parere, per scrivere bisogna prima pensare e, i blogs spesso ti tolgono lo spazio per pensare.


(Hint for the person/CEO/BizDeveloper etc. who is constantly looking for "DigitalVision 2003 revenues", ""Image source" 2003 revenues" or "Index stock imagery 2003 revenues" and other good stuff-- Google hits are a tricky thing, especially with your really nice -- and static -- IP! So, no one has to work for Pixlogic, the company ("Visual Search") with Venture Capital from the CIA, just to know who you are...).
=:-)

What Color is your Pixel?

CP presents an introduction of called "Framed and Exposed: Making Sense of Camera Sensors" by Ben Long :"The most important part of your digital camera .. very well maybe its image sensor. It's where all the magic happens and where all the mistakes are made."
Good explanations of some common problems.
[Image dpreview.com]

Why the Arizona Highways Mag won´t accept your Canon EOS-1D Mark II files

[© Arizona Highways Magazine]

Arizona Highways features a special section called "Photography Talk". Peter Ensenberger, Arizona Highways Director of Photography, explains in "Film vs. Digital" why the mag has its difficulties with digital image files:

But is the image quality of digital-capture high enough for large reproductions in a magazine like Arizona Highways that is known for the quality of its photography? [...]
One of the most-asked questions Arizona Highways readers pose to the magazine’s photography editors is, "Why, with all these advancements in digital cameras, does the magazine’s photography submission policy exclude digital-capture photographs?" [...]
The best of the current generation of digital cameras records image files a little more than 11 megapixels...but an 11-megapixel capture is not nearly large enough for the sharp, high-resolution full-page reproductions we strive for on the printed pages of Arizona Highways magazine at 300 dots per inch. [...]
An 11-megapixel capture made with a top-of-the-line digital camera is roughly equivalent to a 31-megabyte digital file. When Arizona Highways prepares a 4x5 transparency for reproduction in the magazine at 300 dpi, the film is scanned on a drum scanner, and a digital file is created at about 75 megabytes for a 12x18-inch reproduction, about the size of a two-page spread in Arizona Highways. [...] (Link)

And more interestingly:

One last thought on the film vs. digital debate: If you’re planning to switch to a digital camera soon, don’t give up on film just yet. Remember always to back up your digital photographs on film. Even if you have already made the move to digital, consider that today’s best cameras record digital files at a little more than 11 megapixels. But what if, in the near future, the standard moves up to 20 megapixels or higher? If you have backup on film, you can scan your images at a higher resolution. But will your old 11-megapixel files be convertible? We don’t know for sure. (Link)

OK, all that is the opinion of Ensenberger at the time of the August 2003 issue. In the March 2004 he wrote a re-review "Film vs. Digital Revisited". And, any changes regarding his opinion?

The thing I find most curious about some digital photographers is their proselytizing for the digital cause. Why is it so important to them that the rest of us jump on the digital bandwagon? My own theory is that they believe the magazine cover lines. They bought into the notion that digital has arrived, and prematurely dumped their film cameras, going all-digital before the industry is ready to support it. So now they must convince the rest of us to switch to digital so their photographs have some value. Savvy photographers, however, are continuing to shoot film while they learn the digital technology, waiting for digital image quality to improve and their clients’ workflows to switch from film to digital.

Two great stories on four pages, read them!

Final Part III of Beyond Megapixels at the TechLounge

Update to "Beyond Megapixels: “The Megapixel Myth” at The Tech Lounge"

After publishing "Beyond Megapixels Part I" and "Beyond Megapixels Part II" now the final "Beyond Megapixels Part III" by Joe Marney:

This last installment of Beyond Megapixels contains an overview of camera function, such as metering, white balance and focusing systems, popular filetypes and their usefulness to the photographer, and features that define each digital camera. In keeping with the editorial nature of this series, I will share my preferences and opinions of these aspects when I deem prudent.

[Via Slashdot]

10 Tips for Understanding Histograms

Good Stuff. After googeling the web a list of links for "Histogram Tips".
[see also "White Balance Tips and Tutorials"]

Take this string of digits: 1474529653 [5] 6597628 [6] 356789

Two new articles about the basics of the file types:

"Raw Power: Using Raw Digital Files" (4 parts) and "RAW, JPEG and TIFF"


[Illustration: © Peter Marshall]

Introducing New Category "Basics Digital Photography"

We have another new category to facilitate the navigation:

"Basics Digital Photography"

New Tools for Uploading Photos, Videos and Audio to your Weblog

Upload of Video Content:

A weblogging tool, Ecto, has a new feature: Movie upload. It offers users an option to indicate how an uploaded movie is used in the weblog (blog) entry. There are two options: Ecto creates a link to the movie inside your blog entry. The second option: the movie is then inserted right into your blog entry. [via Cinema Minima]
[See also "NoteTaker, Ecto and TypePad taste good together"]

Upload of Photo Content:

Mac users on OS X who manage their photos in Apple's iPhoto will definitely want to try PhotoToTypePad. This neat little extension for iPhoto lets you export an album right into a TypePad photo album. [Typepad]

Upload of Audio Content:

audblog (signup for TypePad users) and Audioblog (check out the Audioblog TypePad site) are two services for posting audio to your Typepad weblog. [Typepad]