Poll: Should Sony use the DNG raw format?

March 8, 2011
news
25 Comments

A SonyAlphaRumors reader sent me an interesting question:

“With all these different RAW formats. Would it not be nice to have a standard. I was wondering if Alpha Rumors could put a vote or start a campaign to get Sony to switch to Adobe’s DNG format. It would be nice to see what others think about making a standard RAW format.“. Hmmm, let us know what you think and if you really care about DNG. Before you vote you should read the following info (Source: Wikipedia):

1) Objectives of the DNG format
* Digital image preservation (sometimes known as “archiving”): to be suitable for the purpose of preserving digital images as an authentic resource for future generations.
* Easy and/or comprehensive exploitation by software developers: to enable software to be developed without the need for reverse engineering; and to avoid the need for frequent software upgrades and re-releases to cater for new cameras.
* In-camera use by camera manufacturers: to be suitable for many camera manufacturers to use as a native or optional raw image format in many cameras.
* Multi-vendor interoperability: to be suitable for workflows where different hardware and software components share raw image files and/or transmit and receive them.

2) Characteristics
* Freely-available specification
* Format based on open specifications and/or standards: DNG is compatible with TIFF/EP, and various open formats and/or standards are used, including Exif metadata, XMP metadata, IPTC metadata, CIE XYZ coordinates, ICC profiles, and JPEG.
* Self-contained file format: a DNG file contains the data (raw image data and metadata) needed to render an image without needing additional knowledge of the characteristics of the camera.
* It has a version scheme built into it that allows the DNG specification, DNG writers, and DNG readers, to evolve at their own paces.
* Freely-available source-code-based software development kit (SDK).
* Documented to have no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements: there is both a “Digital Negative (DNG) Specification Patent License” which says that anyone can exploit DNG, and a statement that there are no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements for DNG.

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