Keith (M) Posted July 21, 2014 Share #1 Posted July 21, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) I noticed with some consternation that my X-Vario .dng files after importing into LR5.5 as 'Copy As DNG' are more than doubling in size. On the SD card, typical file size is circa 25Mb yet after import that same file becomes circa 65Mb! This is not something that happens with the files from my M240 using the same import methodology. If I choose just 'Copy', then the X-Vario files only increase very slightly in size. Anyone else with an X-Vario noticing the same unwelcome phenomenon and if so, any ideas as to why? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 21, 2014 Posted July 21, 2014 Hi Keith (M), Take a look here X-Vario, LR5 Import as DNG - File Size Increase. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
waloszek Posted July 21, 2014 Share #2 Posted July 21, 2014 I am a JPEG shooter and thus, not well informed on this matter. But one reason for the size increase might be that the DNG file is uncompressed after the copy. The original DNG files are compressed (lossless compression) -- as far as I know. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can join in... Best regards, Gerd (More X Vario info: Leica X Vario: Introduction) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted July 21, 2014 Share #3 Posted July 21, 2014 Not entirely sure what you are doing here......... or why ..... I have always copied my images from the card to a yearly folder direct on the computer ...... and with the XV discarded the JPG's Then I import them to LR and/or Aperture with 'Add photos to a catalogue without importing them' and the equivalent 'import files but leave them in their original location' in Aperture from the master folder I put them in. That way they are never altered and there is one folder with master images that is never changed .... and gets backed up securely via Time Machine etc. (if you are on a Mac). LR and Aperture then just have a catalogue of thumbnails and image adjustments. I have never trusted these programs with the original master copies ..... They are all the same size as before. Clearly converting a DNG to a LR DNG (which is a bit pointless) is expanding the file in some way as presumably the XV DNG is compressed ........... as in the M and M9 etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted July 22, 2014 Share #4 Posted July 22, 2014 While I see no reason to copy DNGs on import at all, you might want to check your settings in LR regarding DNG import, especially the compatibility setting. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunos Posted July 22, 2014 Share #5 Posted July 22, 2014 There are a number of things that control the file handling when importing into Lightroom. When you go to import photos into lightroom and the import window pops up, there are four options at the top of the screen: Copy as DNG - Converts the files to Adobe DNG format based on your lightroom preferences to a lightroom specified location Copy - Copys the files as-is (i.e. in Leica's version of Adobe DNG format) to a lightroom specified location Move - Moves the files as-is to a lightroom specified location Add - Add them to your catalogue as-is but dont move or copy the files If you choose "Copy" then your files shouldn't change format or size If you choose "Copy as DNG" then lightroom will take the files (be they jpg, raw, Leica's version of Adobe DNG) and make new versions of them in Adobe DNG format. If you look in your Lightroom preferences in the File Handling section you can see what version of Adobe DNG it will use and if there are any other options set. E.g. I have: File Extension = dng Compatibility = Camera Raw 7.1 and later JPEG Preview = Full Size Embed Fast Load Data = Yes Embed Original Raw File = Yes Therefore if I import files into Lightroom using Copy as DNG, and they are raw files from my X Vario, and those files are 10MB in size, then the DNG file that Lightroom creates will be at least 10MB if not larger because it effectively stores both the Adobe DNG 7.1 version of the image, plus the Leica DNG version of the image all in one file. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted July 22, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted July 22, 2014 Thanks for all the feedback and information. As to Not entirely sure what you are doing here......... or why ..... the simplest answer is "because I always have..." This dates back to 2005 and a Canon DSLR where I converted the .cr2 files to .dng. When the M9 came along in 2009, I kept the same setting as I was using the Canon and Leica in parallel. As in my original post, this import method semed to make little or no difference to the size of the M9 files (ditto for my current M240) so there seemed no reason to switch the import method backwards and forwards. Now, of course having discovered the huge increase in size of X-Vario files plus the Canon equipment having been disposed of, the import method has been permanently changed to 'copy'. Still seems to be an anomaly though that the M9/M240 files hardly change in size whereas the X-Vario's more than double. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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