Digilux 2 - raw files - codec?

[Guest purpledot]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi all - tried searching for it but cannot find if. I'm running Vista and when I have the .raw files from the Digilux 2 alone in a folder there is no thumbnail. Do I need to install some kind of codec - and if yes - do you know which?

 

thanks in advance,

purpledot

[ajthornbury]

I think it is because RAW files are not standard. I get the same problem with both D2 RAW files and my OLY E410 RAW files. The only solution as I see it it to save in both RAW and JPEG.

Alan.J

[wda]

I have got so used to using Lightroom now that I just use file names as reference in Windows.

[Guest purpledot]

Thanks both - probably should head down Lightroom myself to get an overview of my pictures

[jaapv]

There is no operating system that can read RAW files as such. It is not a a matter of codecs. Raw files contain the raw data from cameras in a format that is either proprietary to the camera brand or Adobe's DNG. The data must still be interpolated by a RAW developer to be exported as a visible image. There are a number of those. For Digilux2 Silverfast (but also newer ones), there are Bibble, ACR (for Lightroom and Photoshop), C4, etc. Only then can the file be seen by the computer as for instance Jpeg or TIFF.

[Guest purpledot]

There is no operating system that can read RAW files as such. It is not a a matter of codecs. Raw files contain the raw data from cameras in a format that is either proprietary to the camera brand or Adobe's DNG. The data must still be interpolated by a RAW developer to be exported as a visible image. There are a number of those. For Digilux2 Silverfast (but also newer ones), there are Bibble, ACR (for Lightroom and Photoshop), C4, etc. Only then can the file be seen by the computer as for instance Jpeg or TIFF.

 

Thank you for your answer. But I thought that all raw-files contained a miniscule jpeg (the one shown on the screen on the back of the camera) and that some sought of codec could extract that - I woz wrong - not the first time

[elgenper]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

There is no operating system that can read RAW files as such.....

 

Well, Mac OS 10.5 can, from most cameras. From my Nikon D200, my D-Lux 3, and the Digilux 2, all raw files are shown with image icons, and preview directly in large sizes, even while they´re still only on a camera card in a card reader.. Regrettably, the recent 10.5.6 update still cannot handle the raw´s from D-Lux 4 or the Pansonic LX3 or G1. But it will come...

 

Both Aperture and iPhoto use the native raw file handling from the OS.

[jaapv]

Thank you for your answer. But I thought that all raw-files contained a miniscule jpeg (the one shown on the screen on the back of the camera) and that some sought of codec could extract that - I woz wrong - not the first time

 

They do - if you set your camera ( if it allows that - the Digilux2 does not-) to RAW+JPG. Then the Operating System can read the Jpeg without codec. Your folder will show two separate files for each image. The RAW file with the appropriate extension (.CRW,.DNG,.NEF, etc) and another one with the same name, but with a .JPG extension, which you can show as a thumbnail.

Mac may behave differently, as Aperture is integrated - I would not know.

You could try using Irfanview (freeware) to solve your problem.

[elgenper]

They do - if you set your camera ( if it allows that - the Digilux2 does not-) to RAW+JPG. Then the Operating System can read the Jpeg without codec. Your folder will show two separate files for each image. The RAW file with the appropriate extension (.CRW,.DNG,.NEF, etc) and another one with the same name, but with a .JPG extension, which you can show as a thumbnail.

Mac may behave differently, as Aperture is integrated - I would not know.

You could try using Irfanview (freeware) to solve your problem.

 

Sorry, no, that´s not how it works at all. OS X renders the raw files directly (this facility is part of the graphics package that is used for both the user interface itself and provides routines for other software, among them photographic ones). This is quite well documented; look at the Apple web site.

 

Personally, I never set any camera to raw+jpg if I can avoid it; it is a waste of card capacity. On the Digilux 2, jpeg´s are "mandatory", but I never download them from the card, only the raw´s. And, as I said, the previews are immediately available in the OS X Finder; no need to poen anything else just to see the images.

[jaapv]

Sorry, no, that´s not how it works at all. OS X renders the raw files directly (this facility is part of the graphics package that is used for both the user interface itself and provides routines for other software, among them photographic ones). This is quite well documented; look at the Apple web site.

 

Personally, I never set any camera to raw+jpg if I can avoid it; it is a waste of card capacity. On the Digilux 2, jpeg´s are "mandatory", but I never download them from the card, only the raw´s. And, as I said, the previews are immediately available in the OS X Finder; no need to poen anything else just to see the images.

 

As I said - I would not know - I am a PC person.

[elgenper]

As I said - I would not know - I am a PC person.

 

No problem (well, of course, being on a PC is a problem in itself..... ).

 

Just, on a forum of this status, it might mislead some people.

 

There are both pros and cons with having raw decoding in the OS, however. One pro is obviously getting previews and support in even small shareware sw for a large number of cameras. The great con is that a camera with a new format has to wait for an OS upgrade before getting supported; Adobe is usually quicker than Apple. My G1 (and, reportedly the LX3/D-Lux4) now has full Adobe support, while Aperture is left behind.

 

And my G1 raws still show up as generic files in the Finder, while Lightroom already supports them fully.