The public archive format of raw data of digital cameras In the workflow of digital photography, the file format of raw data is becoming more and more popular, and it is becoming a hot fashion, because it provides more creative control space for professional creators. However, various cameras may use many different raw data formats, and the specifications of these formats are not public, which means that not every raw data file can be read by many software applications. Therefore, adopting these proprietary raw data files as a long-term archiving solution has certain risks, and it is more challenging to enjoy these files in multiple complex workflows. Is there a solution to this increasingly prominent problem? Digital negative (DNG) is a public archive format of original data files generated by digital cameras. DNG solves the problem of lack of open standards between the original data files of different cameras, thus helping to ensure that photographers can access their files in the future. Within one year of introducing DNG format, dozens of software manufacturers have developed DNG-supporting software, such as Extensis, Canto, Apple and iView. Well-known camera manufacturers such as Hasselblad, Leica, Casio, Ricoh and Samsung have also introduced cameras that directly support DNG. Learn more? In addition to the digital negative specification, Adobe also provides a free Adobe DNG converter (Windows? *|MacOS*), you can easily convert the original data files of many popular cameras. Software developers and manufacturers can download the complete DNG specification (PDF, 852K)*. Adobe? Photoshop？ CS4, PhotoshopCS3, PhotoshopCS2, Photoshop CS, Photoshop Elements 7.0, PhotoshopElements 6.0, Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Photoshop Elements 3.0 support DNG. Main Advantages For photographers, the main advantages of DNG are that DNG format helps to enhance the confidence of archiving, because digital image processing software solutions can open original data files more easily in the future. When processing camera raw data files from multiple manufacturers or models, a single raw data processing solution can improve the efficiency of workflow. Open and easily available archive specifications are easier to be adopted by camera manufacturers, and easier to update to adapt to future technological changes. For hardware and software manufacturers, the main advantage of DNG is that DNG eliminates the potential obstacles for new cameras to adopt this format, because the original data files of new cameras will soon be supported by Photoshop and other applications. DNG format makes it unnecessary for merchants to develop new formats, which simplifies the camera testing process and thus saves research and development expenses. As a general format, DNG enables third-party applications to strengthen the control over the quality of conversion.