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Digital Negative (DNG) is an
open Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Go ...
,
lossless Lossless compression is a class of data compression that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data with no loss of information. Lossless compression is possible because most real-world data exhibits statisti ...
raw image format A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed, ...
developed by
Adobe Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...
and used for
digital photography Digital photography uses cameras containing arrays of electronic photodetectors interfaced to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to produce images focused by a lens, as opposed to an exposure on photographic film. The digitized image is ...
. It was launched on September 27, 2004. The launch was accompanied by the first version of the DNG specification,. plus various products, including a free-of-charge DNG converter utility. All Adobe
photo manipulation Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph. Some photograph manipulations are considered to be skillful artwork, while others are considered to be unethical practices, especially when used to deceive. Mot ...
software (such as
Adobe Photoshop Adobe Photoshop is a raster graphics editor developed and published by Adobe Inc., Adobe for Microsoft Windows, Windows and macOS. It was created in 1987 by Thomas Knoll, Thomas and John Knoll. It is the most used tool for professional digital ...
and
Adobe Lightroom Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, often shortened to Lightroom, is an Image organizer, image organization and image editing, editing application developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe and licensed as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, Creative Cloud suite. It i ...
) released since the launch supports DNG.. DNG is based on the TIFF/EP standard format, and mandates significant use of
metadata Metadata (or metainformation) is "data that provides information about other data", but not the content of the data itself, such as the text of a message or the image itself. There are many distinct types of metadata, including: * Descriptive ...
. The specification of the file format is open and not subject to any intellectual property restrictions or patents..


Rationale for DNG

Adobe states that, given the existence of a wide variety of camera-brand-specific
raw image format A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed, ...
s, it introduced DNG as a standardized and backward-compatible universal file format. It is based on the
TIFF Tag Image File Format or Tagged Image File Format, commonly known by the abbreviations TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is w ...
6.0 standard. Various professional archivists and conservationists, working in institutional settings have adopted DNG for archival purposes.universal photographic digital imaging guidelines (UPDIG)
File formats - the raw file issue
/ref>Archaeology Data Service / Digital Antiquity
Guides to Good Practice - Section 3 Archiving Raster Images - File Formats
/ref>University of Connecticut
"Raw as Archival Still Image Format: A Consideration" by Michael J. Bennett and F. Barry Wheeler
/ref>Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research

/ref>JISC Digital Media - Still Images
Choosing a File Format for Digital Still Images - File formats for master archive
International Digital Enterprise Alliance, Digital Image Submission Criteria (DISC
Guidelines & Specifications 2007 (PDF)
/ref>The J. Paul Getty Museum - Department of Photographs
Rapid Capture Backlog Project - Presentation
American Institute for Conservation - Electronic Media Group
Digital Image File Formats
Archives Association of British Columbia
Born Digital Photographs: Acquisition and Preservation Strategies (Rosaleen Hill)
/ref>


Objectives

The objectives of the DNG file format are:Adobe
Digital Negative (DNG) - The public, archival format for digital camera raw data
/ref>Adobe
Introducing the Digital Negative Specification: Information for manufacturers
/ref> ;Digital image preservation (sometimes known as "archiving") : The US Library of Congress states that DNG is a recommended alternative to other raw image formats.Planning for US Library of Congress Collections
Preferences in Summary
/ref> The Digital Photography Best Practices and Workflow (dpBestflow) project, funded by the United States Library of Congress and run by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), singles out DNG, and states "DNG files have proven to be significantly more useful than the proprietary raw files in our workflow".dpBestflow
Raw File Formats
/ref> ;Easy and/or comprehensive exploitation by software developers : Software could support raw formats without DNG, by using
reverse engineering Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompl ...
and/or
dcraw dcraw is an open-source software, open-source computer program which is able to read numerous raw image format files, typically produced by mid-range and high-end digital cameras. dcraw converts these images into the standard Tagged Image File ...
; but DNG makes it easier, and many software products can handle, via DNG, images from cameras that they have no specific knowledge of,Barry Pearson
Support via DNG but not native raws
/ref> however, any settings stored in the DNG file by software from one company are unlikely to be recognized by a product from a different company. ;In-camera use by camera manufacturers : About 12 camera manufacturers have used DNG in-camera. About 38 camera models have used DNG.Barry Pearson

Raw image formats for more than 230 camera models can be converted to DNG.Barry Pearson

/ref> ; Multi-vendor interoperability : Unlike the proprietary RAW formats used by most cameras, DNG is supported by multiple vendors, and is readable by a multitude of software applications.


Technical summary

A DNG file always contains data for one main image, plus metadata, and optionally contains at least one JPEG preview. It normally has the extension "dng" or "DNG". DNG conforms to TIFF/EP and is structured according to
TIFF Tag Image File Format or Tagged Image File Format, commonly known by the abbreviations TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is w ...
. DNG supports various formats of metadata (including Exif metadata, XMP metadata, IPTC metadata) and specifies a set of mandated metadata.Adobe
DNG Specification
(Section 4)
DNG is both a raw image format and a format that supports "non-raw", or partly processed, images. The latter (non-raw) format is known as "Linear DNG". Linear DNG is still scene-referredCIE: "Scene-referred"
image state, scene-referred
and can still benefit from many of the operations typically performed by a raw converter, such as white balance, the application of a camera color profile, HDR compositing, etc. All images that can be supported as raw images can ''also'' be supported as Linear DNG. Images from the
Foveon X3 sensor The Foveon X3 sensor is a digital camera image sensor designed by Foveon, Inc., (now part of Sigma Corporation) and manufactured by Dongbu Electronics. It uses an array of photosites that consist of three vertically stacked photodiodes. Each ...
or similar, hence especially
Sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...
cameras, can ''only'' be supported as Linear DNG. DNG can contain raw image data from sensors with various configurations of color filter array (CFA). These include: conventional
Bayer filter A Bayer filter mosaic is a color filter array (CFA) for arranging RGB color model, RGB color filters on a square grid of photosensors. Its particular arrangement of color filters is used in most single-chip digital image sensors used in digit ...
s, using three colors and rectangular pixels; four-color CFAs, for example the
RGBE filter In digital photography, the RGBE filter is an alternative color filter array to the Bayer filter (GRGB). It similarly uses a mosaic of pixel filters, of red, green, blue and "emerald" ("like cyan" according to Sony), and so also requires demosaici ...
used in the
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828 The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828 is a 8.0 megapixel digital bridge camera announced by Sony on August 15, 2003. Overview As successor of the DSC-F717, F828 was widely considered "revolutionary" at launch. Major changes / improvements over its predec ...
; rectangular (non-square) pixels, for example as used in the Nikon D1X; and offset sensors (for example with octagonal pixels) such as
Super CCD Super CCD is a proprietary charge-coupled device image sensor design that was developed by Fujifilm starting in 1999 and marketed with its digital cameras, starting with the FinePix 4700 and S1 Pro. Super CCD cameras were sold until 2010. The Supe ...
sensors of various types, as used in various
Fujifilm , trading as , or simply Fuji, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the areas of photography, optics, Office supplies, office and Biomedical engine ...
cameras. (Or combinations of these if necessary). DNG specifies metadata describing these individual parameters; this is one significant extension to TIFF/EP. When used in a
CinemaDNG CinemaDNG is the result of an Adobe Systems, Adobe-led initiative to define an industry-wide Open format, open file format for digital cinema files.Adobe Press ReleaseAdobe Starts Initiative to Develop Open Format for Digital Cinema Files CinemaDN ...
movie clip, each frame is encoded using the above DNG image format. The clip's image stream can then be stored in one of two formats: either as video essence using frame-based wrapping in an MXF file, or as a sequence of DNG files in a specified file directory. Contrary to its name (Digital Negative) the DNG format doesn't distinguish negative and positive data - all data is considered to be describing a positive image. While this is not an issue when working with images from digital cameras (which are always positive), working with scanned (by a film scanner or
DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a solid-state image sensor and digitally records the images from the sensor. The reflex des ...
copy stand) film negatives saved as raw DNG files is complicated, because the resultant image is not automatically inverted and thus impossible to be used directly. A way to get around this is using an inverted curve in the photo editing application, however this reverses the effect of the image controls ( Exposure, Shadow and Highlight details, etc.) which complicates the photo editing.


Timeline

This provides a mixture of the dates of significant events (such as "the first X") and various counts of usage at the anniversaries of the launch (each 27 September). Counts of products and companies that use DNG in some way are provided primarily for illustration. They are approximate, and include products that are no longer sold. The purpose is mainly to demonstrate that such products and companies exist, and to show trends. Convertible raw image formats (camera models whose raw images can be converted to DNG) only include official support by Adobe DNG converters; not unofficial support by Adobe products (sometimes reaching about 30), nor support by other DNG converters. * ''2003, late'': Adobe started work on the DNG specification. * ''2004, early'': Adobe started talking to other companies about DNG. * Launch'', 2004, 27 September'': Adobe launched DNG. Specification version 1.0.0.0 published. Convertible raw image formats: 60+ * ''2005, February'': Specification version 1.1.0.0 published. * ''2005, June'': First
digital back A digital camera back is a device that attaches to the back of a camera in place of the traditional negative film holder and contains an electronic image sensor. This allows cameras that were designed to use film take digital photographs. Th ...
to write DNG, the Leica DMR (Digital Modul R) back for the R8 and R9. * ''2005, July'': First camera manufacturer to provide a DNG converter for its own raw file formats -
Hasselblad Victor Hasselblad AB is a Sweden, Swedish manufacturer of medium format (film), medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-for ...
's FlexColor. * ''2005, July'': First genuine digital SLR camera to write DNG, Hasselblad H2D. * 1st anniversary'', 2005, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 4. Camera models: 7. Software products: 70+. Convertible raw image formats: 70+. * ''2005, October'': First compact camera to write DNG, Ricoh GR Digital. * ''2006, July'': First monochrome digital back to write DNG, MegaVision E Series MonoChrome. * ''2006, September'': First rangefinder camera to write DNG,
Leica M8 The Leica M8 is the first digital camera in the rangefinder M series introduced by Leica Camera AG on 14 September 2006. It uses an APS-H 10.3-megapixel CCD image sensor designed and manufactured by Kodak. As of 15 November 2014, the most recent ...
. * ''2006, September'': First camera to offer the user a choice of proprietary raw or DNG, Pentax K10D. * 2nd anniversary'', 2006, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 8. Camera models: 9. Software products: 120+. Convertible raw image formats: 110+. * ''2007, May'': First raw converter & photo-editor whose ''first'' raw-handling release only supported DNG,
Pixelmator Pixelmator is a series of graphics editors developed by Apple for macOS and iOS. It was founded by brothers Saulius and Aidas Dailidė in 2007. Apple acquired the company in February 2025. Pixelmator apps are largely built on Apple-specific tech ...
. * ''2007, July'': First underwater camera to write DNG, Sea&Sea DX-1G. (Based on Ricoh Caplio GX100). * 3rd anniversary'', 2007, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 10. Camera models: 13. Software products: 170+. Convertible raw image formats: 160+. * ''2007, October'': First digital scan back system and first 360-degree panorama system to write DNG, Seitz 6x17 Digital and Seitz Roundshot D3 with D3 digital scan back. * ''2008, February'': First software on a mobile phone to write DNG, Tea Vui Huang's "DNG Phone Camera" for Nokia. * ''2008, April'': Adobe announces
CinemaDNG CinemaDNG is the result of an Adobe Systems, Adobe-led initiative to define an industry-wide Open format, open file format for digital cinema files.Adobe Press ReleaseAdobe Starts Initiative to Develop Open Format for Digital Cinema Files CinemaDN ...
initiative, using DNG as the basis for the individual raw images of a movie. * ''2008, May'': Specification version 1.2.0.0 published. * ''2008, September'': First movie camera to use DNG as a raw image format, Ikonoskop A-cam dII. * 4th anniversary'', 2008, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 13. Camera models: 29. Software products: 200+. Convertible raw image formats: 180+. * ''2008, September'': First DNG converter running on
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
(among several other things),
digiKam digiKam is a free and open-source image organizer and tag editor written in C++ using the KDE Frameworks. Features digiKam runs on most known desktop environments and window managers, as long as the required libraries are installed. It suppor ...
. * ''2009, spring/summer'': First digiscope with built-in camera to write DNG, Zeiss Photoscope 85 T* FL. * ''2009, June'': Specification version 1.3.0.0 published. * 5th anniversary'', 2009, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 14. Camera models: 38. Software products: 220+. Convertible raw image formats: 230+. * ''2009, November'': First "interchangeable unit" camera to write DNG,
Ricoh GXR The Ricoh GXR is a compact digital camera first announced by Ricoh, Ricoh Company, Ltd, Tokyo on November 10, 2009. Unlike conventional cameras which either have a fixed Lens (optics), lens and Image sensor, sensor or interchangeable lens and a fi ...
.Ricoh
Ricoh GXR
* ''2010, February'': First 3D movie camera to write DNG, Ikonoskop A-cam3D. * ''2010, March'': First medium format camera to offer the user a choice of proprietary raw or DNG, Pentax 645D. * 6th anniversary'', 2010, 27 September'': Camera manufacturers: 14. Camera models: 47. Software products: 240+. Convertible raw image formats: 290+. * ''2012, September'': Specification version 1.4.0.0 published. * ''2019, May'': Specification version 1.5.0.0 published. * ''2021, December'': Specification version 1.6.0.0 published. * ''2023, June'': Specification version 1.7.0.0 published.
JPEG XL The JPEG XL Image Coding System is a royalty-free open standard for a image compression, compressed Raster graphics, raster image format. It defines a graphics file format and the abstract device for coding JPEG XL bitstreams. It is developed by t ...
added as a compression method. In September, 1.7.1.0 was published as a minor refresh with additional compression parameters. During the first 5 years when about 38 camera models were launched that wrote DNG, Adobe software added support for about 21
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
models, about 20
Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...
models, and about 22 Olympus models.


Reception

The reaction to DNG has been mixed. A few camera manufacturers stated their intention to use DNG at launch. They first supported DNG about 9 months after launch. Several more niche and minority camera manufacturers added support after this (e.g. Leica). The largest camera manufacturers have apparently never indicated an intention to use DNG (e.g.
Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...
and
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
). Some software products supported DNG within 5 months of launch, with many more following. Some only support DNG from cameras writing DNG, or from cameras supported via native raw image formats.
OpenRAW OpenRAW was an initiative to raise awareness of a serious problem with top-end digital photography and to help solve that problem. The problem concerns long-term access and viewing of the raw images often used by professional and experienced ama ...
was an advocacy and lobby group with the motto "Digital Image Preservation Through Open Documentation". They became opposed to DNG. Some photographic competitions do not accept converted files, and some do not accept DNG.


DNG conversion

"DNG conversion" refers to the process of generating a DNG file from a non-DNG image. (This is in contrast to "raw conversion", which typically refers to reading and processing a raw file, which might be a DNG file, and generating some other type of output from it). DNG conversion is one of the sources of DNG files, the other being direct output from cameras and digital backs. Several software products are able to do DNG conversion. The original such product is ''Adobe DNG Converter'' or ''DNG Converter'', a freely-available stand-alone utility from Adobe. Other Adobe products such as the ACR plugin to Photoshop or Lightroom can also generate DNG files from other image files. Most DNG converters are supplied by companies other than Adobe. For example: * The software that
Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...
supplies with all their dSLR cameras can convert PEF raw image files from Pentax cameras into DNG files. * Flexcolor and Phocus from
Hasselblad Victor Hasselblad AB is a Sweden, Swedish manufacturer of medium format (film), medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-for ...
can convert 3FR raw image files from Hasselblad cameras and digital backs into DNG files. * Capture One from Phase One is a raw converter that can process not only raw image files from Phase One digital backs, but also raw image files from many other cameras too. Capture One can save images from many of those cameras to DNG. * KDE Image Plugin Interface is an
API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
that can save the images it is processing to DNG. It can be used standalone or with any image processing applications of the
KDE KDE is an international free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that enable collaborative work on its projects. Its products include the KDE Plasma gra ...
desktop environment under
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
and
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. * A number of DNG converters have been developed by "amateurs" to enable raw images from their favored camera or digital back to be processed in a large range of raw converters. These include cases where cameras have been hacked to output raw images that have then been converted to DNG. The process of DNG conversion involves extracting raw image data from the source file and assembling it according to the DNG specification into the required TIFF format. This optionally involves compressing it. Metadata as defined in the DNG specification is also put into that TIFF assembly. Some of this metadata is based on the characteristics of the camera, and especially of its sensor. Other metadata may be image-dependent or camera-setting dependent. A DNG converter must therefore have knowledge of the camera model concerned, and be able to process the source raw image file including key metadata. Optionally a JPEG preview is obtained and added. Finally, all of this is written as a DNG file. DNG conversion typically leaves the original raw image file intact. For safety, many photographers retain the original raw image file on one medium while using the DNG file on another, enabling them to recover from a range of hardware, software and human failures and errors. For example, it has been reported in user forums that some versions of the Adobe DNG Converter don't preserve all the raw data from raw images from some camera models.


Summary of products that support DNG in some way

This section summarizes other more comprehensive lists.Adobe
DNG hardware and software support
/ref>


Adobe products

All raw image file handling products from Adobe now support DNG. ''Adobe DNG Converter'' was utility software published by
Adobe Systems Adobe Inc. ( ), formerly Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American software, computer software company based in San Jose, California. It offers a wide range of programs from web design tools, photo manipulation and vector creation, through to ...
on September 27, 2004. It converts different camera raw format files into the Digital Negative (DNG) standard. It also supports
lossless data compression Lossless compression is a class of data compression that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data with no loss of information. Lossless compression is possible because most real-world data exhibits Redundanc ...
when converting. The program is free of charge. It can be downloaded at Adobe's site (for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
).


Digital cameras and related software

Use by camera manufacturers varies; there are about 15 camera manufacturers that use DNG, including a few that specialize in movie cameras: *Modern smartphone cameras using iOS 10, Android 5 or Windows 10 Mobile that are capable of shooting RAW images typically use DNG (e.g. Samsung and Nokia). ** High-end Nokia (now Microsoft) Lumia smartphones like Nokia Lumia Icon,
930 Year 930 ( CMXXX) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Althing, the parliament of Iceland, is established at þingvellir ("Thing Fields"). Chieftains from various tribes gather for ...
,
950 Year 950 ( CML) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: A Hamdanid army (30,000 men) led by Sayf al-Dawla raids into Byzantine theme Anatolia. He defea ...
, 1020 and
1520 Year 1520 ( MDXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March *January 19 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes, at Lake Åsunden in Sweden. The Swedish regent St ...
, were the first smartphone cameras to support DNG files. **Samsung's high-end smartphones (Galaxy S6 or later) also uses DNG. **
Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...
Android phones using Leica-designed cameras (such as the Mate 9 and Mate 10 Pro) can save raw files to DNG format when shooting in "Pro" mode. *Niche camera manufacturers typically use DNG in new cameras (including a digiscope,
panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
cameras, and at least one movie camera). The article on
raw image format A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed, ...
s illustrates the complicated relationship between new raw image formats and third-party software developers. Using DNG provides immediate support for these cameras by a large range of software products. * Some low market share but conventional camera manufacturers use DNG in new cameras. Camera manufacturers that do not supply their own software for processing raw images typically, but not always, use DNG. *
Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...
typically offers users the option of whether to use Pentax's own raw image format (PEF) or DNG, but some, for example Pentax Q, Q10 and Q7, do not support PEF. For example, the digital SLR Camera Pentax K-x does offer the ability to save PEF or DNG or even DNG+ which saves two files, a DNG and a separate JPEG file at the same time. * If a camera uses DNG, and that camera manufacturer supplies software, it will support DNG. It may support DNG only from their own cameras, or support it more generically. *
Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
,
Nikon (, ; ) is a Japanese optics and photographic equipment manufacturer. Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and equipment related to S ...
,
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
,
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
, Olympus and Fuji do not use DNG in their cameras. If a camera manufacturer's cameras do not use DNG, its software is unlikely to support DNG unless that software is also sold independently of the cameras. Some
digital camera A digital camera, also called a digicam, is a camera that captures photographs in Digital data storage, digital memory. Most cameras produced today are digital, largely replacing those that capture images on photographic film or film stock. Dig ...
s that support DNG: *
Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
supports DNG in their Exilim PRO EX-F1 and Exilim EX-FH25. * DxO supports DNG in their DxO ONE camera (introduced 2015). * Leica has moved to the DNG format across its entire digital range including the M, Q, and SL lines. * MegaVision E Series Monochrome back. * Panoscan MK-3 digital panoramic camera. *
Pentax was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh. Penta ...
supports DNG in their 645D, 645Z, K10D, K20D, K200D, K2000, K-7, K-x, K-r, K-5, K-30, K-5II(s), K-50, K-500, K-3, K-3II, K-S1, K-S2, K-70 and
K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...
DSLR cameras; alongside the K-01, Q, Q10, Q7 and Q-S1 mirrorless cameras. *
Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken Concern'', on 6 February 1936 as . Ricoh's hea ...
supports DNG in the Ricoh Digital GR, considered a professional compact, and the Ricoh Caplio GX. *
Ricoh GXR The Ricoh GXR is a compact digital camera first announced by Ricoh, Ricoh Company, Ltd, Tokyo on November 10, 2009. Unlike conventional cameras which either have a fixed Lens (optics), lens and Image sensor, sensor or interchangeable lens and a fi ...
mirrorless interchangeable lens camera A mirrorless camera (sometimes referred to as a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera (MILC) or digital single-lens mirrorless (DSLM)) is a digital camera which, in contrast to DSLRs, does not use a mirror in order to ensure that the image ...
unit use also DNG. *
Samsung Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
supports DNG in their Pro815 "
prosumer A prosumer is an individual who both consumes and produces. The term is a portmanteau of the words '' producer'' and ''consumer''. Research has identified six types of prosumers: DIY prosumers, self-service prosumers, customizing prosumers, co ...
" camera and GX-10 and GX-20 DSLR cameras. * Sea&Sea DX‐1G underwater camera. * Seitz Roundshot D3 digital back, used in cameras such as the 6×17. *
Sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...
FP Native support, SD Quattro cameras support DNG but may require a firmware update. * Silicon Imaging Silicon Imaging Digital Cinema SI-1920HDVR. * Sinar now uses DNG as the raw file standard for their eMotion series of digital backs. * Kron Technologies supports DNG in their Chronos 1.4 and Chronos 2.1-HD high speed cameras.
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
's
iPhones The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at M ...
and other
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
devices expose an API for third-party apps such as Halide or Lightroom CC to capture DNG images. The native Camera app processes to
JPEG JPEG ( , short for Joint Photographic Experts Group and sometimes retroactively referred to as JPEG 1) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degr ...
or HEIF by default. The iPhone 12 Pro/Pro Max and subsequent Pro and Pro Max models running iOS 14.3 or later have the option to shoot pictures in DNG natively through ProRaw. Some of the Canon cameras can shoot as DNG using additional free software CHDK. The built-in camera function in the Adobe Lightroom Mobile app saves to DNG format. DJI supports DNG in its middle to high-end drones.


Third-party software

Support by software suppliers varies; there are of the order of 200 software products that use DNG. The majority of raw handling software products support DNG. Most provide generic support, while a few support it only if it is output directly from a camera. The type of support varies considerably. There appear to be very few third-party software products that process raw images but don't support DNG. This may reflect the difficulty of discovering all of those that do not.Barry Pearson
Products without explicit DNG support
/ref>


Versions of the specification

All versions of the specification remain valid, in the sense that DNG files conforming to old versions should still be read and processed by DNG readers capable of processing later versions. DNG has a version scheme built into it that allows the DNG specification, DNG writers, and DNG readers, to evolve at their own paces.Barry Pearson

/ref> Each version of the specification describes its compatibility with previous versions. ;1.0.0.0, published September 2004: This version accompanied the launch of DNG and related products. It was a rare, possibly unique, example of a raw image format specification published by its owner. It was adequate for representing typical images, but it had a few errors and deficiencies (specifically the lack of support of "masked pixels" and an inadvertent deviation from the JPEG specification) that required it soon to be replaced by the next version. ;1.1.0.0, published February 2005: This version corrected the flaws in the first version. It has proved capable of representing raw images for a large variety of cameras (both when written in-camera or via conversion from other raw image formats) for a few years, and it is the version still typically written in-camera. ;1.2.0.0, published May 2008: This version was based on experience and feedback from other companies about DNG since its launch. It introduced many new features, especially several new options for color specification under the general heading of "Camera Profiles". These are mainly of value to software products wanting their own flavor of color handling. This version permits administrative control of Camera Profiles, including calibration signatures and copyright information. ;1.3.0.0, published June 2009: This version added various improvements, but the major change was to introduce "Opcodes". An Opcode is an algorithm to be applied to some or all of the image data, described in the specification, and (optionally) implemented in the product that reads and processes the DNG file. The DNG file itself holds lists of Opcodes to be executed, together with the parameters to be applied on execution. In effect, the DNG file can contain lists of "function calls" to be executed at various stages in the raw conversion process. For example, the ''WarpRectilinear'' Opcode "applies a warp to an image and can be used to correct geometric distortion and lateral (transverse) chromatic aberration for rectilinear lenses". This is an example of an algorithm that cannot be applied to the raw image data itself before it is placed into the DNG file, because it should be executed ''after''
demosaicing Demosaicing (or de-mosaicing, demosaicking), also known as color reconstruction, is a digital image processing algorithm used to reconstruct a full color image from the incomplete color samples output from an image sensor overlaid with a color fil ...
. There are 13 Opcodes described in this version, and each Opcode is accompanied by a specification version so that more can be added in future. ;1.4.0.0, published September 2012: This version added Floating Point Image Data, Transparent Pixels, Proxy DNG Files, and additional tags. It also added SampleFormat and Predictor. ;1.5.0.0, published May 2019: This version added Depth Maps and processed Enhanced Image Data that can be stored alongside the raw image, with some details of the processing performed. ;1.6.0.0, published December 2021: This version added large file support (64-bit BigTIFF extension), Semantic Masks, triple-illuminant calibration profiles, and more. ;1.7.0.0, published June 2023: This version adds support for
JPEG XL The JPEG XL Image Coding System is a royalty-free open standard for a image compression, compressed Raster graphics, raster image format. It defines a graphics file format and the abstract device for coding JPEG XL bitstreams. It is developed by t ...
as a compression method. In September, 1.7.1.0 was published as a minor refresh with additional compression parameters. ;CinemaDNG, published September 2009:
CinemaDNG CinemaDNG is the result of an Adobe Systems, Adobe-led initiative to define an industry-wide Open format, open file format for digital cinema files.Adobe Press ReleaseAdobe Starts Initiative to Develop Open Format for Digital Cinema Files CinemaDN ...
is a derivative of DNG with additional tags specifically for frames of movie clips (''TimeCodes'' and ''FrameRate''.Adobe Labs
CinemaDNG - Image Data Format Specification (Version 1.0.0.0)
(PDF)
It is not clear whether these tags will be added to a later version of the DNG specification, or will remain separately described only in the CinemaDNG specification.


Standardization

DNG is not a standard format, but is based on several
open format An open file format is a file format for storing digital data, defined by an openly published specification usually maintained by a standards organization, and which can be used and implemented by anyone. An open file format is licensed with a ...
s or
standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...
and is being used by ISO in its revision of TIFF/EP. A timeline: * ''2001'': The ISO standard raw image format, ISO 12234-2, better known as TIFF/EP, was ratified and published. It also supports "non-raw", or "processed", images. TIFF/EP provided a basis for the raw image formats of a number of cameras, but they typically added their own proprietary data. Some cameras have sensors that cannot be described by that version of TIFF/EP. * ''2004, September'': Adobe launched DNG. Its specification states it "is compatible with the TIFF-EP standard". It is a TIFF/EP extension with considerably more specified metadata, brought up-to-date and made fit for purpose. DNG also exploits various other
open format An open file format is a file format for storing digital data, defined by an openly published specification usually maintained by a standards organization, and which can be used and implemented by anyone. An open file format is licensed with a ...
s and
standards Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object t ...
, including Exif metadata, XMP metadata, IPTC metadata, CIE XYZ coordinates,
ICC profile In color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Profiles describe the color attributes o ...
s, and
JPEG JPEG ( , short for Joint Photographic Experts Group and sometimes retroactively referred to as JPEG 1) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degr ...
.Barry Pearson
DNG's relationship to standards
/ref> Although DNG supports more sensor configurations than TIFF/EP (for example, cameras from
Fujifilm , trading as , or simply Fuji, is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the areas of photography, optics, Office supplies, office and Biomedical engine ...
using
Super CCD Super CCD is a proprietary charge-coupled device image sensor design that was developed by Fujifilm starting in 1999 and marketed with its digital cameras, starting with the FinePix 4700 and S1 Pro. Super CCD cameras were sold until 2010. The Supe ...
sensors), it still doesn't support all sensor types as raw images, especially those using the
Foveon X3 sensor The Foveon X3 sensor is a digital camera image sensor designed by Foveon, Inc., (now part of Sigma Corporation) and manufactured by Dongbu Electronics. It uses an array of photosites that consist of three vertically stacked photodiodes. Each ...
or similar, hence especially
Sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...
cameras. * ''2006'': TIFF/EP began its 5-year revision cycle. * ''2006 to 2007'': Adobe offered the DNG specification to ISO to be part of ISO's revised TIFF/EP standard.. * ''2008, September & October'': Minutes of ISO/TC 130/WG2 — Prepress Data Exchange, 37th Meeting: "WG 18 is revising the two-part standard (ISO 12234), which addresses digital camera removable memory. The revision of... Part 2 will add DNG into TIFF/EP." A progress report from ISO about the revision of TIFF/EP stated that the revision "...currently includes two "interoperability-profiles," "IP 1" for processed image data, using ".TIF" extension, and "IP 2" for "raw" image data, ".DNG" extension". * ''2009, September'': Minutes of ISO/TC 130/WG2 — Prepress Data Exchange, 39th Meeting: the revision of TIFF/EP "is comprehensive to support many different use cases, including backward compatibility with current TIFF readers and support of Adobe DNG... Profile 2 (proposed extension .dng, if Adobe is in agreement) is intended for camera raw images, including un-demosaiced images... This format will be similar to DNG 1.3, which serves as the starting point for development."


Patent status

In 2004, Adobe published a "patent license" for DNG that allows everyone to exploit DNG, on the condition that the licensee prominently displays text saying it is licensed from Adobe in source and documentation, and that the license may be revoked if the licensee brings any patent action against Adobe or its affiliates related to the reading or writing of files that comply with the DNG Specification. The license does not name any patent linked to DNG, however. In 2009, Adobe states that there are no known intellectual property encumbrances or license requirements for CinemaDNG, a superset of DNG. Adobe also stated that if there were a consensus that DNG should be controlled by a
standards body A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
, they were open to the idea.. Even though the "patent license" now grants rights for no known patents, Adobe has not removed the patent license: as of August 2023, it remains on the Adobe website.


See also

*
Comparison of image viewers This article presents a comparison of image viewers and image organizers which can be used for image viewing. Functionality overview and licensing Supported file formats Commonly used vendor-independent formats Camera raw formats Support ...
* DNxHD codec *
dcraw dcraw is an open-source software, open-source computer program which is able to read numerous raw image format files, typically produced by mid-range and high-end digital cameras. dcraw converts these images into the standard Tagged Image File ...
* LibRaw


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digital Negative (File Format) Computer-related introductions in 2004 Digital photography Graphics file formats