Mastering Your Metadata Article

Pretty good article that might be useful for others. I don't agree with the DNG step but everything else seems pretty well thought out.

Link: Digital Photo - Master Your Metadata | DPmag.com

Great article! Lots of helpful info in there.

I'm curious as to why you disagree with the DNG step? The author is exactly right, RAW formats are proprietary straight out of the camera. You run the risk of losing those files forever if you keep them as NEF (or other) formats. Since Lightroom offers an option to convert directly to DNG, it seems like the best option.

Thank you for sharing this link.

Anthony Hereld said:

I'm curious as to why you disagree with the DNG step? The author is exactly right, RAW formats are proprietary straight out of the camera. You run the risk of losing those files forever if you keep them as NEF (or other) formats. Since Lightroom offers an option to convert directly to DNG, it seems like the best option.

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Anthony: In theory DNG seems great. But outside of Adobe products, who is really pushing for it? Until the time that Nikon fades away, I'd prefer to keep my NEFs as captured. I used a Konica Minolta A2 in the past and when Sony bought them and dropped the RAW format, I converted those files to DNG. Until the day comes when camera companies stop using undocumented EXIF fields in their RAW format, I think the best move is to keep the original.

It's just odd that this thread is about archiving and mastering metadata, which is one of the biggest reasons to switch to DNG in the first place. Most software can already read DNG (such as Photomatix HDR). DNG files are also smaller, which given the low cost of storage, isn't really an issue...but still. Ultimately it depends on your workflow, but if you're a LR/PS user, it doesn't really make much sense to not use DNG.

Anthony Hereld said:

Ultimately it depends on your workflow, but if you're a LR/PS user, it doesn't really make much sense to not use DNG.

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There are times when I use Capture NX2 instead of LR/PS. Usually in situations where I need better control of CA. Admittedly not too often, but it does happen.

I keyword, copyright, etc. using Downloader Pro. Part of that process includes renaming and building a directory based on keywords and camera used. I then import in place into LR. I described the process in this old thread: http://nikonites.com/computers-software/784-work-flow.html

I spent half the night batch organizing all of my photo files. It needed to be done, as I had no consistency with file naming and had not tagged or added metadata to anything. There's still a little bit left to go through tonight.

Anthony: You can use Downloader Pro to rename, tag, etc exisiting directories. I've done it for friends and it works real, real well.

I'm also undecided on DNG. I've seen compelling arguments from both sides of that format. For the time being, my RAW files are still NEF.