Digital camera & digital photography resources
for professional & amateur photographers

What's the consensus on archiving your images in RAW format? I've been told that shooting in RAW is fine (which I do), but archiving them as RAW is unwise because in years from now you may not be able to read them since it's not a standardised format - it's proprietary and varies according to the camera manufacturer (which is true). Much better, I'm told, to convert them to a universal format (low-compression jpeg or tiff)and archive these instead. I've already archived a couple of hundred ORF files (Olympus raw)
and now wonder wether that was a smart move. Anyone?

Report this to a moderator | IP: Logged

You should archive your RAW images.
If something you adjusted in the saved tiff file wasnt what you wanted, you would not have the raw file to go back to.

I have been archiveing the raw and tiff or jpg files all on the same DVD

Some people archive the raw on a DVD then any that they convert to tiff or jpg get archived on a separated DVD.

I think archiving both is your best bet

I dont think it would be in the best interest for camera makers to create raw files that will not be accessible in the future.

__________________
http://www.pbase.com/reflectionsbyruth
_______________________________________

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. -Ansel Adams

Report this to a moderator | IP: Logged

Thanks for your input. So it seems archiving RAW is to be recommended (I agree with your reasoning - always having the original capture to work from in the future) accompanied by a converted version of each file. The 'belt and braces' approach makes sense to me!
Thanks again.

Pip

Last edited by pip22 on Jan 16th, 2006 at 04:59 PM

Report this to a moderator | IP: Logged

Ruth as always has provided great advise

One additionally thing to consider is media lifespan

excerpt from cnet

"Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke says. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more."


Read Full Story .. > http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7597_7...threadID=149723

__________________
Best Regards
Paul

Report this to a moderator | IP: Logged

Great link Paul
I knew there was info out there about it someplace, just didnt know where.

I have decided to go through my DVD's a little at a time and copy off what I think I would really want then back up those onto another DVD once I get close to the 3 year life span.

Although I have a couple CD's with family history info and pics on them from 1990 and so far they are still working. But I think I better back them up again too

I was just surprised they also mentioned magnetic tape.
My Dad has a tape of my voice when I was 2 and we tried to play it about 20 years ago and it was real scratchy and just wasnt the same as when I heard it years ago. Yes I'm over 30 but under 100

I found a great use for 5 1/4 floppies
I use them as coffee coasters at my desk at work. Its a real conversation piece, people keep asking if I have an extra to give them for their desk LOL

__________________
http://www.pbase.com/reflectionsbyruth
_______________________________________

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. -Ansel Adams

Report this to a moderator | IP: Logged