OpenRAW

DNG is a very good idea, but it can't store everything. Each manufacturer has and will come up with new ideas to improve image quality and extra data. DNG will never be able to store everything from every manufacturer, and it also doesn't make sense to have a format that tries to do everything. You end up with a million data blocks that a file parser will have to go through and know how to deal with that data. And with each new RAW file DNG gets bigger and bigger.

The relatively short history of computer age has taught us that every standard has become a drag when it came to new development.

I very much like the idea to openly document every RAW format that exists, but I don't think the solution is trying to funnel everything into one huge universal format.

Nick:

DNG can optionally include the original Raw file. (Obviously it makes the file a lot bigger!). So you can always extract the original file (from an archive, say) and be no worse off.

I already convert to DNG early in the workflow, and I no longer archive my original Raw files. I have been using DNG for perhaps 6 months, and it works well for me.

David:

You have a point, and eventually DNG will reach its limit. But what is that limit, and when will it be reached?

I suspect you would not want to use it for 3D movies with sound! But it appears to be able to handle current Raw formats without technical problems. (Just a few potential legal problems!)

Perhaps in 5 years time I will be using a camera that DNG can't handle. But at the moment, most or even all digital still photographers can be supported by DNG, if the software is there to do the conversion.

DNG doesn't necessarily get bigger with each Raw format. It has lots of options, and I would expect that a typical new camera wouldn't need any change to it at all.

(And, finally, open standards for computer systems have been vital for giving us the flexibility we have today for building complex systems from multiple vendors. Each standard frees us to innovate, then we add another standard when we have to. What would the alternative be?)