OpenRAW

oh bloody great.. now they want to lock us into one OS.

Here we go again.. OS BRAND A locks CAMERA BRAND B into exclusive RAW OS support, therefore locking OS BRAND C, D E F to Z out of the marketplace.

Not the full solution, what about if i want a hand held HD device with a large screen to show the raw pix on?.. much like the device i wrote about here in another post.

etc.. wait for it.

“Nikon is supporting Microsoft’s new operating system and compatible software, which will enable efficient and accurate handling of Nikon Electronic Format (NEF) RAW digital image file format. Through collaboration with Microsoft, we are confident that the expanded potential to use Nikon’s NEF will contribute substantially to the overall development of the photography industry’s use of RAW files among the broadest market.”
- Kasuyuki Kazami; General Manager; Nikon

opps, better do the right thing and list the URL for the quote.

http://www.photoscala.com/node/view/911

http://www.flickr.com/photos/benmcleod/13677962/

I wonder just how many out there are in this boat also ?.. case in point, these everyday folks haven't a clue either.

Rexy, what Microsoft are doing isn't confined to Nikon. They are providing Raw support for other cameras too, and will also support Adobe's DNG.

There is no lock-in. Nikon and the others are free to make their formats work on any other operating system too. And other operating systems are free to add extra support for Raw if they want to.

http://photoshopnews.com/2005/06/01/microsoft-and-imaging-industry-leaders-unveil-support-for-digital-camera-raw-in-windows/

>>>
There is no lock-in. Nikon and the others are free to make their formats work on any other operating system too.
<<<
We don't know that that's true - we don't know what deal has been made between them and whether any form of exclusivity is implicitly or explicitly include.

>>>
And other operating systems are free to add extra support for Raw if they want to.
<<<
We DO know that that's NOT true, because Nikon encoded their white balance to specifically prevent anyone supporting NEF without their permission and to require them to use their software (which is NOT compatible with all other operating systems) for those that they choose to allow.

Neil, just re-read what I said!

I said "Nikon and the others are free to make their formats work on any other operating system too". I didn't say they are compelled to. They may themselves CHOOSE not to. That would be THEIR decision. No one has forced them to make that decision.

And, frankly, the idea that camera manufacturers would choose to avoid other operating systems is just plain stupid! Why should they restrict their market like that?

The "Preview" program in Apple's Tiger will support Raw formats. Including DNG, of course. Obviously Nikon's attempted lock-out may cause WB problems. But that doesn't alter the basic fact that "other operating systems are free to add extra support for Raw if they want to". Who can stop them? Encrypting the WB doesn't "prevent anyone supporting NEF without their permission"! Lots of people support NEF without their permission. It just stops some software getting at the WB! No more, no less.

Microsoft are not setting the pace here. They are really just catching up with Apple, which had plans in place to support Raw, including DNG, well before this announcement.

If one carefully analyzes other developments recently disclosed in the press, there is potentially an even bigger problem looming on the horizon.

Just this week, Apple Computer announced that it will be switching to the new Intel processor after 20 years of using the Power PC processor. I have been hearing this rumor for nearly a year, and Steve Jobs confirmed it this week.

I believe this is Apple's contribution to enable either a software or media copyright holder to manage the ability to copy the image. See this article for additional insight into this new movement:

http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=4915

Here is a pull-quote from the article:

"Officially launched worldwide on May 26, the new offerings come DRM-enabled and will, at least in theory, allow copyright holders to prevent unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted materials from the motherboard rather than through the operating system as is currently the case."

We must assune that both the new Microsoft "Longhorn" operating system the new OSX for the Mac will certainly make use of any capabilities of the new Intel processors to enforce Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Given the recent prosecutions by RIAA and the Motion Picture groups, one must assume that hardware and software manufacturers have bowed to pressure and are providing the technology in hardware to allow software vendors to prevent decoding, decrypting, or otherwise using copyrighted material in any way other than viewing or listening to it.

The recent move by Nikon wherein they have encrypted the white-balance information falls into the same category.

Furthermore, and I am neither a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act will uphold Nikon's attempt to force users to use an inferior method to process our images. This would open any third-party software applications (e.g. Adobe, Corel, etc.) to litigation from Nikon, Canon, etc. if they produce software to process these images.

I use Photoshop CS2 to convert my RAW images because it is faster and more convenient to use when processing hundreds of images at one time. If, as Nikon claims, their product produces higher quality images, it does so at an excruciatingly slow pace.

If users of the new technology allow Nikon and others to dictate to us how we must process the images, we will surely be doomed to mediocracy.

The user community must immediately begin to boycott any manufacturer who attempts to lock us into using their second-rate software instead of a better solution.

As a loyal Nikon owner for 20 years, and the recent purchaser of over $10K in Nikon digital cameras, lenses, etc., I will be the first to say that I will purchase no more Nikon junk because they have essentially locked me out of using my Photoshop CS2 to read my RAW images. Fortunately I made the decision to switch to Canon before purchasing a new D2X.

I will be selling all of my Nikon gear and converting to Canon. If Canon does the same, then I will boycott Canon.

We must send a strong message to these manufacturers that we will not allow them to dictate what software we will use to process our images.