Scanner RAW to DNG

[Czornyj]

The NikonScan software of my Coolscan 9000ED can save scans as NEF (RAW) files, that I can open and edit with Nikon Capture. As a matter of fact I prefer ACR, so I end up saving my scans to TIFF files, and then I'm editing them in ACR. I'd rather like to convert my scans to DNG, to work with unaltered, linear data, and it's also tempting to experiment with dias, CC24 and DNG Profile Editor. Have you ever heard of something that converts Nikon Coolscan RAW files to DNG?

[KeithR]

The NikonScan software of my Coolscan 9000ED can save scans as NEF (RAW) files, that I can open and edit with Nikon Capture. As a matter of fact I prefer ACR, so I end up saving my scans to TIFF files, and then I'm editing them in ACR. I'd rather like to convert my scans to DNG, to work with unaltered, linear data, and it's also tempting to experiment with dias, CC24 and DNG Profile Editor. Have you ever heard of something that converts Nikon Coolscan RAW files to DNG?

The files from NikonScan are not the same type of Raw files from Nikon cameras and are output as a tiff. They may say NEF, but they are not really.The fact that you can open them in Capture is because Capture can open tiff files as well as NEFs. To prove it, make a scan and open it in Photoshop, but make sure you have the "Allow Tiff files to open in ACR" turned off first. The scan will open in PS and not ACR. IF it were a "real NEF", it would open in ACR without the automatic preference being selected.

[Panopeeper]

Have you ever heard of something that converts Nikon Coolscan RAW files to DNG?

Does the Adobe DNG converter not convert it? It should be converted in linear format (a misnomer, meaning that it is not in Bayer, i.e. mosaic format), which is still a raw format.

[graeme]

Vuescan will save scanned files in 'Raw DNG' format. More at http://www.hamrick.com/

Graeme

[Czornyj]

Does the Adobe DNG converter not convert it? It should be converted in linear format (a misnomer, meaning that it is not in Bayer, i.e. mosaic format), which is still a raw format.

You're right - I'm an idiot. I tried to convert it before, and couldn't make it - just becouse there were no disk space left  Thanks!

The files from NikonScan are not the same type of Raw files from Nikon cameras and are output as a tiff. They may say NEF, but they are not really.The fact that you can open them in Capture is because Capture can open tiff files as well as NEFs. To prove it, make a scan and open it in Photoshop, but make sure you have the "Allow Tiff files to open in ACR" turned off first. The scan will open in PS and not ACR. IF it were a "real NEF", it would open in ACR without the automatic preference being selected.

You're also right - after I finally managed to convert my scan to DNG, and opened it in DNG Profile Editor I just found out it is nonlinear. What an absurd...

Vuescan will save scanned files in 'Raw DNG' format. More at http://www.hamrick.com/

Thanks - I'll give it a try - maybe it leaves scan in linear form, unlike that NikonScan-nonsense.

[David Good]

Vuescan will save scanned files in 'Raw DNG' format. More at http://www.hamrick.com/

Graeme

+1 for Vuescan Pro.

[digitaldog]

Scanners don't create Raw data in the truest sense (non demosaiced data). Probably a good thing, its true color data from trilinear CCDs unlike the Raws from single shot CCD or CMOS chips where the color is interpolated. There's no advantage I can see in setting them as linear DNGs if you've got good scanner software to control the process. Its not a Raw file despite conversion into DNG even if linear, and any decent scanner driver should provide linear data assuming you want to output render in say Photoshop.