Are there two types of .ARW file ??

[flash harry 1]

I have a rather odd problem with my .ARW files.....

 

My previous camera was a Sony NEX-5N..... which uses the .ARW file format for RAW images.

My new camera is the Sony A6000.............. which Sony also state uses the .ARW file format for RAW images.

It seems however, that they must use slightly different formats........

My problem is that when attempting to view .ARW files taken with the A6000 (using Windows Explorer), the default Windows Photo Viewer does not recognise the format. However, Windows Photo Viewer WILL open .ARW files taken by my NEX-5N! This is very odd, and strongly suggests the two cameras somehow use different file formats. Please can you therefore advise how I can overcome this problem. If I know how the two formats differ, I can then try to obtain the correct codecs (if they exist).

 

I was promised by Sony Customer Services that they'd look into this and phone me back, but they have not.

 

Any help would be very much appreciated.

 

[flash harry 1]

I should add that even when using just Windows Explorer (Windows 7s normal filing system), all the A6000 .ARW files just show as identical icons (whereas images from my NEX camera correctly show the thumbnails).  Seems very strange to me.

[holmes4]

This is not at all unusual, and isn't specific to Sony. I remember having similar issues with a Canon DSLR. Yes, even though the file type is the same there may be format changes requiring updated support. I see this all the time in the various programs I have that process raw images.

 

When I have this problem I enlist the power of Google. First hit points to the solution. See here

[michelb]

Every camera model ( from any manufacturer) is likely to have a different raw format. When a new model comes out, it takes a couple of weeks to a couple of months for the computer and software manufacturers to adjust to the new raw format for your newest toy. You need to keep Windows (or your Mac ) up to date to ensure being able to open these raw files. 

It has been like this since the beginning of the digital imaging era.

[Moody]

I once had the same question as you and I remember having to download the Sony Raw driver for Windows (or rather updating it) after buying a new Sony camera.

 

Have a look at this Sony support page, for example:

 

http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-dwnl/prd-dime/sony-raw-driver-for-windows/ILCE-6000

[wedge]

I've run into a similar problem.  I'm starting to use Amazon Photo's as my online backup.  I'm backing up the raw files, their support page says they support Sony ARW, and even mentions the A6000 by name: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201649930

But the site is unable to view or preview the images.  Amazon support had not idea why it wasn't working. So instead of fixing the problem, they gave me $10 just to shut me up.

[marcusvc]

There are more than two versions of Sony's .ARW file. You can see that at this Adobe's table of compatibility (https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html). I had to upgrade my Lightroom when I upgraded to A6000.

[baillieswells]

DxO Optics Pro10 is what I use, and this will open everything I have 

[flash harry 1]

Many thanks for all the replies.

Moody above had the answer. By using the link he provided (http://www.sony.co.u...ndows/ILCE-6000 ), I downloaded the codec update from Sony, restarted the computer and hey presto, I can see my .ARW thumbnails.

 

Such a pity Sony can't be bothered to tell their customers though.

 

Thank you all so much.

[1950n]

Baillieswells. A question : DxO pro 10 costs €129. Why is it worth that money?

 

 

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[PeterWa]

one more information about this topic:

when I tried to develop my alpha 7ii-raws in capture one 7, these were not visible in capture one, but the statement was, that CO 7 supports raws from alpha 7; so I modified in exif data the model name from ILCE-7M2 to ILCE-7 and then CO did all I wanted to do; so I think, the incompatibility of CO 7 to Alpha 7ii raws is a matter of marketing

[1950n]

Unbelievable ! Thanks.

 

 

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[Austerror]

one more information about this topic:

when I tried to develop my alpha 7ii-raws in capture one 7, these were not visible in capture one, but the statement was, that CO 7 supports raws from alpha 7; so I modified in exif data the model name from ILCE-7M2 to ILCE-7 and then CO did all I wanted to do; so I think, the incompatibility of CO 7 to Alpha 7ii raws is a matter of marketing

I don't think so. Each camera may or may not use a different RAW format, however the thing that DOES vary from camera to camera is all the headers.  The software, like Capture 1, when opening a file needs to read the headers to find out what decoding method to use.  If the file lists a camera that is not known to Capture 1, it won't know how to read the file.  It is a simple list.  Most software does not try to analyse the data of a file.  Doing that can consume huge amount of CPU and RAM.

 

Why does Sony change the header information?  Because if everyone's RAW files were listed as 'Generic Sony Camera' people would be upset.  I want to know which camera took what photo when I'm sorting through my files.  Thus Sony are actually trying to make our lives easier by making sure all the new cameras are listing correct information in their RAW files.

[Golem]

.........

 

Why does Sony change the header information?  Because if everyone's

RAW files were listed as 'Generic Sony Camera' people would be upset.  

I want to know which camera took what photo when I'm sorting through

my files.  ..........  

   

But the camera make and model are listed in two different 

places in the exif properties window ... once under "Origin" 

and again under "Camera". So, it seems that if only one of 

these is the signal to the processing software, that one can 

be rendered in a generic manner, while the other one can 

still serve to remind the user which camera created the file. 

[Lioneye]

I took my a6300 out today and shot my little heart out! I've never worked with raw format, so on the advice of the Samy's salesman, I shot jpeg plus raw, hoping to learn how to deal with raw files. Then I signed up for Adobe Creative Cloud and downloaded Lightroom. Surprise, Lightroom recognizes the a6300 but did not recognize the arw raw files. (and I had to separate out the jpeg files, not sure how I did it, but Lightroom called up another program to help) and I imported the jpegs. Very confusing to me. I guess they will figure it out, but I'll have to stick with jpeg unless someone here can guide me otherwise?

[Guest all8]

Try the Capture One for Sony, the Express version is free ... but I don't know if that supports the a6300, if not, it will soon as Capture One partner "a little" with Sony.

[steph]

Download the excellent FastStone Image viewer and convert your raw to TIFF with the 'Batch Convert Selected Images' (F3). Import then your new TIFF files to Lightroom.

http://www.faststone.org

[1950n]

What's the benefit of converting to tiff ??

 

 

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[1950n]

Faststone is only for Windows.

 

 

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[Austerror]

FastStone is just in case Capture 1 Sony edition does not support the A6300?

 

https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-for-Sony/Supported-Cameras.aspx

 

Looks like the A6300 is not supprted yet (still worth a try).  This camera is brand new, and as such, I'm sure Phase 1 will be updating their software soon with support.

[1950n]

Austerror, do you prefer Capture 1 over Lightroom? Could you tell me why ?

 

 

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[Austerror]

Sure, although there are other threads discussing the benefits.

 

1. Cheaper

  1.1 There is a Sony version that works with Sony cameras for free

  1.2 The Sony Pro version is very cheap

2. More frequent updates, in my experience.

3. No need to pay for subscription of stuff you don't need or want

4. No Australia tax.  Adobe add zeros to their prices in Australia

5. My PC is Adobe free.  I have no Adobe software installed.

6. Capture 1 uses the lens profile contained within the RAW file and does not discard the other RAW file features.

https://photographylife.com/how-to-get-accurate-sony-colors-in-lightroom

Which the Adobe stuff did in 2014.  That may have been fixed, but I won't be going back to Adobe.

7. Easy for forget, but a few years ago there was a Lightroom version that was broken. It had a memory leak and performance would degrade the longer you had Lightroom open.  Adobe's 'fix' was that you buy the new version (no free upgrades). 

8. Tethering works great. Apparently Capture 1 is the benchmark for tethering your camera.

[1950n]

Thanks for this extensive reply[emoji1360].

 

 

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[baillieswells]

"What are the advantages of TIFF?"

 

RAW files cannot be altered, therefore, any changes made during photo-processing have to be saved in another format, generally TIFF or JPEG. With TIFF files there is no compression, and therefore no loss of information. TIFF files are ,therefore, very large, similar to RAW files. Subsequent changes can be made to TIFF files without compression. In contrast, JPEG files involve compression and therefore loss of information.and any further processing of JPEG files will result in further loss. 

TIFF files can be saved as JPEG files, which generally has to be done to send as an e-mail. Most printers will also only accept JPEG files.

[LiveShots]

FastStone is just in case Capture 1 Sony edition does not support the A6300?

 

https://www.phaseone.com/en/Products/Software/Capture-One-for-Sony/Supported-Cameras.aspx

 

Looks like the A6300 is not supprted yet (still worth a try).  This camera is brand new, and as such, I'm sure Phase 1 will be updating their software soon with support.

 

 

I would have thought that Sony would have sent the RAW profile to Phase 1 a long time ago, so that Capture One would support it as soon as it was released.