New A73 Owner - Does conversion to DNG hurt?

[mmbrombe]

Greetings,

I am slowly getting the hang of my new A73 - I'm a recent convert from micro 4/3.  My older version of Lightroom (6.14, non-cloud) doesn't read Sony's raw files so I'm converting my raws to DNGs and then developing them in LR.  I've noticed that the DNG files are dramatically smaller than the original Sony raws - roughly 55% of the raw file size on average.  Does this mean that there is also a significant amount of critical information that is discarded during the conversion, and that consequently the "quality" of my pictures will also be reduced following post-processing?

Thanks for your help!

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

DNG uses lossless compression; that's why the files are smaller than the RAWs. In theory, you shouldn't lose any image data compared to RAW but the DNG file will look different and require more processing to look good.

When the A7III was released, people used a hack where they changed the camera ID to A9 in the EXIF. As LR 6.14 does read A9 files, you'll be able to process the RAWs. I don't know if it still works but worth checking out.

LR 6  won't support the newer lenses, though, and using DNG conversions or EXIF hacks is a bit of a drag. If you don't want to get a subscription version of LR, you can check out CaptureOne for Sony, which sells at a discounted price. I always mention DxO Labs as it is really great processing software.

[Bokehbobo]

When I got my a7r3 (after countless years with Nikon) I reluctantly had to move from Aperture and decided on Capture One Pro (Sony version costs $70 vs. $300 for the general version) for the RAW conversion, built in DAM and the ability to import Aperture catalogues (Lightroom as well, though I have no experience with that). I am not a fan of Adobe's rental approach and never seriously considered them, and was not enthusiastic about using DNG as a compatibility workaround.

I'm very happy with the results I am getting using Capture One. Furthermore, since I extensively used the original NIK suite with Aperture, I am now delving into DxO's reissue of the NIK suite and am now testing round-trips from Capture One. Works very well so far though there is a notable file size increases since the return file is a TIFF. I'm going from ~82mb to ~120mb processed files using the a7r3 uncompressed RAW settings. 

[camcgregg]

I downloaded the Adobe DNG converter since I use an even older version of LR (5.X).  It sure is a pain in the butt though, I agree. 

My settings for conversion are as follows.  So far I am not seeing any obvious drawbacks with my settings.  Please enlighten me if I am wrong. 

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I am coming from a Canon world and this camera is taking a little getting used to.  I can't delete ALL the files without formatting the card, for one.  The shutter is loud.  I tried the silent shutter setup and I can't tell if it took a pic or not.  I can't take time-lapse photographs (I am coming from Canon 7D Mark II).   Importing files using Play Memories - the less said the better.  The curve to learn Capture One, I am finding, is a steep one, for me anyways.  I always go back to Lightroom.  Maybe I am getting too old for this.   

I am using a Sigma MC-11 converter to use my Canon lenses.  I found that I can't use this configuration to take videos (auto-focus simply doesn't work in movie mode with a Canon lens attached to a converter).

[Bokehbobo]

SGWD, I feel your pain... sort of?. The Sony design and execution does require some getting used to but truth be told each system has its good and bad. Coming from Nikon the Sony shutter is wonderfully muted to me and yes the silent shutter lacks feedback but that is kind of the point. For me it was a leap of faith at first. The lack of time lapse is a concern and to that end I have ordered an Arsenal https://witharsenal.com device that does this and much more (its just now starting to ship so I will have to report back on this sometime in the future). Yeah, I agree that Play Memories, apparently abandoned by Sony, is if no practical use, though I did get it work. 

I was hesitant at first about the Capture One learning curve but found it less difficult than feared. Loving it now after using it to file, alter and archive about 5k images to date. Does justice to my Sony's RAW dynamic range, allows tethered shooting, and plays nicely with my new Sony lenses (sold my Nikon lenses). I say this because from what I've read maximum focusing performance is best achieved using Sony lenses and frankly, while expensive, the 3 Sony lenses I now have perform very well on the camera and with Capture One Pro (f4/24-105G, f2.8/16-35GM and f2.8/90macroG).    

[DVAB]

After watching Northrups's video on DNG (he's been using it for years,) I concluded it was my best option short of subscribing to LR. While importing from the camera is fast and easy, it can be a pain if you did not clear the card since your last download as there is no provision to select which photos to import. Once imported, I think LR 6 is even quicker than with a raw file and there is no loss of image quality. As mentioned, Play Memories is a joke - I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than use that thing again. Eventually though, no doubt I will bite the bullet and subscribe to LR especially since they keep adding features I want.

[SGWD]

Something is OFF with this forum.  I, SGWD, wrote that comment - couple of comments above (which is currently showing up as written by camcgregg, who, I bet has no idea  that he/she wrote that comment :)  I was also again asked to re-register because I had not de-registered to this site either.  So weird.  Anyways, I am re-registered with my original username and password.  

Coming back to DNG conversion.  Is there a setting in DNG conversion that can be used so that Picasa can read its contents?  I love the DNG compression results in nearly half the size of the original RAW files.  But the consequence of conversion is resulting in Picasa unable to read the files - and I use Picasa's face recognition abilities to be able to keyword the files.  I am like, common, not this   If anyone has any suggestion on this, please let me know.  And thank you!

[erick]

I convert all the files from Sony A7RIII into dng and never keep the native format