Can I batch-convert existing lossless DNG files to lossy DNG outside Lightroom?
Asked 2/10/2013
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2 answers
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I have a large library of existing lossless DNG files and want to convert some of them to lossy DNG to save disk space. Lightroom can do this, but on thousands of files it seems slow and reports metadata conflicts. Is there a batch tool other than Lightroom that can bulk-convert DNGs to lossy DNG?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
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Yes, the Adobe DNG Converter will let you bulk convert Lossless DNGs to Lossy DNGs. In fact, I once wrote a script which scoured my entire library of DNGs to find all of my uncompressed DNGs and converted them to (lossless) compressed DNGs. Their DNG Converter is free and easy to run on a system which doesn't have Lightroom to bulk convert mass quantities of DNGs.
However, I usually do this within Lightroom, since it allows me to automatically add the converted files back into the catalog. All of my 2nd tier photos (not bad enough to be deleted, but which didn't make the final cut) get converted to a lossy DNG format. In fact, in most cases I convert them to reduced-resolution lossy DNG files (between 2mp and 6mp, depending on whether or not I think there is a chance of ever printing above 5x7"). I use one of my export presets to export the selected photographs to these reduced-resolution lossy DNG files (in a subdirectory of the original, named LossyDNGs) and then mark them as rejected. Once the export is complete, I delete all the rejected photographs.
This way, all of the photographs are still in my library, but most of them take up significantly less space, yet still have much of the flexibility of RAW files.
Originally by user17357. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user17357
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. Adobe DNG Converter can batch-convert DNG files, including converting existing lossless DNGs to lossy DNG. It’s free and is intended for bulk processing, so it’s a practical alternative when Lightroom is slow or awkward for very large jobs.
Lightroom still has the advantage of catalog integration, since it can track the converted files automatically, but for mass conversion outside the catalog Adobe DNG Converter is the straightforward option.
If your goal is maximum space savings, some photographers also use reduced-resolution lossy DNG for lower-priority images, though that’s a workflow choice rather than a requirement.
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