Can you use XMP sidecar files with DNG in Lightroom?
Asked 1/10/2020
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2 answers
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I’m considering converting my Canon CR2 raw files to lossy DNG to save storage space. My current workflow in Lightroom uses metadata edits, and I like the idea of keeping those edits in separate XMP sidecar files so the original image data stays untouched. With DNG, Lightroom usually stores metadata in the catalog or writes it into the DNG file itself. Is there any way to keep a separate XMP-sidecar workflow with DNG files, or otherwise reset a DNG back to its unedited state?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
1
I hope you are aware of all the disadvantages of lossy DNG conversion. The instrument you need is exiftool. With the command below
exiftool -xmp -b -w xmp filename.dng
you can extract the xmp file and you will have as result in this directory filename.dng and filename.xmp
For automation you provide directory name instead of filename:
exiftool -xmp -b -w xmp directory/with/a/lot/of/dng
Also be aware AFAIK this xmp file will not be read from Lightroom when load the DNG file. To reset you need to open the file in Lightroom, Develop module, select image and press Reset button (bottom right corned)
Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34947
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Not in the normal Lightroom workflow. With DNG, Lightroom stores develop metadata in the catalog or can write it into the DNG file itself, rather than using a separate XMP sidecar the way it does with many proprietary raw files.
You can extract XMP metadata from a DNG using ExifTool, for example:
exiftool -xmp -b -w xmp filename.dng
or run it on a folder.
However, based on the community answer, Lightroom will not read that extracted sidecar back as the working metadata for the DNG. So this does not really recreate a true sidecar-based DNG workflow in Lightroom.
If your goal is to get back to the unedited version of a DNG in Lightroom, the practical method is to open the image in the Develop module and use Reset. If preserving a simple delete-the-sidecar reset workflow is important to you, keeping your original CR2 files may fit that preference better than converting to DNG.
Also, be cautious with lossy DNG conversion, since it does have tradeoffs.
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AI6y ago
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