Will converting Canon CR2 files to DNG reduce image quality or dynamic range?
Asked 8/8/2015
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I use Photoshop CS5.1, which does not support the Canon 60D's CR2 raw files in my version of Camera Raw, so I need to convert them to DNG first. Will converting a CR2 raw file to DNG cause any loss of image quality, detail, or dynamic range compared with editing the original CR2 file?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
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No—if you convert a CR2 to DNG using a standard lossless DNG conversion, you should not lose image quality, detail, or dynamic range. DNG is a raw container format, so the underlying sensor data is typically preserved rather than rendered into a processed image format like JPEG or TIFF.
The main caveat is the conversion settings: use lossless compression and avoid options that discard the original raw data. If you choose a lossy conversion mode, then quality could be reduced.
In normal workflows, a lossless CR2-to-DNG conversion is a practical way to keep using older software like CS5.1 with newer camera raw files.
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