“Standard RAW Development”

[Matt H]

First, I’m so glad that Nitro has the “Standard RAW Development” toggle (I’ll explain why in a moment)! But I have a question or two about it…

I have a significant number of DNG files created a decade or so ago by Lightroom that are rendered well by Apple Photos/macOS, and I’ve been trying to determine why and how to “fix” them. When I open them in Nitro with “Standard RAW Development” toggled on (which is the default), they are rendered the same way Apple Photos/macOS renders them, which is…not well. However, toggling “Standard RAW Development” off results in a *much* better initial rendering, which can then be enhanced using Nitro, of course.

So what I’m wondering is, when it comes to DNG files, and these “problematic” DNG files in particular, what is it that Apple’s RAW decoder is doing to “enhance” the rendering of these images that is resulting in the poor renders? I have other DNG files that Apple’s RAW decoder renders well, so what in this DNG files might it be picking up on that is resulting in the poor renders? I can provide sample DNG files if it’s helpful. Also, as I am a software engineer myself, if anyone is able to explain this in terms of the relevant Apple development frameworks/APIs (e.g. Image I/O, PhotoKit, etc.), feel free!

[Nik Bhatt]

That is hard to say from just this description. However, what I can say is that there are multiple versions of DNG support in Apple’s decoder (at least two, and I think perhaps three). Older DNG files will be locked to an older version of the decode, which is worse than the current one.

One way to tell is to look at the Nitro’s RAW adjustment to see what sliders are present. If it’s an older DNG then you may only see a Gamut Mapping checkbox. For newer decode versions, there will noise reduction and other sliders.

If you have an image with the older decode, one simple thing you can do is to upgrade the DNG version. You can do that in DNG Converter – point it at your old DNGs and make sure to set the latest decode version (of course, do this on a copy of your older DNG). Then open it in Nitro and see how it looks and what sliders are present.

[Matt H]

Here’s how one of the images in question is rendered by macOS/Apple Photos:

Here’s a link to the DNG file proper: https://drive.proton.me/urls/P2WQYS8DKR#H8bXVb4iyvuM

Here’s how it renders in Nitro if I toggle “Standard RAW Development” off:

The sliders I see in the RAW Tuning section in Nitro for this image are Moire, RAW Sharpen, and RAW Contrast, as well as the Gamut Mapping checkbox. Per the EXIF data, the DNG Version is 1.3.0.0 and the DNG Backward Version is 1.1.0.0. I believe (based on the filename and EXIF tags) that I created this DNG from the original RAW file back in July 2012 using Lightroom 4.1 on Windows.

Thanks!

[Nik Bhatt]

Your images did not come through, just the URL. I opened the file myself. I can see the image looks very flat in the standard rendering (and in Preview), and nicer with the standard rendering off, which is backwards. The culprit is the Boost slider. If you open it with the standard rendering and move Boost to 0.0 the image looks better, but I would not expect that behavior. I can file a bug with Apple if you like, but I will need your permission to include your photo with the bug I file with them. I don’t know if they will fix it, but if we don’t file it, there is no chance they will fix it.

[Matt H]

Hi Nik, sorry about the image links not working, I realized after that they wouldn’t due to the way Proton Drive works (client-side decryption, even for images).

Please do file a bug with Apple! You do have my permission to include my photo with the bug you file.

Thanks!

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