Adobe unveils new Digital Negative photo format
Trying to address a problem most people weren't even aware existed, Adobe has created a new file format for digital photos called Digital Negative (DNG) that tries to unify all the different raw formats (images before any in-camera processing) that digital cameras produce. Shooting raw images means you avoid dealing with the compression and loss of image quality involved with shooting JPEGs, but you also have to deal with the fact that each manufacturer basically uses a proprietary format that is specific to their cameras and might not be compatible with Photoshop or other editing software (which is where DNG comes in). They're hoping that DNG'll get adopted as the standard for capturing raw images, and they're definitely going about it the right way and letting anyone who wants to to use the format in their cameras, printers, and software applications for free without any limitations.
