Help with .rw2 format

[Kin Lau]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

If you look around the net this is an old and tired argument.

Yes, its an old and tired argument, which is exactly why I've left it alone, and I won't get into it here either.

[Kin Lau]

Originally Posted by Dennis Vogel

Then my Windows must be missing something because my GH2 raw images cannot be previewed with the right-click Preview which I believe runs the Windows Photo Viewer. Likewise, when I navigate into a folder with .RW2 files in it I don't see a thumbnail of the photo. Instead I see the icon below.

Any idea where my embedded JPG files went or how to get Windows to see them? BTW, I did install the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack to try to get Vegas to handle my .RW2 files.

D

It surprised me, especially since the GH2 has been around for such over a year, but the latest MS Camera Codec pack does _not_ support the GH2. See Download: Microsoft Camera Codec Pack - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details .

I typically use Irfanview to view my GH2 rw2's, and then use Photoshop to convert. The "Save As"or "Convert" function from within Irfanview will extract the embedded jpg. Typically, I use Irfanview to extract the jpgs from the several thousand raw files after a wedding as a quick preview. Even with my quad-core laptop, raw conversion takes a few hours for that many files, but Irfanview will pull the embedded jpgs in about 15min's.

Other free software you can use to do an actual RAW conversion (gives you control over white balance, an
extra stop or two of headroom for highlights and shadows, better noise reduction etc) is GIMP or Raw Therapee. Those are two that I've used, but there are many others.

[Nigel Barker]

We always shoot RAW on both the Canon DSLRs & GH2. Why not? It doesn't cost anything so why not use the best quality available? The amount of disk space compared to what video uses is peanuts. I can shoot stills in RAW all day on one 32GB card. RAW files are like digital negatives. RAW has better dynamic range & I can e.g. recover details from blown highlights or properly fix incorrect white balance. It's like my XF305 & XF105 camcorders can record at 50Mbps or 35Mbps but we always use the higher rate as it's always preferable to have the best possible quality & any downside in terms of needing extra storage space on the memory cards is irrelevant.

RAW conversion on the Mac can be totally transparent if you use Preview or iPhoto. If you want to send an email with a JPEG you just drag a RAW file onto the email message & the conversion is automatic. You can also use specialised software like DXO Optics for the ultimate in high quality conversion.

[Corey Graham]

I always shoot raw, and prefer it very much to just capturing JPG. I agree with everything Nigel said.

[Dennis Vogel]

Originally Posted by Kin Lau

It surprised me, especially since the GH2 has been around for such over a year, but the latest MS Camera Codec pack does _not_ support the GH2. See Download: Microsoft Camera Codec Pack - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details .

I typically use Irfanview to view my GH2 rw2's, and then use Photoshop to convert. The "Save As"or "Convert" function from within Irfanview will extract the embedded jpg. Typically, I use Irfanview to extract the jpgs from the several thousand raw files after a wedding as a quick preview. Even with my quad-core laptop, raw conversion takes a few hours for that many files, but Irfanview will pull the embedded jpgs in about 15min's.

Other free software you can use to do an actual RAW conversion (gives you control over white balance, an
extra stop or two of headroom for highlights and shadows, better noise reduction etc) is GIMP or Raw Therapee. Those are two that I've used, but there are many others.

Kin,

Yes, once I found out that the codec pack doesn't support GH2 raw I went back to the old, reliable Irfanview as my photo viewer. But I'm still confused about the raw files having JPEGs embedded in them. You said the embedded JPEG was how Windows knew how to preview the raw files. But apparently that's not the case. My experience--which I believe you confirmed--is that whether the codec pack is installed or not, I cannot preview GH2 raw files in Windows 7. Is there another reason JPEG files would be embedded in raw files?

When I use Irfanview and do a "Save As", I get a dialog offering me choices for the quality and other options for the JPEG file I'm saving. (This dialog also offers me the option of saving as a GIF file or JPEG.) Are the default setting for the "Save As" in fact how the JPEG was embedded in the raw file? Are there options I can set for the size and quality for the embedded JPEG when the photo is taken and the raw file is created in the GH2? Also, I'm trying to figure out why I'd ever need to use the GH2 option to save both a raw and JPEG file when I take a picture if there's an embedded JPEG already in the raw file. Since none of this is documented in the GH2 manual where I can find some info on this feature that is common to all raw files, as you say.

Also, what is the "Convert" option in Irfanview that you mention? I only see an "Image -> Convert to Grayscale" menu option. Does your Irfanview offer something else? Perhaps it's a plugin that I don't have.

D

[Roy Feldman]

Google is your friend: LUMIX RAW Codec software download | Download | Digital Camera | Digital AV | Consumer Products | Support | Panasonic Global

[Kin Lau]

Originally Posted by Dennis Vogel

My experience--which I believe you confirmed--is that whether the codec pack is installed or not, I cannot preview GH2 raw files in Windows 7. Is there another reason JPEG files would be embedded in raw files?

When I use Irfanview and do a "Save As", I get a dialog offering me choices for the quality and other options for the JPEG file I'm saving. (This dialog also offers me the option of saving as a GIF file or JPEG.) Are the default setting for the "Save As" in fact how the JPEG was embedded in the raw file? Are there options I can set for the size and quality for the embedded JPEG when the photo is taken and the raw file is created in the GH2? Also, I'm trying to figure out why I'd ever need to use the GH2 option to save both a raw and JPEG file when I take a picture if there's an embedded JPEG already in the raw file. Since none of this is documented in the GH2 manual where I can find some info on this feature that is common to all raw files, as you say.

Also, what is the "Convert" option in Irfanview that you mention? I only see an "Image -> Convert to Grayscale" menu option. Does your Irfanview offer something else? Perhaps it's a plugin that I don't have.

D

Hi Dennis,

The jpeg is embedded for systems that know how to read it... MS is rather dumb in how it reads RAW, since my Hyperdrive which has firmware from over 1 year ago, knows how to view the embedded jpeg. Also, when reviewing your shots using the camera, the image you see is the embedded jpeg, not the actual raw file. When you consider how long it takes to write one raw file out to the memory card (several seconds on the GH2) - reviewing is much faster, because the camera knows to just read the much smaller embedded jpeg. In other words, the camera just reads the first meg or so for the jpeg instead of the 20megs for the whole raw file.

When you choose the camera to save both a jpeg and raw, you control the size and quality of the jpeg, and you also don't need any special tools to extract the jpeg. The jpeg embedded in a RAW file is arbitrary. For example, on my old 1Ds, it's a tiny low res version, something like 640x400, even tho is a 11MP camera. On my 7D, the embedded jpeg is always 18MP regardless of whether I choose the 18MP, 10MP or 4MP RAW size.

In Irfanview, under the File menu, "Batch Conversion/Rename" is the option I'm referring to.

It's all just stuff I've learned over the past 10 years dealing with jpeg, raw, processing software etc. I have gone thru a dozen different DSLR's and have over 2 terabytes of RAW and JPEGs, so I've tinkered with the stuff a fair bit :)

[Dennis Vogel]

Originally Posted by Roy Feldman

Google is your friend: LUMIX RAW Codec software download | Download | Digital Camera | Digital AV | Consumer Products | Support | Panasonic Global

Roy,

Thanks for the link. I see that page does *not* mention the GH2 as one of the Supported Models. Is this just a case of the documentation failing to keep up with the software? I see the date is Oct. 27, 2009 so I could easily believe this to be the case. But, in any case, this is the right codec for the GH2, correct?

D

[Update]: Spoke a bit too soon. When I tried to install this codec I get the error:

An operating system supported for this software installation is not
installed on this computer.
Installation has ended.

Do I read right on the Panny web page that only 32-bit Windows systems are supported? WTF? I'm running 64-bit and I would have guessed a lot of other folks are, too. I guess this *is* really old software. Any other suggestions?

[Roy Feldman]

try this: Download: Microsoft Camera Codec Pack - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details
It doesn't mention GH2 but works with 64bit

[Dennis Vogel]

Roy, as I mentioned earlier, I already installed the MS Codec Pack. It made no difference in which programs recognize .RW2 files as before I installed it.

D

[Roy Feldman]

Don't know what to say Dennis, shows up on my Win7 63bit with the MS link I sent, no problem.

[Dennis Vogel]

Very strange. When I get some time, I think I'll uninstall/reinstall that codec pack and see what happens. Until then, I can manage using Irfanview to preview my files.

Thanks.

D