EXIF Tags Missing on DNG Raw Images

[brett8883]

Thank you Brett. Your response was respectful to my original inquiry. I appreciate the background and it makes total sense to me now. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to explain the nuances of DNG file formats. I suspect now, that the pixel dimensions for the DNG as displayed in Windows properties, is actually for the imbedded thumbnail. I'm sure I'm wrong there as well, so I'll consider the matter moot.

That’s correct. It’s giving the dimensions of the imbedded thumbnail image not the raw image.

 

[sbunting]

Let me jump in here and see if I can muddy the waters some more ;->

What you are experiencing with your file viewer (Faststone) and DNG's has been the subject of many discussions. FastStone Image Viewer and extracting Jpg's from RAW DNG's - PentaxForums.com This one is pretty good...

DNG is an Adobe creation, Digitial NeGative, if you will. The DNG embeds the EXIF information shortly after the beginning of a file in an XMP file format. I'm putting two DNG's side-by-side (DJI DNG and a Canon DNG) and you can see that DJI is creating a fully compliant XMP format for that information, so DJI is not playing games with Windows or the like.

DNG's are raw files and not every file viewer out there can read the full raw data, but they can easily read the EXIF data in XMP format and they can pull out the thumbnail, which is a JPG file format. This is a low resolution image and doesn't contain its own EXIF information therein. It doesn't need to. Its purpose is a thumbnail for previewing only.

I've located the embedded JPG in the same DJI DNG file referenced already and for which there is a screenshot of its XMP EXIF data. I've attached a screenshot showing that JPG in a hex viewer. The shaded or selected area is the beginning of the JPG. I extracted out that JPG and made it into a JPG file. I've attached a hex view of it and there is no EXIF data seen therein.

If you look at the JPG that is embedded. It is a low resolution file for sure and you can see it in the attached file.

If you read that discussion over the Pentax forums, you'll see that the best bet is for you to find a good file viewer in Windoze that handles DJI DNG's.

 

[mavicbopper]

Simple, Windows explorer is not a file viewer, it is a file finder. Then you use the proper program to open the file.

If one finds the file using Windows Explorer and then opens it by double clicking on it, you will then see it in the default viewer (assuming you haven't selected and set a preferred image viewer). It's there when you can encounter a viewer's inability to handle the image's color space - thus rendering a completely different look than you produced in-camera or at post.