Things to do with DCS420 raw/TIF files

[Ross_Alford]

Just thought I would pass this on, in case anyone hasn't discovered it for themselves.

It turns out that an undocumented feature of Adobe Camera Raw, at least versions 3.1 and 3.2, is that it will read DCS420 TIF (really raw) files. The documentation only mentions newer Kodak DSLRs, but the program works, and does a really excellent job. USE ACR and interpolate up to 6 MP and you will be amazed at the image quality. Not as good as a 6 MP camera, but I think it is about as good as the 3 MP Nikon D1, except for a bit more color and pattern moire that occasionally shows up. Obviously, not having an anti-aliasing filter in front of the CCD really does make for much higher resolution per pixel. Camera Raw does a far, far better job than the Kodak TWAIN driver.

The version of Adobe DNG converter that came with camera Raw 3.1 also works, and will convert DCS420 files to the Adobe DNG (digital negative, a generic raw file format, in case you did not know) format. This is probably a good idea for any raw files you may want to open in the future, as support for this camera will probably disappear completely eventually, and even the TWAIN driver from Kodak could become unuseable in future versions of Windows, while the DNG format is supposed to be supported forever (well, that is what they say).

I don't know about other versions of Camera Raw or the DNG converter, haven't tried them. The DNG converter is, as I recall, free for anyone to use, even if you don't use Photoshop, and can be downloaded from Adobe.

I now have some sample images at http://www.pbase.com/northqueenslandpho ... sicdigital that show what the 420 can do. Even with ACR there is a bit of a battle with reddish colour casts, but other than that, image quality can be excellent.

cheers,
Ross Alford

[NikonWeb]

Good advise.

I believe there are still a few programs that will read these files, but converting to DNG can prove to be a smart move. You never know with these things. Better safe than sorry.

Jarle

[GePet0]

I was getting 192x128 bw thumbnail tifs and wondering if somehow I had a DCS420M. Then I noticed that the TIF files were 1.5 MB. To make a long story short, download the free Adobe DNG converter, download the free Irfanview file viewer. Both programs will do files in batches. Convert the TIF files to JPEG and Wow! This is a cheap, antique camera? With a modern Autofocus lens it is as fast as a point and shot and has a lot more capability. I have posted some pictures @ http://ibgp3.com/dcs420/default.htm to ask for advice. I don't see any sign of infrared. I had figured to get a hot mirror filter first thing, but it doesn't look like I need it. Is it possible that there is an internal filter of some kind?