ImageIngester Blog

Catches up to the Mac version, except that thumbnails are shown in only one size. A very new version (maturity = low), so use it with caution.

Here’s what’s new:

• JPEG extraction from some raw types (see this blog entry for details).
• RW2 thumbnails now shown
• improved IPTC template
• NRW added to list of raw types (for DNG Conversion)

Previous versions of ImageVerifier processed non-DNG raws by passing them through Adobe DNG Converter, whereas DNGs were processed internally, using a library supplied by Adobe. The problem with this approach was that ImageVerifier couldn’t handle new DNG versions when they first came out, and users had to wait for an ImageVerifier update.

Now, with Version 1.3.01, ImageVerifier processes DNGs through DNG Converter, so all you have to do to stay updated with new DNG versions is update to the latest DNG Converter, making sure ImageVerifier’s Preferences are set appropriately.

Previous versions of ImageVerifier distinguished between DNGs and non-DNG raws. This is no longer the case; now they are all called simply “raws”.

Because this new version hasn’t been subjected to much field testing by users, treat it with caution.

This new version fixes a longstanding issue with LRViewer not displaying all folders. It also works, experimentally, with Lightroom Version 3, although for that version it displays Folders and Keywords only (not Collections).

Also, the products LRVmaker, SpanBurner, and GPSTrackViewer are no longer available, although support for them will continue for a few months. If you paid for LRVmaker and/or SpanBurner and want a refund because they will no longer be updated, please email me.

Thumbnails weren’t shown correctly in the thumbnail chooser unless a size was chosen from the drop-down. Now fixed.

I’ve just put into a new OS X version (3.4.10) a feature that might change your workflow: You can extract JPEGs from raw files, making it in some cases unnecessary to shoot raw+JPEG because you need JPEGs immediately.

As you may know, some raw formats, including NEF, CR2, PEF, and RW2, contain an embedded full-size JPEG preview (in addition to a small thumbnail, in some cases). ImageIngester can now extract that JPEG and put it into a subfolder under the Primary Folder named JPEG. (You can’t customize the folder location.) Extracted JPEGs include EXIF and IPTC metadata taken from the raw. However, there’s no support for GPS tagging of extracted JPEGs, unless you ingest them again, of course.

The new checkbox to turn on JPEG extraction is on the File Handling Details panel:

XMP Metadata is always written to extracted JPEGs (if metadata is enabled) regardless of the setting of the Merge XMPs checkbox.

There are two other new features in Version 3.4.10:

• Thumbnails for RW2 raws are now shown in the thumbnail viewer. (And full-size JPEGs can be extracted, as mentioned above.)
• There’s a new metadata template, installed automatically, that’s more compatible with Microsoft Expression Media. (Half my support questions are related to metadata problems, so I plan additional work to make this part of ImageIngester more robust.)

This version is only for OS X right now. I expect to have the Windows version ready shortly.

Please send requests for additional raws form which JPEGs might be extracted, but it may not be possible to get a JPEG out, as some raws don’t store previews any larger than a thumbnail, and some don’t store their previews as JPEGs. And, there are some raw formats that I haven’t yet figured out how to parse. (Camera makers almost never document their raw formats.)

No need to ask about extracting previews from DNGs, as that’s already on my list. However, this feature is of limited use, because, of the few cameras that use DNG as their raw format, probably none includes a large preview.

You’re probably wondering if the extracted JPEG is the same as a raw+JPEG JPEG. I don’t know—I just extract what’s there. If anyone runs experiments along these lines, please let me know what you think.

–Marc

Sorry for the false alarm on Sunday… version 3.4.01 had a few little problems, now fixed. So, go ahead and download 3.4.02.

For OS X and Windows, the new version is 3.4.01. Ineffective for raws that don’t include a sufficiently large preview image, or for raws that the thumbnail chooser can’t process. Ingestion proceeds normally whether thumbnails are shown or not, of course. Works fine for NEFs, CR2s, JPEGs, and a few other formats.

You choose the size via a drop-down on the chooser panel.

Version 3.3.05 had installation problems on XP which are now fixed in this version. In addition, a bug that caused destination paths to be wrong has been fixed. (This bug didn’t result in any missing images, but it could cause the folder names to be wrong.)

I’ve tested this version on XP; if you have any difficulties with it let me know.

Two users have reported installation problems, and I won’t be able to track down and fix the cause until after the Holiday weekend, so I’ve temporarily disabled the download link. As there was no change to the ImageIngester application itself, Version 3.3.03 should work fine, and its link is still there.

This problem doesn’t affect the Mac version.