This is interesting: digital photographers are banding together to educate the public about the lack of open standards with respect to digital photography "raw" file formats. They hope to pressure the manufacturers to release the standards to allow 3rd party software manufacturers the ability to read/write these currently proprietary formats.
Hi Gen
Thanks for posting about the OpenRAW
initiative underway at http://OpenRAW.org
I'm one of many serious photographers working
to make this happen.
It's eminently achievable for a number of
reasons:
[1] It's the right thing to do. Once taken,
the latent digital image is the property of
the photographer. By not documenting the RAW
file formats, manufacturers in effect are locking
up OUR property and refusing to hand over the key.
[2] Camera makers who document their RAW formats
will make more money than those who do not. Documented raw file formats become a platform.
Platforms thrive due to network effects aka
complements. Think Windows vs Mac. 19 to 1
in sales. Anyone can build a Windows box. Only
Apple can build a Mac.
It is in the interests of ALL parties -- photographers, viewers of photographs, manufacturers of cameras, software houses, people
in the future --- to have openly documented
RAW file formats. Thus, it WILL happen.
Thanks again for your help spreading the
word.
Stanley Krute