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toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2007
3,293
509
Helsinki, Finland
Of course, nobody who really knows, can't tell about future updates,
but any estimates?
How this has turned out in history?
Months? Half an year? More? Really?
 

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2007
3,293
509
Helsinki, Finland
If there is somebody like me, what is your workflow to use "quick & dirty" Photos for adjusting the pics?
Convert them to uncompressed RAW in Sony's app and then import to Photos?
 

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
No mac users using new Sony alpha cameras?
Or all of them pay Adobe tax?

I'm amazed.

I'm not a Sony user but am an Adobe user.

With that said, does Adobe support them? If they do you should be able to use Adobe's free DNG converter, and Apple definitely does support DNGs. It's an extra step I realize, but an option out there.
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
I am a Sony user, but in this case it doesn't matter; whenever any camera manufacturer releases a new camera body there is a time lag before purchasers can actually shoot in RAW and be able to promptly work with their files, as there needs to be some essential coding done on the part of each company which provides editing software before it is fully ready for prime-time editing in RAW. Not a problem with .jpeg, that can happen right away, but of course many of us don't want to shoot in .jpeg, especially if we have moved far beyond using a dedicated camera for firing off casual snapshots and want real control over our images.

From what I can recall, it usually takes about a month or maybe even two, before all of the various software editing folks have worked out the appropriate coding for the various flavors of RAW and then present that to their users. This is a day welcomed by everyone who has bought a new camera and customarily shoots in RAW, regardless of the camera brand!

I don't use Adobe products for my image editing, but have noticed it is usually within about a month or maybe six weeks from the time of a release of a new camera that DXO PhotoLab usually comes up with a software update which includes the necessary coding for RAW. Adobe and other software producers are also usually right around the same time frame, give or take a week or two in one direction or the other. It's a happy day when a software update pops up and we see that we can finally shoot in our preferred software and our preferred format with a new camera!

Yes, it IS annoying not to have that ability to shoot in RAW right from the get-go, the day one takes the new camera body out of the box, especially if one has purchased and gotten their new camera during the very early release period, but we all have learned to make adjustments. As mentioned above, some people simply just shoot in .jpg for the duration, others try the DNG route, etc., etc.

Another annoyance is that, yes, Apple is not always quick on the ball, either, to acknowledge and code appropriately for new camera bodies and their specific specs and RAW configurations. I find that they tend to lag behind the software editing folks, which I suppose isn't all that surprising. I am always happy when finally Apple does a software update and the next time I open a file of newly shot RAW images in Finder I can actually see them rather than some bland meaningless label and generic icon.
 
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r.harris1

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2012
2,210
12,757
Denver, Colorado, USA
If there is somebody like me, what is your workflow to use "quick & dirty" Photos for adjusting the pics?
Convert them to uncompressed RAW in Sony's app and then import to Photos?
At the end of the day, if you're trying to use Photos to support newer/new-ish cameras, it's potentially true you could be waiting quite a while on MacOS support. They've always been fairly slow, even in the Aperture days, and have gotten slower (or never). Stills photography isn't Apple's priority since they killed Aperture, unfortunately. Check to see if RAWPower supports it. The developer is one of the former leads of Aperture and he tries to do support where Apple doesn't and it integrates nicely with Photos. If he doesn't support it, other and better tools (than Photos) do support it, including Adobe, Capture One and DxO. Cheaper tools include FastRawViewer, Darktable, and others. Choose your poison.

EDIT: I should add that my raw converter is, for me, as important as the lenses and the tripod. It's what stands between me and whoever might view the image. I don't find it to be an annoyance or a commodity (particularly). At the end of the day, a raw converter, be it Adobe or someone else (I use Capture One), is a small price to pay (again, for me).
 

bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
EDIT: I should add that my raw converter is, for me, as important as the lenses and the tripod. It's what stands between me and whoever might view the image. I don't find it to be an annoyance or a commodity (particularly). At the end of the day, a raw converter, be it Adobe or someone else (I use Capture One), is a small price to pay (again, for me).

No argument from me on this one.

It's also why I jump through hoops to use esoteric software with certain cameras. I love what my Kodak DSLRs can do, especially with caucasian skin. Adobe supports the Kodak files, but does IMO an especially poor job with the DCS 14/n and SLR/n files. It's worth using the Kodak software as much of a pain as it is just to work the files.

For a while I was even using Capture One on my Fuji X-T5 files(Capture One Lite Fuji is free), but fortunately recent Lightroom updates have improved to where I don't see a ton of difference. Thank goodness at least I don't have to use Fuji's software, as IMO it offers very little benefit over just shooting JPEG in camera-it's been a little while since I played with it, but after you plug the camera in(it won't work without your camera plugged in) you can change the film sim, do some minor global exposure adjustment, and change the white balance-that's basically it.
 
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bunnspecial

macrumors G3
May 3, 2014
8,352
6,495
Kentucky
Just as a follow-up question too-since the OP mentioned lossless RAW, does Apple support uncompressed RAW from this camera?

As good as lossless is on cameras where I've used it, I've just come around to the decision that storage is cheap and some of the lossless compression algorithms can introduce their own problems. I mentioned Adobe getting better with X-T5 files, but now that I think about it I don't remember if Adobe changed or if I just started shooting uncompressed :)

It is a shame, though, especially on high resolution cameras as in theory there should be no downside to lossless RAW compression but I've seen that there unfortunately sometimes is. Even though storage is cheap, having smaller files is definitely nice when it comes to things like buffer depth and copying the files onto your computer.
 
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r.harris1

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2012
2,210
12,757
Denver, Colorado, USA
was updated 17th of November and does not include ILCE-7CM2.
The camera was released in 29th of August.
Over 4 month ago.
Yeah, Apple isn't really the go-to for fast raw support for the newer cameras, especially when there are multiple versions of raw released by the vendor. They may or may not ever release support. You'd be better off elsewhere.
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
I must have missed where the OP is using Apple's Photos as his mechanism for handling and editing images shot with his camera(s). Ah, OK, so that's somewhat of a different scenario right from the get-go.....

As others have mentioned already in this thread, Apple's priority now is not digital imaging (beyond working with the results from shooting stills just firing off images using Auto Mode, Program Mode or some such -- basically, just pointing-and-shooting using an iPhone, iPad or dedicated P&S camera). Apple is not going to be in any hurry to provide the appropriate coding for utilizing more professional-level editing tools in their Photos app since, well, most people who take a more serious approach to photography are shooting with a different type of gear and using different strategies and software for how they eventually will edit the results of a shooting session with that gear.
 

toke lahti

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 23, 2007
3,293
509
Helsinki, Finland
was updated 17th of November and does not include ILCE-7CM2.
The camera was released in 29th of August.
Over 4 month ago.
There seems to be identical page for Sonoma.
Updated 8th of Dec.

Previous for Ventura was probably updated in 23rd of May.
Before that 31st of Jan.

Which would hint something like one update per 5 months.
Which would point to end of this Jan.

I'm also about to update to Sonoma with my big screen mini, so if the update comes before for Sonoma, I'm ready...
 
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