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Sony Alpha 1 RAW support when?

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
January 29, 2021
6 replies
3592 views

Hello,

Are there any estimates when recently announced Sony Alpha 1 RAW files would be supported by Camera RAW? March, April?

Camera support

Correct answer JP Hess

I don't follow camera announcements, haven't seen the announcement for that camera model. If it has only been announced, and hasn't been introduced or released then I question whether it's even on Adobe's radar at this time. Camera companies don't work with Adobe. They aren't concerned about whether or not their raw format is compatible with Adobe software. Camera Raw isn't a concern of theirs. The camera has to be released to the public so that Adobe can acquire the camera and then create support for that specific model. Depending on when the model is actually released, and when that corresponds with the release cycle of Camera Raw will depend on when support will be added. In the meantime, if you decide to purchase model there's nothing preventing you from shooting JPEG images. It won't break the camera. And many times users will complain they don't have features available, not realizing they have actually been shooting in JPEG mode. Adobe adds support for new models as quickly as they can. If the camera manufacturers would adopt the DNG format instead of insisting on their own unique raw format it would really solve a lot of this compatibility problem.

Added later: I did a little searching on this model. Very impressive! I checked a couple of websites that usually offer sample images, and there aren't even sample JPEG images yet. So I suppose it will be a while before there will be raw support for this model. One thing is for sure, however. With that kind of a price tag, it isn't something I will ever have to worry about.

Vũ Hoàng Telecom

Participating Frequently

So I suspect it will be a while before Adobe will provide raw support.

C

CatCynic

Participating Frequently

Did you notice the comment above pointing out that Adobe just shipped RAW support for the A1 in the latest Adobe Camera RAW (13.2)?

T

Tim Dunkler

Participating Frequently

still no support for this cam? cmon adobe pls hurry up.

D Fosse

Community Expert

Tell Sony to provide sample files to Adobe prior to camera release. Or better yet, tell them to start supporting the openly documented DNG specification.

Then the whole problem goes away instantly.

JP Hess

Inspiring

I have looked on a few websites for sample images for this camera model, and there aren't even JPEG samples available yet. So I suspect it will be a while before Adobe will provide raw support.

TheDigitalDog

Inspiring

Until Adobe gets a raw from this camera, they can't even start to support it, sad.

If the camera manufacturers would simply let Adobe sign an NDA and send them the raws a few months before release, you'd have no wait on support. The delay, which will likely be a few months, is totally Sony (and Canon, and Nikon and fill in the blanks) fault. That's the good we photographers get from proprietary raws.

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"

C

CatCynic

Participating Frequently

I don't think we know if it's Sony / Canon / Nikon who won't share with Adobe, or Adobe who won't sign the NDAs... As you point out, it would be in the camera makers interests to share with Adobe, so how come no one does? I suspect it's not as simple as "evil camera companies hate Adobe users".

btw: I see that Capture 1 just announced A1 support. Pity, because I prefer Photoshop and ACR. Still, I doubt it will be much longer.

Conrad_C

Community Expert

@CatCynic wrote:

I don't think we know if it's Sony / Canon / Nikon who won't share with Adobe, or Adobe who won't sign the NDAs...

We do know. Because this isn't a new question. It comes up every time there is a new camera. Below is a link to a post from ten years ago…same question, same answer: Why doesn’t Adobe work with the camera companies? Because the camera companies don’t want to share their proprietary raw formats. The camera companies have been asked over the years, and most refuse.

Photography: Raw File Support - Requests and Information?

In his article about the 30th birthday of Photoshop, Jeff Schewe, who has been involved with Camera Raw and Lightroom from the beginning, wrote:

Camera Raw has been a huge success for the digital photography industry, but it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Photographers constantly complained that Adobe took too long to support their just released new cameras. It seems that the camera companies weren’t too friendly to Adobe and the Camera Raw initiative.

The camera companies wanted control over their own proprietary raw file formats and didn’t want to disclose any secrets to some San Jose software company. All the camera makers–Nikon and Canon in particular–wanted to control “the look” of the raw capture processing because they thought the look was something they could compete on.

And it isn’t just about Adobe. Here’s the same subject discussed from the Apple Aperture point of view:

When will my new camera have RAW support in Aperture?

The fact is, often the software engineers have to reverse-engineer the new RAW formats to make them work with their software, and more importantly, to work at their best with their software. Since the camera manufacturers don’t always send pre-release cameras to the software companies, the folks at Apple and Adobe quite often have to wait until a camera is on the market to start working on support for it.

If another software developer has added raw support for a camera, they have typically reverse-engineered it on their own, just like Adobe and everyone else has to do.

D Fosse

Community Expert

An impressive camera indeed, although the price pushes it almost into the medium format segment along with Phase One and Hasselblad.

If the specs hold up, this is the resolution of a7r, the video and low light capabilities of a7s, and the speed of a9, all rolled into one. The question is - who needs all of that? Not many. There might be a market in fashion/advertising, MF stronghold now, with a camera that basically does all that medium format does, but much faster.

How time flies. It feels like I got the a7r iii a month ago, top of the heap then, and already it's...left behind 😉

thakalaAuthor

Participating Frequently

@D Fosse it is more a sports/wildlife camera than a studio camera, 30 fps should be very good for photographing birds (which I do) since it allows cathing those fleeting moments of bird having wings in perfect pose while taking off or landing.

But is is a lot of money, pricewise Sony is now on par with Canon 1DX3 and Nikon D6

D Fosse

Community Expert

Yes, but 30fps is electronic (silent) shutter only. With mechanical shutter it's 10fps - still fast enough for any practical purpose I should imagine.

Actually, electronic shutter is something you should be very careful with. Rolling shutter effects (strongly slanted and/or curved edges) can ruin an image quickly. I've had a few. It's caused by scanning the sensor line by line, and unfortunately it's often very pronounced at "normal" shutter speeds and quick movements, whether by human or bird. I use it on the a7r iii when I absolutely have to, when I'm not allowed to make any noise whatsoever - but I always turn on the mechanical shutter as quickly as possible.

LED lights and "zebra stripes" is another potential issue with electronic shutter. But I assume you won't be photographing birds indoors... 😉

JP HessCorrect answer

Inspiring

I don't follow camera announcements, haven't seen the announcement for that camera model. If it has only been announced, and hasn't been introduced or released then I question whether it's even on Adobe's radar at this time. Camera companies don't work with Adobe. They aren't concerned about whether or not their raw format is compatible with Adobe software. Camera Raw isn't a concern of theirs. The camera has to be released to the public so that Adobe can acquire the camera and then create support for that specific model. Depending on when the model is actually released, and when that corresponds with the release cycle of Camera Raw will depend on when support will be added. In the meantime, if you decide to purchase model there's nothing preventing you from shooting JPEG images. It won't break the camera. And many times users will complain they don't have features available, not realizing they have actually been shooting in JPEG mode. Adobe adds support for new models as quickly as they can. If the camera manufacturers would adopt the DNG format instead of insisting on their own unique raw format it would really solve a lot of this compatibility problem.

Added later: I did a little searching on this model. Very impressive! I checked a couple of websites that usually offer sample images, and there aren't even sample JPEG images yet. So I suppose it will be a while before there will be raw support for this model. One thing is for sure, however. With that kind of a price tag, it isn't something I will ever have to worry about.

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