P: New Camera Raw File Support - Requests & Information

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

For a complete overview of camera support in Photoshop and Lightroom, visit the following article:

Why doesn't my version of Photoshop or Lightroom support my camera?

1. Make sure your version of Photoshop or Lightroom is updated for the latest camera support.
2. If you own an older version of Photoshop or Lightroom, Adobe provides backward compatibility for the latest cameras through the FREE Adobe DNG Converter.

Note: ETAs for specific cameras are not available. 

[John R Ellis]

@arturod99589466asks, "I also have a sony a7 iv camera and it would be important to know when we will be able to read the raw files.'

Though Adobe almost never announces release schedules, historically support for a new camera from a leading manufacturer is usually included in the release following the camera's announcement but sometimes in the release after that. The Sony A7 IV was announced 10/21/21.  LR releases roughly every 8 weeks, so we might expect to see LR 11.1 sometime in December.  (This is just an educated guess based on past releases over many years.)

[nickpowellphotography]

If you search the community, you will find that this question is being posted numerours times every day!  The short answer is.... Nobody knows, you will have to wait.

[fred4242]

Customers have the right to ask and show their concern anyways.

[Erik Vos - Het Lab]

I also can't import images from my new Sony A7iv. Although I have a subscription to the creative Cloud. I can see there are new updates for Photoshop (23.0.2) and Lightroom Classic (11.0.1), but I will have to update from Mojave (10.14.6) to Catalina (10.15) and I will lose a lot of small handy apps (like Graphic Converter!).
But, as I understand, that will still not help me with the files from my camera? Is Photoshop 23.0.2 not able to open the RAW files from the A7iv?
And the DNG converter Adobe suggests is not to be installed on OS 10.14.6 and version 13 will not open the newest RAW files. Thanks for no help with that!

[john beardsworth]

Not yet. As explained a few times in this thread, Adobe can't start work on supporting a new camersa until it's released, and then support comes in a reasonable time thereafter. No-one knows, but I'd expect that to be over the next month.

[anttir49049982]

Adobe! Fix your damn software and update it to work with new cameras. Seriously, I have two Sony a7iv paper weights sitting on my shelf because you don't give a rat's butt about customer experience. Or are you willing to pay me back for every day your software doesn't work?

[Ryan22161322j19r]

Surely Adobe want to keep Sony shooters, right? What's the point in getting a new camera if I can't use the images it takes? Surely this is becoming a bigger and bigger issues the more cameras arrive with Sony customers.

[john beardsworth]

Surely Adobe want to keep Sony shooters, right? What's the point in getting a new camera if I can't use the images it takes?

By @Ryan22161322j19r

Yes, so the indignation should go in both directions. How would you feel if Apple sold you a 6G phone? Not too bad if all the evidence suggested that your phone network would support it within a month or so?

[fred4242]

There is a noticable difference there. You don't buy phones on a subscription model paying for them before you can use them. And you would problaqbly not pay for a 6G phone plan before it was implemented. Also your phone would be usable in the mean time. Right now my LR is actually not usable at all for me, as it cannot read the files from my camera.

I wouldn't care much about this issue with Adobe if they just verified that they are working on the support and it will come in the next update and give a time whitin a week or two when this will be unless delayed.

[john beardsworth]

Sure, you probably wouldn't buy that 6G phone until your subscription could be switched. And yes, if you did, it would still be usable in the meantime - which is what Sony would say about your camera now, wouldn't they?

Years of evidence suggests that Adobe will be working on this camera, that support should be in the next update, and points to when we can expect that update. Sometimes Adobe and the camera makers' release schedules mean it's barely a week between getting the camera and being able to process its raw fles, sometimes it's a month or so.

[stevenb72356121]

Come on Adobe..

[ItsJonnyKeeley]

Why is everyone defending Adobe on this? This is the same leadership that decided that two different versions of Lightroom was a good idea. They made them very similar but were careful to make sure neither is perfect. 

Imagine how much faster they could implement these updates if they weren't also working on two applications that do the same job. I half expect them to launch Lightroom Classic Remastered soon. 

[john beardsworth]

Not defending - are some attacking? It's more a case of just explaining the timescale and how the responsibility is not Adobe's alone.

It's probaby good that software engineers aren't generally responsible for product naming shenanigans!

[TheDigitalDog]

John, if you provide facts about this decades-old continuing issue, to people who just now realize it's a problem, to them you are defending one side.

If you provide facts about the development of software to people unlike you and me, who have actually produced software, you are defending one side.

We both know when they will get the update and we both know this group will go away until the next camera ships when yet another proprietary raw ships with it and we slog through this again sadly. 

Some simply can not accept the decade of facts nor history presented. But we tried, we tried. 

What's the old saying about shooting the messengers? 😢

[Domscillator]

Capture One already supports the Sony A7IV, just saying. 

https://www.captureone.com/en/explore-features/tech-specs/camera-support-sony

I still think Adobe should prioritize things like this, especially for such big releases like the Sony A7IV.

[john beardsworth]

Released only today. Sometimes they can be a week or two ahead, sometimes LR's schedule fits in better with the camera makers' release dates.

[nickpowellphotography]

Just downloaded Capture One 22, and it is absolutely AMAZING!!  Will be using that for now, and may even stick with it and cancel my Abode subscription to use C1 and Affinity Photo.

[Erik Vos - Het Lab]

Thanks for the tip! Capture One does almost exact what Lightroom does AND it will process the new RAW format form the A7iv camera. Nice solution for now.

[Strobist Dude]

Can you edit & export with trial version?

[Strobist Dude]

And is C1 any faster than LR?

[nickpowellphotography]

Yes, in my opinion it is faster. However I find that it renders RAW files way more accurately with better colours.

The only thing is that it is VERY expensive.

[fred4242]

You can buy it for $229. THat is notexpensive in my eyes.

[Bert - MYS]

Stop complaining and pay your monthly fee to be able to use the lastest update of your Lightroom or Photoshop.

You hear what you want in latest update... You know when you pay, not when you'll be able to use your gear...

Adobe is a tiny company you know, the few developpers in the team need time to figure out how manage RAW files... (its not something they do much often...).  And Sony is bad! They don't give the files! Booooooooh!!!!

Honestly head quarters in both companies should work a tiny bit together in order to avoid thoses pages and pages of complaints...

I do try to figure out why a world top camera manufacturer would not be agree to have their latest gear working seemlessly with the most used photo editing softwear in the world the day their product is out... And I don't understand... Unless they don't really care about their clients...

You are paying anyways, it seems to be enough. Complaints, droping the hype, whatever the situation is, they are too big to fail and they know it. They don't even bother to answer you... That's how much they care about you...

Oh and by the way! It's YOUR fault!

You should have checked out if your software is compatible with your camera before you purchased it! Haaaaaa...

Ok so I pay for a constant updated softwear every months, but I should check if it is updated before I buy gear... Right... Thanks guys that's all make sense...

I do complain to Sony too BTW, they are exactly like Adobe, they don't seem to care much...

[serhat22084429elmb]

I recently bought a Sony a 7 IV (ILCE 7M4), but unfortunately I can not open the raw files (arw) in Lightroom. When is this issue going to be solved, or when will the new update come? 

[John R Ellis]

@serhat22084429elmb asks, "I recently bought a Sony a 7 IV (ILCE 7M4), but unfortunately I can not open the raw files (arw) in Lightroom. When is this issue going to be solved, or when will the new update come?"

Though Adobe almost never announces release schedules, historically support for a new camera from a leading manufacturer is usually included in the release following the camera's announcement but sometimes in the release after that. The Sony A7 IV was announced 10/21/21, five days before the release of LR 11.0.  LR releases roughly every 8 weeks, so we might expect to see LR 11.1 sometime in December.  (This is just an educated guess based on past releases over many years.)