ACR/Photoshop/Lightroom fail to load large losslessly compressed Nikon NEFs

[Horshack]

Adobe Camera Raw / Photoshop / Lightroom / DNG Converter all fail to load a losslessly-compressed Nikon Z9 NEF if it's greater than a certain size.

I have a losslessly compressed Z9 .NEF that's 84,490 KiB in size. Attempting to load the file into any of Adobe's apps fails. See attached screenshot. The same NEF loads successfully in Nikon's NX Studio application.

Link to file: NEF File 

This is a photograph of a screen displaying a noise pattern generated using Photoshop -> Filter -> Add Noise (value = 100%)

This is not specific to an individual file - I can recreate the issue by photographing a subject that results in a .NEF of this size. I can avoid the issue by altering the subject to reduce the detail and resulting file size. 

Versions:Details

Windows 10.0.19044 Build 19044

Photoshop 24.6.0

Adobe Camera Raw version 15.4

[TheDigitalDog]

Can you upload one of the problematic raws to something like Dropbox? 

[Horshack]

Good idea, I updated the OP with a Dropbox link

[TheDigitalDog]

I can't open it either. But can using RawDigger and it sure looks odd:

Is the issue only with this one document? 

It is compressed, not knowing all the iterations of Nikon's raw options, that alone could be the issue, so try with a camera setting for a 'normal' raw and let us know if it opens. 

[Horshack]

It's a photograph of a monitor displaying a Gaussian noise pattern generated in Photoshop. The lossy versions of the same photograph are much smaller and load without error.

[TheDigitalDog]

The kind of compression might be the issue. 

See: https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html

see note

[steveaumonte]

@TheDigitalDog, The issue is ACR not properly decoding the file. It's a valid NEF that loads in other utilities, including Nikon's and, as you discovered, RawDigger. 

[TheDigitalDog]

Not all NEFs (or other flavors) of raws are supported by Adobe. So again, if this works with the lossy version AND your NEF falls into the unsupported group as outlined, there's nothing wrong here and nothing you can do other than use a supported NEF (or file a feature request for the others, which isn't going to get much traction). 

[Horshack]

The NEF is supported by Adobe. It's listed in the Adobe supplied table and link you posted. Adobe has supported Nikon's lossless compressed NEFs in every Nikon camera going back over a decade. The fact the lossy version of this scene doesn't fail to load is not an indication that lossless NEFs are suddenly not supported - it's an indication of a bug in Adobe's processing for a certain size of a lossless NEF. All of my other lossless Z9 NEFs properly load in Photoshop.

[TheDigitalDog]

All of my other lossless Z9 NEFs properly load.

By @Horshack

Well, something is then hosed with this one NEF! If again it is just the one as you suggest, that you can't open. 

No I can't open it either. So again, OTHER NEFs shot the same way open? It appears you're saying yes, they do.

What is clear is the URL provided specifies one condition where some NEFs are not supported. 

What makes this one compressed NEF different from the others that can be accessed?

At least you have one (and more might be useful) uploaded so Adobe can access them and see what's going on.

[Horshack]

Please reread my OP. The problem is not specific to this particular NEF. If I retake a photograph of the same scene that NEF will not load either. The NEF properly loads in Nikon's applications. Other NEFs of the same lossless compression type but with different content properly load in Adobe's applications. A NEF of this content but with lossy compression load in Adobe's applications. The problem is related to the size of the NEF, not the type. This large size NEF cannot be generated using the lossy setting of the camera due to the compression keeping the size below the threshold causing the issue in Adobe's applications, which is why the lossy version of the scene properly loads. 

[TheDigitalDog]

Well now you have found a means to supply a problematic NEF to Adobe. 

Let's see if any other Z9 users can do the same.

Over and out.

[D Fosse]

Does this particular compression setting reduce the pixel dimensions of the file?

Not familiar with current Nikons, but with Sony, all options that downsample the file are unsupported in ACR/Lr. All options that maintain the full sensor resolution are supported.

IOW it's not the compression as such, but the downsampling. Probably because the downsampled file can't be demosaiced properly.

[Horshack]

No, this is a full-sized FX image. Everybody, keep in mind I can take two photos using the exact same camera settings, one of a highly-detailed subject and another not, and only the highly-detailed NEF will fail to load. This should resolve any questions/doubts about whether it's an unsupported file type, or camera setting, or any other variable that can be questioned. The issue is entirely the content of the photograph and how that leads to a larger than typical NEF.