Olympus ORF file format not recognised in Photoshop Elements 12

ballymoneybaileyboy  wrote I have Photoshop Elements 12 loaded on my Windows 10 laptop. Unfortunately RAW files taken on my camera (Olympus O-MD E-M5 Mkii creating orf files) are not recognised by PE12. The raw plug-in running on PE12 is version 8.5.0.236 and is up to date (according to PE12 updater). RAW files taken on my old camera (Olympus E-PL5 also creating orf files) are recognised by my version of PE12. Anybody any ideas why the later files are not recognised and is there an update I can downlaod?

I'll be referring to the following faq to answer your question:

FAQ: Will Photoshop Elements work with my camera, or Why won't my raw files open?

It explains clearly why no converter can convert the raw files of any camera raw issued after the converter version has been coded.

Each camera comes with its own new version.

Now, you have two links to check if your camera is supported by an ACR conversion plugin.

You can see that your Olympus requires version 9.0.

The other link states which Elements version can be updated to work with a newer ACR plugin.

The result is version 8.5 as you have already found.

So, read the rest of the faq to download a recent version of the free Adobe DNGconverter. This app is not a plugin. It simply converts a whole folder of your raw files to the DNG raw format that your PSE12 can read and edit. An additional batch conversion step, but free and with the same quality.

Note that if you want to upgrade to a recent version of Elements to have an integrated plugin, a new PSE2019 is expected in a few weeks.

Get the latest DNG Converter Mac OS  | Windows

Your camera needs ACR 9.0 but PSE12 cannot be updated any further.

I suggest you use the PSE 2018 free trial for 30 days.

Download the free trial from the link at the bottom of the page:

https://www.adobe.com/products/elements-family.html

Adobe usually releases a new version each year in October; so I’m guessing it may be worthwhile waiting for PSE 2019 before purchasing an upgrade.

If you wish to stick with PSE12 you could use the free DNG converter.