Some advanced digital cameras and ILCs supports the RAW format, which many serious photographers prefer over JPEG for its flexibility and power. For Sony cameras equipped with the option to take photos in RAW, Windows users have to install the free software Image Data Converter from the Sony website in order to make use of Sony's own .ARW file extension.
Having recently purchased a Sony NEX-3NL ILC, I was curious how good the Sony RAW support was on a Linux machine. Linux users running openSUSE 12.2 KDE (I haven't upgraded to the most recent release yet) already have RAW support through the excellent showFoto, digiKam and DNGConverter, which come preinstalled in the release. If you're running openSUSE sporting a different desktop environment or your openSUSE version doesn't include the aforementioned applications, all are available in the main repositories.
1. DNGConverter - DNGConverter is a batch converter for RAW files. For users who prefer the more common Adobe DNG, DNGConverter can process Sony's .ARW files and convert them to DNG complete with a JPEG preview thumbnail which can be viewed in file managers such as Dolphin. DNGConverter was able to recognize photos taken using the Sony NEX-3NL without issues and on a Toshiba NB520 netbook was able to successfully convert several huge .ARW files in a few minutes.
2. showFOTO - showFOTO is a photo manager and viewer that displays RAW files even without converting to DNG. Besides providing previews of my folder of .ARW files, the application also listed essential metadata from my Sony NEX-3NL photos such as Lens, Aperture, ISO, and Flash settings. ShowFOTO also includes basic photo-editing tools such as Aspect Ratio Crop and Levels adjustment.
3. digiKam - Digikam has been around for awhile in Linux and it shows with its meticulous design and robust functionality. On first run, DigiKam will prompt users instructions on how to handle RAW files. DigiKam's setup wizard may seem inconvenient at first but when you start working with .ARW files, the options you selected during setup really do affect your workflow (particularly on whether you want a reduced image or the original image displayed during previews). DigiKam has a generous amount of menu options and investing time in learning all the features is rewarding.
ShowFOTO is excellent for basic RAW tasks but for users who want to do more, digiKam is recommended especially if you're doing your work on a big display or desktop replacement (the interface felt cluttered on my Toshiba NB520, which really isn't DigiKam's fault).
Prior to finally upgrading my point-and-shoot camera to an ILC, I always wondered why the openSUSE developers bundled showFOTO, digiKam and DNGConverter with openSUSE KDE. Now that I'm using a Sony NEX-3NL and the .ARW format, I now know why. So if you're hesitating about using RAW due to your predominantly Linux machines, don't worry - RAW receives great support on Linux.
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