Format policies

Main Page > Documentation > Format-specific preservation issues

Format	Preservation action plan	Issues and links
NEF (Nikon Electronic Format, also known as Nikon Image Format)	Possible normalization to Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) format	NEF is a raw (i.e. pre-processed) image format produced by Nikon cameras. Xena incorrectly guesses the file type as TIFF and normalizes as it would a TIFF, with the result that a very large file (e.g. 70 MB) is normalized to a very small one (eg. 250 KB) with considerable loss of data. Xena also removes embedded data added during image editing, converting the data to an XMP file. The result is that any edits added by the creator are removed. NEF is a proprietary format with an unpublished specification. NEF files can be very large - 70 MB or more. PRONOM provides only outline information for NEF files: see PRONOM: Nikon Digital SLR Camera Raw Image File. Much more detailed information on NEF files is available at Library of Congress Sustainability of Digital Formats: Camera Raw Formats. Library of Congress states that Adobe Digital Negative (DNG), Version 1.1 may be emerging as a standard preservation format for raw camera images. Adobe provides a free (but not open-source) Adobe DNG Converter designed for downloading to Windows or Mac computers.