[Digikam-devel] digikam PNG workflow...

[fj.cruz at supercable.es]

Hi everybody,

I've the last member that has joined to the team, so I've been waiting to readd the larger number of messages from the others memebers and these are my conclusions:

About file formats:

Actually, RAW format is the more similar to a “Digital Negative” althought it's so far from to be an unified and standar format since each manufacturer has his own format.
DNG, nowdays, is neither an standard nor an extended format, but in a future (no far future?), it'll be able to be a “de facto” standard (like pdf?).
I agree that PNG is, possibly, one of the best formats: metadata, losless compresion, etc. But it has been unable to make its own “hole” between the graphics formats in an “inter-platform” level. (Hmm, I don't know if you can understand this paragraph).
About JPEG format, everybody know that, probably, this is the worst format to image storage/processing: (losly, 8-bits capable only, etc.) but it's  a format that all the digital cameras (i know) are capables to handle.

About digiKam:

If an app wants to be a wide-use tool, for a large range of users, it can't promote a particular file format. It can neither force to use, as default, a particular format, but to allow to the user to set his own choice.
As develop team, we have to try that the level support for all formats, are similars.
We have to find the balance between the developers think about what is technicaly the best and what the user wants/needs: probably, a standar user won't want his photos in png format (altought it's the best)  if the Photo Labs waits for JPEG's or TIFF's files.
We haven't to forget to provide with metadata read/write ability to digiKam. I think it's a feature in great demand.

As Gilles used to say: my 10 €cnt. :-). I hope it's usefull.

PD.: excuse my poor English.

Paco.