[Digikam-users] Re: using extracted jpeg as "sidecar" for raw files

[Milan Knížek]

Elle Stone píše v Čt 06. 01. 2011 v 09:50 -0800:
> I don't want to use dng. But I would like a way to tag, caption, etc my raw
> files. I was thinking of extracting the embedded jpegs and using them as a
> handy "side-cars" for the raw files for tagging, rating, etc. Has anyone
> done so? How did it work for you? Any reasons why it is perhaps not such a
> good idea?
> 
I am the less lucky man (like you) - cr2 are not supported (yet) for
metadata writing.

I keep JPEG and raw files in separate directories and add metadata only
to JPEGs. I am not sure if exporting the metadata to XMP as a sidecar
for the corresponding raw file would provide extra benefit - I have the
JPEG already and intend to keep it. Also updating the sidecar for any
changes done in XX thousand image collections might prove difficult.

With the advent of non-destructive editing and xmp sidecars (digikam2,
darktable, possibly others), it is a question whether to keep the JPEGs
or not. Since I edit metadata for even old images now and then, the
major advantage would be time saving when rsyncing the album with the
external backup (xmp is smaller than raw/JPEG).

Yet, I find it better to continue to use JPEGs with raws - at the end, I
would like to have some final "photos" of all of my "negatives", whose
quality (colour, whatever else) is not dependent on the version of raw
convertor used (who would like to bet that non-destructive editing
recipe will work the same after another five years of raw convertor
development?).

My outstanding problems are:

x keep JPEGs and raws in sync (when I delete JPEG as an unwanted image,
I would like to get rid of the raw, too)

x copying metadata from one JPEG to another version of the same picture
re-developed from raw or processed in external editor, which damages
metadata (now the digiKam's GUI is a bit clumsy - hidden in the menu and
hence slow to use)

Both can be solved by some bash scripts, the latter one by assigning it
to "open with" right-click action. (Though, I have not yet written
them...) 

So, that's my workflow.

Milan
-- 
http://www.milan-knizek.net