DNG File Format (.dng)

A DNG file holds either the raw mosaiced data straight off a camera's sensor or, in its demosaiced 'linear DNG' form, already-processed image data, wrapped in a TIFF/EP-based container that also carries the camera settings, colour data and previews a raw editor needs to render it.

.dngImage Files

DNG at a glance#

Full name	Digital Negative
File extension	.dng
Category	Image Files
Developer	Adobe
First released	2004
MIME types	image/x-adobe-dngimage/x-raw-adobe
Compression	Lossy or lossless, depending on how the file was written
Specification	ISO 12234-4:2026 (Digital Negative)
FileFlip support	FileFlip reads this format but does not write it

What a .dng file can hold#

These are the things a DNG file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.

Lossless compression	Yes
Embedded metadata	Yes
Colour profiles	Yes
High dynamic range	Yes

Strengths and limitations of DNG#

What DNG does well

The specification is published free of charge and royalty-free, so any developer can write a DNG encoder or decoder without a licensing deal
A standard DNG carries the same unprocessed, mosaiced sensor data as the camera's native raw file, keeping the same exposure and white-balance latitude
The U.S. Library of Congress lists DNG as a preferred format for archiving photographs, ranking proprietary raw formats below it
The same DNG file opens in Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom, Capture One and roughly 200 other raw-processing products without a camera-specific plugin

Where DNG falls short

Outside Leica, Pentax and Ricoh, Hasselblad and a few Sigma models, camera makers do not shoot DNG natively, so Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and Fujifilm shooters have to convert to it after the fact
Settings one company's software writes into a DNG are not reliably recognized once a different company's software opens the same file
Adobe's DNG Converter has to specifically support the camera model being converted, so a brand-new camera's raw files may not convert until Adobe adds that model
Some past versions of the Adobe DNG Converter did not preserve all the raw data from certain camera models, which is why keeping the original raw file alongside the DNG is standard advice

Convert to DNG when you want an archival copy of a raw capture that stays readable by future software, instead of depending on one camera maker keeping its proprietary raw format supported.

Convert DNG to JPEG or TIFF when a file needs to open outside raw-capable software, such as for sharing, printing or the web, since a DNG still needs a raw processor to turn its sensor data into a viewable picture.

How to open a .dng file#

A .dng file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts DNG into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.

Platform	Programs that open it
Windows	Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Capture One, Microsoft Photos, ACDSee
macOS	Apple Photos, Preview, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Capture One
Linux	digiKam, RawTherapee, darktable
iOS	Adobe Lightroom, Apple Photos
Android	Adobe Lightroom, Google Photos
Web	FileFlip

DNG questions people ask#

What software opens a DNG file?

DNG files open in Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom and Photoshop, in Capture One, and in most other raw-editing software, since roughly 200 imaging products support the format. Apple's Photos and Preview apps also display DNG files on macOS and iOS, usually without the fine-grained raw controls a dedicated raw processor offers.

Does converting a raw file to DNG lose anything?

Converting a proprietary raw file to DNG keeps the underlying sensor data, but camera-maker-specific settings can be left behind, because values one company's software wrote into the file are not always recognized once a different company's software opens the DNG. Adobe's DNG Converter also has to specifically support the camera model being converted, and some older versions of it did not preserve every camera's raw data completely, which is why photographers are commonly advised to keep the original raw file too.

Is DNG actually a raw format, or is it already processed?

DNG can be either, depending on how it was created. A standard DNG stores the same unprocessed, mosaiced sensor data a camera's native raw format would, while a 'linear DNG' stores data that has already been demosaiced and sits closer to a finished image, though it still holds more editing latitude than a JPEG.

Why don't Canon and Nikon cameras shoot DNG?

Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Olympus and Fujifilm have not adopted DNG as a native capture format, sticking with their own proprietary raw formats such as CR3 or NEF instead. Camera makers that do shoot DNG natively include Leica, Pentax and Ricoh, Hasselblad, and some Sigma models, plus a number of phones through Apple's ProRAW and Android's Camera2 API.

Is DNG an official standard?

DNG is a publicly documented, royalty-free specification that Adobe first published in 2004, and it became a formal ISO standard, ISO 12234-4, in 2026. That openness is why raw processors outside Adobe's own products, including Capture One and open-source tools like RawTherapee and darktable, can read DNG without a licensing agreement.

Converting DNG files#

FileFlip does not write .dng files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.

Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.