Can't get DNG to work

Question

I've just installed Adobe DNG converter, and I can get it to convert .nef RAW files to .dng, but then I can't open them with anything.  I am using CS2 presently.  Does DNG work with this version or is it stand alone (or need something else downloaded to work)?  If so, how?

Answer 1

DNG is just a file container that "standardizes" your raw image data.  All of the raw image data is still there, unchanged.  The DNG file is a stand-alone image file just the same as a JPEG or any other file type.  But raw images have to be processed or "developed" in order to be used.  Since you are using Photoshop CS2, the raw image data has to be processed and saved to a different file format, either a JPEG, PSD or TIF.  And that is the file that is processed in Photoshop.  The DNG converter simply takes the raw image and puts the image data into the DNG container file.  But it still has to be processed.  And that is what Camera Raw is for.
Although there are more programs that are beginning to support DNG and other raw file formats, the file is really need to be processed and copies saved to other standard formats in order to make them universally available to other users.
When I said that the DNG converter does not "work with" Photoshop, I was talking about the DNG converter program itself, not the resulting DNG file.  The converter is not a plug-in, but rather a stand-alone program.  It converts your raw images to a DNG format, that will enable you to work with your raw image data with multiple versions of Photoshop.