Why is iPhoto (Mountain Lion) importing RAW/NEF files as jpeg's?

Question

I am manually importing via DVD's my archived iPhoto files from  iPhoto '08, (7.1.5), Snow Leopard, to my new computer running Mountain Lion. iPhoto '11 (9.4.3). Most of my files are in RAW format (NEF) and was saved as such. I am noticing that as I import from the discs into the new iPhoto, it is importing some as jpeg's and I am loosing my RAW data. I am findiing very little being imported as RAW.
Has anyone else had this experience?
Is there somewhere in the settings that I am not finding, to correct this? I checked all that I know to look at and I did not find anywhere an option to change the format of the image in importing.
I, also, converted files from jpeg to.tiff and saved them as such, but I am not finding any .tiff files either.
Any info?
Thank you for any help you can give.

Answer 1

OK.  WOW!
One by one!  Larry, Terence and Old Toad,
Thank you, all of you, for your helpful replies.
Firstly, I am a little confused between Larry and Terence; sounds like opposite info. Is it?
Old Toad, Now I know about this easy way to do this. I have, at least, 1T+20,000 more images, some of which I will import into my new 750 gig Macbook Pro, so this seems easy. (Already over 30,000 images. Can iPhoto hold so much???)
It seems tho, that I AM BUSTED!
Unfortunatelly, I could not import directly the old Library to the new Library because of the below reason. (even tho there seems to be some difference of opinion on this between Terence and Larry)
I did the unthinkable. I worked out of the iPhoto Library.
What I did was this: my older Macbook Pro, had a 200 gig HDD, and could NOT handle all the photos I was putting into it (which I needed to do the work I want to do), so I first downloaded the images from my camera to iPhoto, then, I downloaded,as I went along, by year, to external HDD, and then I cut DVD's, by year, in pieces, via Toast, as my backup. (both, directly from the iPhoto Library), Then, I deleted many of the photos in each event, in each year, leaving only enough to remind me what is in that event.
(Then, when I needed images from that event, I could go back to the HDD to see and get the rest of the pix I needed to use).
I KNOW this is totally SACRELIGIOUS of Mac and the whole iPhoto Library set-up, but it didn't hurt the library functioning, (in the old mac), at all, and was the only way I knew to do it, as going thru iPhoto itself, didn't work out so well.
(That is why I didn't import directly my old library to the new Mac, not all the photos were there, and I thought it would be more confusing trying to add the missing photos to each event in the new iPhoto).
However, re-importing from the HDD  to the new iPhoto, was a bit of a mess, as I got, (as 2 of you, above, said), mixed up info, as both "originals" as well as "events" downloaded, which gave me duplicates of some, and the dates are NOT necessarily in order, as was in the old iPhoto before. (but that I can reconcile, later, can't I?
Can I move events to other places in iPhoto?
However, going directly via the DVD's into the new iPhoto, gave me exact input and I got all the files as well as all the data. But, in some, very slow downloading, and very few, some date order mixup, but very few.
SO, this new iPhoto Library is a bit messed up with the duplicate images in about the first 3,000 or so images, but I assume I can fix this up.
Oh g---d.
In any event, it is now showing RAW and jpeg's as info in the metadata pane.
Thank you , all of you. I am not so computer savy, I do better in photography!
All the help I receive is welcome and worthwhile. And if there is anymore you want to tell me, besides scolding me for going into the iPhoto Library, it is all welcome.
I Thank you.
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