Adobe launched the Digital Negative (DNG) format in 2004 as an open RAW format. After more than 20 years, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) officially recognized DNG as an official ISO standard, ISO 12234‑4:2026. This puts it on par with other standard formats such as TIFF and PDF.
Since the introduction of the RAW format, digital camera manufacturers have used their own formats such as Sony with .ARW, Nikon with .NEF, Fujifilm with .RAF and Canon with .CR2. The issue is that not all image editing software supports these different formats.
With DNG now an ISO standard, long-term support for its continued use is guaranteed as it is open source making it compatible for archival use. The DNG format is already supported by Leica, Ricoh, Sigma, Pentax and Apple. With it now an ISO standard, we can now expect it to be supported by other digital cameras in the near future.
