cant view RAW photos from Sony

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cant view RAW photos from Sony

Can see the image when I insert the card but when I select and import the image shows a blank box. Using iMac Big Sur 11.6.1...this issue has been going on since 2/21 when I updated to Big Sur. It only happens with my Sony A9 camera which is listed as compatible and has all current firmware updates. I have tried shooting RAW, RAW+JPEG,compressed and full...nothing works. I know the info is there because I can export the files from Photos to Lightroom or Luminar and see the RAW files the Photos will not display. I have another Sony camera RX104 which does display the RAW. I have called Apple and Sony tech support with no solution except blaming each other. I guess I should not be expecting Photos to be anything but a Instagram/Facebook conduit but I had hopes to use it to review my images before going to a serious photo post processor.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Nov 21, 2021 5:56 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Keith Barkley

Level 7

20,856 points

Nov 23, 2021 11:28 AM in response to Nancy Fisher1

Strangely, the Sony Alpha-ILCE-9 is *not* listed in my system raw support list:

(Sorry, I had to do the full screenshot so you could see one of the scenes from Disneyland's Rise of the Resistance.)

Anyway, go into Apple Menu->About this Mac->System Report->Raw Support and see if your camera is listed.

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Answer 2

léonie

Level 10

197,089 points

Nov 21, 2021 8:42 PM in response to Nancy Fisher1

I don't see a Sony A9 on this list for Big Sur, Nancy: Digital camera RAW formats supported by iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

And neither in the most recent list for Monterey: Digital camera RAW formats supported by iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey - Apple Support

What is the full name of the camera model, so we can find it?

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Answer 3

Nov 22, 2021 12:45 PM in response to léonie

Yes it is on both lists for Monterey and Big Sur and it is listed as the Sony Alpha-ILCE-9 in full Sony jargon/I looked it up for Monterey with an online help session with a "senior" Apple advisor. He suggested I upgrade to Monterey before they escalate...though prior calls for months in Big Sur did not solve the problem. I have little faith that this upgrade will solve the problem and will probably create new headaches.Hi, Nancy!

Thanks very much for your email. There's a combination of faults here:

1) With every new Camera, Sony comes up with a new RAW file format that is not backwards compatible. Mostly this is to expand the EXIF data it can store to accommodate new camera features and settings. This is why your Mac can read your RX10 IV RAW files but not raw files from your A9.

2) Every time Sony comes out with a new camera, it takes Adobe a couple of months to come out with updates to open the RAW files. Other companies (like Microsoft and Apple) take much longer, if ever.

3) Clearly if your Adobe products can open the RAW files successfully, then there is nothing wrong with your camera. The problem here would be your Mac OS, which hasn't been updated to know how to handle the latest formats. There IS a tiny .jpg thumbnail embedded within each RAW file which allows you to see the image in the Finder, but not open it. I'm not an Apple person so I don't know if upgrading to Monterey will fix the problem for you.

I hope this helps (even a little!)

Sincerely, Gary

Gary L. F.

Photographer, Author, and Lecturer

The Friedman Archives

[Personal Information Edited by Moderator]

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Answer 4

Nov 23, 2021 6:31 AM in response to Nancy Fisher1

That is correct but for one minor quibble, the RAW files are different because each camera needs the ability to have a different profile and color correction.

If your camera is listed as supported, sometimes you need to just load some RAWs into Photos and let it sit open for a while to let the OS download the actual support. This has worked for me with some Canon's

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Answer 5

Nov 23, 2021 11:11 AM in response to Keith Barkley

I have been letting some sit for 6 months with no result...is that long enough? Yesterday I tried converting files with DNG utility from Adobe...sure enough the files became visible but as soon as I attempted a minor edit...just a crop the image became blank again. It is now 24 hours post crop and still blank.

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Answer 6

Nov 28, 2021 9:06 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes my A9 camera is supposed to be supported in Photos Mohave-Monterey it is on the list...but no waiting(for over 11 months ) has not resulted in Photos seeing the RAW image...I have determined the following works...use the free utility from Adobe DNG converter...then the files can be seen. I think I am going to transition to Lightroom at this point because there seems to be more support for serious photographers. I am wondering if I can export all my RAW files from Photos using the Select All in Media and actually remove them from Photos after the move? If I shoot in JPEG and RAW can I just keep the JPEG is Photos and export the RAW to LR for more extensive edits.

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Answer 7

Dec 16, 2021 9:51 AM in response to léonie

can I ask for clarification of your posts about storing RAW and JPEG copies separately ...back from 2017...I understand the pairs are stacked and if I export unmodified original then how are you then able to "lift the adjustment " from the JPEG...if the export was unmodified???? Also how about using Lightroom to import and split/ Basically I am finding that my Sony A9 camera does not like Photos for displaying the ARW files so I am going to LR. I think what I want to do is maybe keep some JPEGS in Photos and save the RAW files on an external drive and work with them in LR....Photos just is not designed for extensive edits except for the online/social media world IMO. What workflow and storage do you use to work with your JPEGS and RAW.

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Answer 8

Yer_Man

Level 10

163,698 points

Dec 16, 2021 11:24 AM in response to Nancy Fisher1

If you're already paying for Lightroom, a professional grade application, why bother with a giveaway app like Photos? While Photos will manage raws why bother when you actually have the industry standard app available for the job? There is no scenario where using both makes any sense, as it involves duplication of files and effort.

You might also ask yourself why you're creating two different files of every photo you take? Why are you shooting Raw+jpeg? I shoot Raw and the basic auto function in LR produces an image at least as good as any the camera does. That's clicking one single button. Shooting the Jpeg is redundant. What do you hope to achieve in that workflow?

Shoot raw and manage your images in Lightroom is a much less complex workflow that will give equal results.

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