Today saw the launch of XDepth Raw, a new image format that promises to store RAW-style data, as well as being a fully functional JPEG. This means you can preview the file in any app that reads JPEGs.
It also claims to achieve 4x compression of the RAW data. "Visually lossless".
Lets analyse this shall we:
1. The JPEG compatibility thing is cute, but who needs it? Consumers don't care about RAW and manipulating images, so its not for them. Everyone else has no real problems handling RAWs. If you're using Lightroom or Aperture, the difference between RAW and "regular" images simply stops existing. Note also that both Windows and Mac users are able to preview RAW files just fine, using the standard viewers supplied with each operating system. Seems more like "we can do it technically and its cool, lets build it" more than something really "game-changing".
2. 4x compression sounds nice too. "Visually lossless" however does not. That just "weasel" for "It is lossy compression but you won't notice that, much". Again, who's the audience? Photographers have long since accepted that their work requires lots of disk space. Disk space is cheap. Why give up the full, unaltered glory of straight-from-the-camera RAW for a lossy compressed file which is smaller?
3. Who is going to implement this proprietary format? This will only work if it implemented by a few camera manufacturers. Why would they bother licensing this format (as I'm assuming XDepth's business model is based on) if they can support DNG, which already has at least some traction with camera makers (not a lot, granted) and a lot of software support. Oh and it is open too.
Stuff like this just puzzles me. Technical superiority rarely wins you the day. XDepth might have a great tech-demo, but all the other factors needed for success simply aren't there.
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