# Just delete raw files?



## Ramones (Jan 3, 2010)

Is there any script/program I can use to just delete my .NEF files from my computer? I don't plan on doing a lot of PP to my older pictures so I'd like to just delete the .NEFs and keep the JPGs


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## Garbz (Jan 3, 2010)

...

Go to your picture folder.
Hit F3
Click search
In the window it'll show you every file in your pictures folder.
Click type to sort by type.
Select all the files and click delete.

I highly doubt you'll find a script to do this, since this type of action has existed in every operating system all the way back to the Dos era, and is usually one very short line on the command line.


But if you want a script:
Open Notepad and add this line:
del /S /Q *.NEF
and save it as "script.bat" in your pictures folder.

I highly recommend you try this somewhere outside your pictures folder first to make sure you're happy with how it works. This line will delete all NEF files in the current and all subfolders, and will not ask for confirmation before doing so. 
*TEST IT FIRST!*


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## Overread (Jan 3, 2010)

I (personally) would prefer to save the photos as a TIFF file rather than a JPEG when archiving at fullsize - since TIFF is a lossless format, which means that whilst they are larger filesizes, you won't lose any image data from them should you resize and save (say for internet posting) or even just to make a tiny alteration (eg cloning out a twig or something) -- whilst JPEG is a lossy format and will lose image data/quality at every save point. 

Also I have a sneaking suspicion that JPEG images degrade overtime in the computer - at least I have older images in JPEG and they do appear to be far poorer in quality today than they were many years ago (though that could just be because I am using a better screen than we had back in the past).


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## KmH (Jan 3, 2010)

Overread said:


> .........Also I have a sneaking suspicion that JPEG images degrade overtime in the computer - at least I have older images in JPEG and they do appear to be far poorer in quality today than they were many years ago (though that could just be because I am using a better screen than we had back in the past).


What mechanism do you suspect would cause the 1's and 0's of your JPEG files to degrade?


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## Josh66 (Jan 3, 2010)

KmH said:


> Overread said:
> 
> 
> > .........Also I have a sneaking suspicion that JPEG images degrade overtime in the computer - at least I have older images in JPEG and they do appear to be far poorer in quality today than they were many years ago (though that could just be because I am using a better screen than we had back in the past).
> ...



Maybe the older ones _are_ far poorer in quality...?

I know a lot of my older ones don't quite look as good as the newer ones...


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## Overread (Jan 3, 2010)

KmH said:


> What mechanism do you suspect would cause the 1's and 0's of your JPEG files to degrade?


 
So far I have a few theories, but nothing certain.

First off is computer gremlins - they already cause the dreaded bluescreen and vista was invested with them - so they might get into JPEGs as well!

Secondly image transfer - or copy and paste from one location to another (or cut and paste). Certainly my older images have gone through more transfers like that than the newer ones. They are also all much smaller in size and dimensions (since they are from way before DSLR times) and so smaller losses of data would show up more clearly.


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## Garbz (Jan 5, 2010)

:LOL: sorry Overread but that is definitely not the problem. If you get a bit flipped when your copying something on the computer you'll more than likely know about it. You'll end up with a msg from windows saying CRC error or something to that effect. In any case given how data is stored on the computer the files which are copied more often are actually less likely to have errors relating to magnetic failure, and even then that is more often than not a recoverable error due to ECC (Error Correcting Code) that is stored along with the data.

Vista was many nasty things to me, but it never bluscreened. That is the fault of dodgy drivers about 90% of the time, 9% is hardware failure which is why blue screens exist in the first place (abort before it breaks), and if you don't take into account users installing dodgy software or drivers, then user error makes up what's left.


The likely scenario is that in time JPEG compression algorithms in cameras have considerably improved. There is a LOT and I mean LOT to JPEG compression besides a quality slider that gets done in the background and is up to the coder to decide. 

If you save at the best settings possible, JPEGs only start to visibly degrade if you open and resave them more than about 5 times. Until that point what you are losing with JPEG is data that you can't see. It definitely makes sense to store TIFFs or DNGs (don't like the idea of storing proprietary RAWs) if you're going to re-edit files at a later point, however if you don't, it doesn't.


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## HikinMike (Jan 5, 2010)

When I first got my DSLR back in 2005, I made the mistake of deleting my RAW files and kept the JPGs instead. Now that I'm better at 'fixing my mistakes', I wish I had those old RAW files. Just something to think about.


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