Question on Sony HEIF Files and Importing to macOS / iPadOS

[jotzet]

Dear photographers,

As a noob in Sony alpha Cams / as Photographer (*blush*) I have got a question regarding your import workflows: I chose to store my images as HEIF, as this seems to be a fair trade off in quality vs storage space, compared to RAW (ARW) or JPEG.

Now I stumbled on a stupid flaw in macOS and also iPadOS, and whenever I try to import pics either in Files.app or Photos.app PREVIEW IMAGES (i.e. thumbnails) do not appear. I can OPEN those images though, but previewing them is not possible, instead a black thumbnail is shown (Photos), or no thmubnail at all (Files).

Oddly enough ARW files (which mho are far more complex) are showing thumbnails? *whaaat?*

Are you facing similiar issues, can they be somehow circumvented, or do I just have to live with it and import everything, and then after import choose what’s best, forget about the rest…?

Thanks for pointers,
Joachim

PS: Sony A7 IV - ILCE-7M4 - Tamron 28-75 G2 VXD

 

[r.harris1]

Welcome! I'm not too sure what's going on as I don't shoot Sony specifically, but in a raw workflow (importing and using ARW files in your case), the ARW files have an embedded JPEG preview (thumbnail) generated by the camera and using the camera setttings and can offer that "preview" capability. Once the raw file has been "cooked" and turned into HEIF, I'm not sure that it retains the JPEG preview or if there's an equivalent HEIF preview...anyway, just speculating there.

Many of us here (certainly not all though) shoot a raw workflow. It gives you the best flexibility and control over the final image (which can be HEIF, JPEG, TIF, etc). Your camera and lens is a nice combo for sure and you may consider a raw workflow to get the best out of the files produced. Obviously, you'd have to have some interest in post processing (and Photos can do a decent job). Think of the raw file as a digital negative. Post processing is the digital equivalent of a processing film in a darkroom. Post processing can be as easy as applying a filter (or preset or style) to a raw file if you wish - one-click-and-done.

The challenge with only shooting JPEG or HEIF is that you lose the original and the ability to really control the output. Yes, HEIF is a bit better and gives you a little more headroom to correct some things, but it's still throwing away a lot of data. Just a consideration. Maybe later you decide you really want to learn and do post processing . You do need to think of storage considerations with a raw workflow of course, but that's straight forward enough.

 

[cthompson94]

What Mac OS are you running?