"G.T." spake:

Just wondering if anyone here is committed to DNG? I finally tried it out
last night and really like the fact that the files converted from my Rebel

Yes, exclusively. My workflow will often have me backup the RAWs right
after dumping my flash cards (my "you made a backup, right?" copy), and
then convert to DNG. I tried out Nikon Capture during the trial period and
simply don't need to waste money or precious heartbeats on that level of
tweaking. Adobe's plugin is quite streamlined, and with the sidecar files
I feel quite comfortable sitting down to plow through 400 images, each one
getting the custom treatment.

Adobe says the compression is lossless, does anyone know for sure whether
all info is retained?

1) The original RAW can be embedded if you are really paranoid.
2) The compression is lossless. (The very nature of RAW data means you
can't cut corners.)
3) They have already established that NEF (and likely other formats,
because hey, why not?) has encrypted data, and they are quite content to
leave said data encrypted. Essentially Nikon software will handle Nikon
RAW the best, that's a given. Standard stuff like IPTC and EXIF should be
free and clear and preserved properly. Adobe is keeping to its mission
statement and extending the olive branch to all companies, AFAIK.

My current workflow is Canon DPP to Photoshop CS but I wouldn't mind
switching to DNG Converter to Adobe Camera RAW to Photoshop if my images
will be safe.

They are safe in the sense that as long as Photoshop is available you
should be able to open them. And indeed, other programs can happily
support the format. I have done enough batch converting that I don't even
verify the files anymore (unless I update to a new version or something.)
But hey, one bad hard drive crash and your images are toast no matter what
the format. So make a RAW backup and a DNG backup and keep your working
copies mirrored. ;-)

"The only winners in the computer age are those that sell bandwidth and
storage."
-Lucas