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Uploading RAW photos to Dropbox

senator12

Why does Dropbox not upload RAW photos from Mac Photos. It seems to alter them to JPEG

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Maple

Hi senator12,

I did a quick google search and it sounds like drag-and-drop from Photos to Finder exports those files using whatever the selected or default export method is. In this case, it sounds like it is exporting as jpg. You need to go back to Photos and select the original files to add to Dropbox. I don't use Photos myself, but if you go back to Photos and right click on the image you might be able to open it in its real location in Finder, or be able to "export original" somehow.

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310EI

Hello, @senator12...

Dropbox doesn't convert your RAW files... you're probably looking at the preview via the web interface. If you upload a RAW file then it remains a RAW file.

Try using the Desktop Client.

HELP CENTER ARTICLES:

How do I install Dropbox?
Where can I find the full Desktop Client installation file?
Where is my Dropbox folder?
How do I add or upload files to my Dropbox?
What is a system tray or menu bar?
Save hard drive space with selective sync.
How do I make Dropbox sync faster or control the bandwidth used?

senator12

Just tried to upload a RAW photo. Shown as JPEG in Dropbox. When downloaded back to my Macbook it came back as a JPEG. Anyone got any ideas??

Mark

You've downloaded the preview from the website.

To redownload it in its original version make sure you use the Dropbox download options and not right click -> save as or that you are downloading from www.dropbox.com/home

senator12

I downloaded the image from Dropbox "download" and it still arrived as a JPEG in my Macbook.

Mark

Can you post screenshots of how you are doing it as there is something going wrong in the workflow somewhere.... Dropbox doesnt have the capability to alter files. In fact its only in the past few weeks that its started previewing RAW files.

Note that if you've imported from Apple Photos what you are probably seeing is Apple Photo's previews that it generates for the App. So somewhere in Dropbox will be the RAW file and you will see the previews.

310EI

@senator12 wrote:
Just tried to upload a RAW photo. Shown as JPEG in Dropbox. When downloaded back to my Macbook it came back as a JPEG. Anyone got any ideas??

Hello, @senator12...

Just to clarify, what specific file extension does your file have... is it .raw or something else (view other examples)?

I uploaded a .raw file into my Example Folder via the Desktop Client and it remained a .raw file for me (take-a-look).

Click on the file named, "000.DBx_RAWuploadExample.raw" and then click on the download button. You should see that Dropbox says it cannot preview a .raw file (it did for me at this time anyway). You can reference the screenshot in the Example Folder, "001.DBx_RAWuploadExample_UseDownloadButton.jpg".

After the file is downloaded to your device, see if it remained with the .raw extension for you. If so... then do as @Mark suggested by posting screenshots of what you're doing specifically so we can see what you're viewing.

We need specifics so that we can better assist you and screenshots help us a lot.

senator12

The file extension is the Canon one of .cr2 within Photos.

Mark

So somewhere between Photos and the Dropbox folder on your computer something is converting it to Raw. The preview will be from the Photos folder I imagine.

310EI

@senator12 wrote:
The file extension is the Canon one of .cr2 within Photos.

Okay.

I uploaded a .cr2 file into the same Example Folder and it remained with a .cr2 extension after uploading it (take-a-look).

Please take screenshots of your procedure when you have time.

senator12

Cant do a screen shot but it is a simple click and drag from Photos to a new empty folder in Dropbox Folder opened in Finder. It then uploads to Dropbox but only as .jpg even though the image in Photos is .cr2 ie a Canon RAW image. I have tried this with a group of images and also with a single image. All end up as .jpg even when dowloaded back to my Mac. Any more ideas?

Hi @senator12

I spoke to our support team and they recommended that you write them via http://www.dropbox.com/support with names of files that you see converting into jpg so they can investigate further.

Again, I wish we could help more here but this will need a more throughout troubleshooting.

Let me know once you have your ticket open so I can pass it directly to them.

Thanks!

Maple

senator12

Photos exports in jpeg, tiff or png. It is possible to export in RAW/CR2 but it is very long winded but I am looking for a better way. Overall it seems to be a Photos problem that wasn't there in iPhoto. Maybe the simple way would be to save on an external drive!! Thanks for all your help.

Maple

You're welcome! We're here to help.

The Dropbox desktop client has a Camera Uploads feature that uploads the original files to Dropbox. It may work better for your needs if you want to save the original files in Dropbox. The dialog should appear when you plug a camera into your computer. See

https://help.dropbox.com/create-upload/camera-uploads-overview

Boygeil89

Hey folks

This Thread helped me a lot!

I actually had to realise first, that the pictures, which I had uploaded via the "Photos" app on my iPhone (Share --> DropBox)m were re-downloaded from iCloud and some received the current than their real date. Hence the pictures I had checken on DropBox Online showed the current date. The pictures - way back to 2011 - which I managed to transfer (each year) from iPhone to iPhone, got the right date on them.

It took me several weeks now, to learn this.

Just to repeat: DropBox maintains the original format (unless you activate the "automation" to do anything).

Kind regards

Howard