4 ms·

> In MacOS and iOS, the procedure for converting images from the Photos format[1] to a free format is so tedious and time-consuming that users just give up if

by pfranz 6y ago

> In MacOS and iOS, the procedure for converting images from the Photos format[1] to a free format is so tedious and time-consuming that users just give up if they have a lot of them. [1] https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/export-photos-videos-and-slideshows-pht6e157c5f/mac https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/export-photos-videos-... This (and a bunch of others) seems poorly sourced. It looks like Photos.app behaves the same as Aperture.app and many others. Your Library is a special folder. Your original photos are kept in whatever format they were originally taken in and all organizationational and library metadata are in a series of sqlite databases that are logically organized. I would be happy to see an open source photo library app structured the same way. If you want original files, copy them out. If you want changes or metadata, dig through the databases. If you want "baked out" images, bulk export from Photos.app. Modern iPhones will capture HEIF and HEVC photo and video, but it's not like they're secret or proprietary file formats. Apple switched away from JPEG and MOV because those formats are less efficient and cannot support modern features--much better than CR2/NEF raw formats other camera makers use.

cmsj 6y ago
HEIF/HEVC aren't completely open formats though, AFAIR. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of patent royalty involved in some things people might want to do with them. That alone makes them incompatible with GNU's ideals, such as they are.
- pfranz 6y ago
  That's true, but that's an argument about the iPhone and not Photos. On the iPhone, there's literally a switch to instead save as jpg/h.264...which do have their own patent problems (there have been various successful patent collections on jpeg and h.264 is subject to the same MPEG LA group HEVC is).
mceachen 6y ago
> I would be happy to see an open source photo library app structured the same way. PhotoStructure libraries are set up this way, except you can choose to either keep all your assets where they were, or import them into a single, deduplicated directory structure. The SQLite database schema is commented and straightforward, and migrations between versions are humanly readable (if you want to see exactly how the schema evolves). I've open-sourced much of the code, but know that I'm hoping it can pay for rent some day soon. The current beta release is free in exchange for feedback. The next version will have both free and paid tiers. > ... much better than CR2/NEF raw formats other camera makers use. HEIV/HEIC typically contains one or more lossy, compressed images, much like JPEG. CR2, NEF, ARW, ORF and DNG formats are all "raw" lossless formats that directly store sensor data along with metadata. They're for very different use cases.

by pfranz 6y ago

cmsj 6y ago

HEIF/HEVC aren't completely open formats though, AFAIR. I'm pretty sure there's some kind of patent royalty involved in some things people might want to do with them. That alone makes them incompatible with GNU's ideals, such as they are.

pfranz 6y ago
That's true, but that's an argument about the iPhone and not Photos. On the iPhone, there's literally a switch to instead save as jpg/h.264...which do have their own patent problems (there have been various successful patent collections on jpeg and h.264 is subject to the same MPEG LA group HEVC is).

mceachen 6y ago

> I would be happy to see an open source photo library app structured the same way. PhotoStructure libraries are set up this way, except you can choose to either keep all your assets where they were, or import them into a single, deduplicated directory structure. The SQLite database schema is commented and straightforward, and migrations between versions are humanly readable (if you want to see exactly how the schema evolves). I've open-sourced much of the code, but know that I'm hoping it can pay for rent some day soon. The current beta release is free in exchange for feedback. The next version will have both free and paid tiers. > ... much better than CR2/NEF raw formats other camera makers use. HEIV/HEIC typically contains one or more lossy, compressed images, much like JPEG. CR2, NEF, ARW, ORF and DNG formats are all "raw" lossless formats that directly store sensor data along with metadata. They're for very different use cases.