Photoshop XMP files -do I need them?

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no-spam2@lycos.com - 09 Jan 2007 19:28 GMT

>From a friend's Canon EOS-5D I have several photos on a DVD where the

formats are the usual Canon RAW (.CR2), JPG and some strange ".XMP"
files which I don't understand the need for.

I have a Canon EOS-350D (Rebel XT) myself, and although I shoot in
RAW+JPG I've never received any such files, and I don't think iPhoto
which I use on my Mac to organize my photos will accept them.

I did some google searching and didn't come up with much, but there was
some mention of these files containing EXIF data. Aren't these
contained in the RAW files themselves? At least my EOS-350D RAW files
contain EXIF data.

So, do I need these files? Are they useful?
Are they replaceable, or is it silly of me to delete them, just like
throwing away 35mm negatives?

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John Bean - 09 Jan 2007 19:53 GMT

>>From a friend's Canon EOS-5D I have several photos on a DVD where the
>formats are the usual Canon RAW (.CR2), JPG and some strange ".XMP"
>files which I don't understand the need for.

Thet are so-called "sidecar" files probably created by Adobe
Camera Raw (ACR) - the raw plugin for Photoshop. It can
contain any metadata but probably contains only ACR
adjustment settings. If you don't use software that
understands XMP then don't worry abiot them.

>I did some google searching and didn't come up with much, but there was
>some mention of these files containing EXIF data. Aren't these
>contained in the RAW files themselves? At least my EOS-350D RAW files
>contain EXIF data.

The XMP files are unlikely to contain EXIF data that isn't
already in the raw file.

>So, do I need these files? Are they useful?

Not if you need to ask what they are ;-)

>Are they replaceable, or is it silly of me to delete them, just like
>throwing away 35mm negatives?

Throw them away, they're not important to you.

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John Bean

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Jon Mitchell - 09 Jan 2007 21:54 GMT

>>>From a friend's Canon EOS-5D I have several photos on a DVD where the
>>formats are the usual Canon RAW (.CR2), JPG and some strange ".XMP"
>>files which I don't understand the need for.

Right Click & Open them in Internet Explorer or your Browser or choice, you
can then see what's in them.

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ilaab - 10 Jan 2007 05:11 GMT

> >From a friend's Canon EOS-5D I have several photos on a DVD where the
> formats are the usual Canon RAW (.CR2), JPG and some strange ".XMP"
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Are they replaceable, or is it silly of me to delete them, just like
> throwing away 35mm negatives?

They allow ACR to remember the settings for that individual file. So, if
you you work with the file again, ACR will remember the settings you set
previously so you don't have to reset them. I always delete mine just to
free up space.

Ilaab

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ForrestPhoto@gmail.com - 11 Jan 2007 08:21 GMT

> you you work with the file again, ACR will remember the settings you set
> previously so you don't have to reset them. I always delete mine just to
> free up space.

Settings like white balance and exposure compensation. Sometimes they
get in the way, but they don't take up much space.

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