“a lot of users won’t need the metadata” that is incorrect. On the contrary, metadata is SUPER important, it contains the shoot date/time, focal length, etc… So this info is very important to most photographers. In addition, the “solution” provided by Topaz is not a solution, it’s a workaround that either forces photogs to not convert to DNG or use the Photo–>Edit in–>PhotoAI which converts the RAW file to TIF which is not what most people want. Also, the root cause of the problem as described in the “solution” is not what I’m observing. I have always converted my images to DNG on Lightroom import. In fact this problem with Photo AI losing metadata with DNGs did not exist until you came up with 3.0 of the software, that’s when this broke. I have reported this in the forums. In addition, even with today’s latest version of Photo AI, some DNGs from older camera body (Canon 7D Mark II for example) will work fine with Photo AI roundtrip from Lightroom, no loss of metadata. But this is broken for my newer camera bodies (Canon R6, R6 Mk II, and R5 Mk II). It seems your support for DNG is just not thoroughly tested, and given close to half of photographers convert their images to DNG, I would urge the team to address this issue. Please forward this feedback to the engg team, I hope this gets addressed in the future.
The workaround for TIFF files is specific to this user (Axel) that does not have a supported camera model.
For others that do have a supported camera model (includes all the camera models you have), we didn’t recommend to turn to TIFF, we recommend to forego the step where they convert to DNG their files and to use the native RAW format. Using the native format compared to the DNG they converted will avoid the issue. We are tracking a total of 22 users that flagged the DNG metadata loss to Support. Using the Native RAW file will fix any metadata loss. I have added your name to the development team ticket working on finding a fix.
The development team will look into fixing this, thanks for your feedback!
Thanks, just keep in mind that approx 50% of photographers convert to DNG on import for good reasons. Asking them to change that core part of their workflow should not be seen as a solution. What baffles me is that if the standalone version of PhotoAI has no problems at all handling all DNGs, the plugin should have the same level of support. The fact you only have 22 reported cases is just the tip of the iceberg, most photogs don’t even bother reporting this and are probably just using the non-integrated standalone version of PhotoAI and getting all that friction, creating an incentive to just use the built-in denoise feature in Lightroom, instead of PhotoAI, when only denoising is needed… If sharpening improves in Lightroom, this will create even more incentives to avoid the high-friction roundtrip to PhotoAI. Hope the engg team will address this soon to have parity between the standalone and the plugin, as it should be. My 2 cents.
Can you share what the step of using a converted DNG instead of using the native RAW file changes for your workflow? Let us know and I can add the clarifications/impact on your workflow the inability to use the converted DNG has - to the development team ticket. Using the native RAW format saves you a step (no DNG conversion needed) and the native RAW file will not have metadata loss issues in the plugin. If it was a popular workflow (LrC plugin, doing a DNG conversion on import + metadata needed), out of our millions of users, we would of gotten more then 22 reported cases. All 22 users that reported this can avoid the metadata loss using the Native RAW file in the plugin or using the standalone if a DNG is important, yes.
It doesn’t change the actual workflow steps other than unchecking the “convert to DNG” option. But it does change the end format and advantages photogs get with DNG, which are:
- Smaller File Size: DNG files are typically 10-40% smaller than proprietary RAW files due to lossless compression. This reduces storage needs and can speed up backups and file transfers.
- Embedded Metadata: DNG files store metadata (e.g., EXIF, editing adjustments) directly within the file, eliminating the need for sidecar files (like XMP). This simplifies file management and ensures edits travel with the file, reducing the risk of losing adjustment data.
- Future-Proofing: DNG is an open standard developed by Adobe, designed to be more universally compatible across software and over time compared to proprietary formats, which may become obsolete if camera manufacturers change formats or go out of business.
- Streamlined Workflow in Adobe Ecosystem: DNG integrates seamlessly with Adobe products like Lightroom and Photoshop. It can embed a fast-loading preview, speeding up image rendering, and avoids compatibility issues that sometimes arise with newer proprietary RAW formats.
- Simplified File Management: Since DNG is a standardized format, it reduces the complexity of handling multiple proprietary formats across different camera brands, making archiving and organization easier for photographers with diverse gear.
- Embedded Verification: DNG supports checksums to detect file corruption, offering an extra layer of data integrity not always present in proprietary RAW formats.
DNG is used by a lot of professional photographers and since this is not an issue with my setup, ALL of them using DNG are running into this problem but like I said before, they are probably just doing the standalone PhotoAI option (like many of us are doing) to keep their metadata. It works, but it’s way more friction and incentivizes them to use built-in Lightroom tools instead. You can do a quick Grok/ChatGPT prompt to get an estimate on DNG adoption, it’s around 20%-30% of photographers, that’s a BIG number.
I see you pulled that information from Chat GPT. However, it does not apply in your case. The RAW native file already exists in the computer, changing it to a DNG creates an extra unnecessary file, and size being smaller in that case does not apply as you are doubling the amount of RAW file you have. Using the RAW native file would use less space. Photo AI cannot read xmp files, it reads the original RAW file. The File given back from Photo AI will already be a DNG file, and When you do light and color edits on the DNG file from LrC, then it will not create a xmp, so there is no saved space here, its the same. Adobe will read both the native file and DNG, there is no difference here. I see that in the current workflow you will have 3 files: Original RAW native file, an extra unneeded DNG copy, and the DNG TPAI export when the file is back. Using the correct workflow you would have 2 files: the native RAW file and the DNG TPAI export, with metadata, no issues, less files! Make sure to forego using the conversion to DNG, there is no uses for it in your workflow! Will contact you when the development team finds a fix for converted LrC DNG files. Thank you!
Hi, I don’t keep the original RAW file on my computer, it gets converted to DNG and that’s all I keep, so I’m not doubling the space to store my images during import. The only doubling happens when I process a DNG in PhotoAI to create a new processed image, which is what I want, I don’t want to overwrite the original DNG. There are clear advantages to using DNG instead of the original RAWs, I’m not planning to move away from it just to get the plugin to work, and neither will many photogs in the same situation. Like I said before, Topaz use to handle these DNGs fine in the plugin until you upgraded to 3.0. A bug was introduced, it’s a regression. The fact is that your standalone app of PhotoAI has zero issues with DNG but your plugin has bugs with it, seems to me there should be parity between the two options and that’s where the issue is. So I understand what the workaround is, but it’s friction-heavy I’d rather keep my DNGs and go through the pain of using the standalone, than starting to store CR3 files of different formats for different bodies and deal with XMP sidecar files (among other concerns). Thanks for the prompt responses, I appreciate the exchange.
Appreciate your time and detailed concerns/workflow. 
Shared to the development team on the development team ticket for this issue, have a great day Jean-Pierre!
Photo AI v4.0.3 is released with numerous bug fixes for batch processing, plugins, and login.
@mrtoyota03 and anyone else who had issues with the thumbnails not showing properly, we have released Topaz Photo v1.1.0, which is fixing the issue.
If you have a subscription, you will be able to download this update by using your in-app update option or by using the link below:
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Topaz Photo v1.1.0 - Windows: Download
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Topaz Photo v1.1.0 - Mac: Download
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Windows ARM : Download
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Make sure to open the Topaz Photo app when installed; it is a different app from Photo AI. (The new app has no AI in the naming).
Please message us at help@topazlabs.com if you have any issues 
@texasglobal-web
Circling back to let you know we have released Topaz Photo v1.2.1, which resolves the issues you were experiencing with HEIC export to Apple Photos.
You will be able to download this update by using your in-app update option or by using the link below:
• Topaz Photo v1.2.1 - Mac: Download
Please let us know if you have any issues in updating to this version or any other questions, comments, or feedback!
