Quote Originally Posted by Kevvy View Post
I have a Nikon camera and the software I have is View NX2. ......
In this case .... YES and NO!
That is, it is altered, but can be reverted back into an 'untouched state' that is for all intents and purposes original.

When you open the raw NEF file, on the RHS of the screen you will have an information window(Metadata tab), which also has the basic editing tools above it in the Adjustments tab.

Any edits made in the Adjustments tab and then saved, can all be undone on a raw file. The process is slightly convoluted, in that there is a reset button, but this reset button only works for the current session if the edits haven't been saved.(hope that makes sense???)

So if you make a bunch of edits, and don't like the look of the image, BEFORE you press the save icon, you can revert it back to a original raw file as shot in the camera.
If you press the save icon for a raw file, then to revert the raw file back to original you need to manually reset all the edits made in the Adjustment tab. Sounds hard but is in fact not .. just convoluted!

Now it must be said tho ... an original untouched raw file should be of the type that can be loaded back onto the memory card and should be displayable on the camera again.
But one thing that Nikon software do is to slightly alter the metadata in the raw file .. so the image is as shot on the camera, but the images will not display on the camera.
The only raw files that will display on the camera are the totally untouched raw files(that is, the files not edited and reset back to original state).

I've never found any reason to load raw files back onto the camera for viewing for any purpose ... so to me the raw files reset back to as shot in camera state are as good as original.

I don't fuss about the level of originality of the raw files other than I know I can get them into an as shot in camera state if required ... 99.9% of my files have keywording and descriptions embedded via VNX2. This in itself changes the originality of the raw file too.


There is no need to save a copy of the original raw file ... it's a redundant filing system that wastes space for no advantage.
Get into the habit of backing up on a regular basis, but back up the files as you have edited them.
Remember all raw files can be reverted back into an 'untouched state' if need be.