Learn
What is CinemaDNG?
CinemaKit · Updated:
CinemaDNG is a RAW video format built around Digital Negative (DNG) image data. In CinemaKit, a CinemaDNG take is saved as a sequence of separate RAW frame files rather than a single conventional video file.
A sequence of frames
Think of a take as a folder of numbered images played in order at the recording frame rate. This structure makes each RAW frame accessible, but it also means you must preserve the sequence. Moving only a few frames, changing filenames or losing the folder structure can make a take incomplete. A ZIP used for transfer is packaging, not a video codec.
Why choose CinemaDNG?
Choose it when the next tool in your workflow explicitly supports CinemaDNG sequences. DNG-based RAW development lets you adjust the way frames become color images before a final video is rendered. Compatibility still needs testing: an application that opens a DNG still is not necessarily a video-sequence editor. Check frame rate, frame ordering and audio handling with a short take first.
CinemaDNG in CinemaKit
CinemaKit can record CinemaDNG, review takes in its RAW player and save an individual frame as a DNG still. When downloading a sequence through the local server, CinemaKit packages it as a ZIP to make transfer easier. Studio also provides CinemaDNG export. MLV is often simpler for moving footage off a phone because it keeps a take together in one file.
Technical references
Related pages
MLV vs CinemaDNG: which RAW format should you use?
Compare MLV and CinemaDNG for mobile RAW video: file structure, transfer, playback, compatibility and practical workflow choices.
What is MLV (Magic Lantern Video)?
Understand the MLV RAW video container, how CinemaKit uses it, and how to open, transfer and export MLV footage.
What is RAW video?
Learn how Bayer RAW video differs from processed video, what you can change in post, and the storage trade-offs when recording on a phone.
CinemaKit Studio guide: open, grade and export
Follow the CinemaKit Studio RAW workflow: browser and GPU checks, local file opening, color correction, export and troubleshooting.