RAW to JPG Converter
Instant client-side RAW converter. Extract high-quality JPEG previews from CR2, NEF, ARW, and DNG files without uploading. Preserves EXIF data.
About
Professional photography workflows often hit a bottleneck when high-resolution RAW files need to be shared instantly. Clients cannot open .CR2, .NEF, or .ARW files, and traditional conversion software is heavy and slow. Cloud-based converters compromise privacy and are limited by bandwidth latency.
This tool utilizes Direct Binary Extraction technology. Most RAW files contain a full-resolution JPEG preview embedded by the camera to display images on the rear LCD. Instead of re-rendering the raw sensor data (which requires complex demosaicing algorithms), this engine surgically extracts the embedded preview. This results in conversion speeds 100× faster than standard rendering, identical color science to the camera manufacturer, and zero quality loss.
Ideal for field journalists, wedding photographers, and digital asset managers who require immediate .JPG output with preserved metadata (EXIF) and zero server-side uploads.
Formulas
The utility calculates the compression efficiency using the ratio of the extracted preview size to the original RAW container:
When selecting quality output, the quantization matrix scales approximately logarithmically:
Reference Data
| Camera Format | Extension | Magic Bytes (Hex) | Embedded Preview Size | Compression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon RAW 2 | .CR2 | 49 49 2A 00 | Full Res (Large) | 1:10 to 1:4 |
| Canon RAW 3 | .CR3 | 66 74 79 70 63 72 78 | Full Res (HEIF/JPG) | 1:8 (Approx) |
| Nikon Electronic | .NEF | 4D 4D 00 2A | Full Res (Basic/Normal) | Variable |
| Sony Alpha | .ARW | 49 49 2A 00 | 1616×1080 or Full | 1:10 |
| Adobe Digital Negative | .DNG | 49 49 2A 00 | Variable (Often Full) | Lossless JPEG |
| Fujifilm RAW | .RAF | 46 55 4A 49 | Full Res | Variable |
| Olympus RAW | .ORF | 49 49 52 4F | Large Preview | 1:8 |
| Panasonic/Lumix | .RW2 | 49 49 55 00 | 1920×1440 | Standard |