RAW (Camera raw image) is a Camera raw format commonly used for professional photo editing, camera originals, high dynamic range adjustments. This guide covers compatibility, compression, transparency, and conversion choices.
| Feature | Support |
|---|---|
| Transparency | No |
| Animation | No |
| Primary uses | photo editing, archival capture, exposure recovery, white-balance editing |
Extension
.raw
Compression
depends
Browser support
none
Inventor
Camera manufacturers
Inventor organization
Camera industry
Origin year
1990
Maximum editing latitude
Preserves sensor-stage data
Not delivery-ready
Compatibility depends on camera and decoder
RAW is a camera raw format commonly associated with photo editing, archival capture, exposure recovery. It should be explained with its compression, transparency, metadata, browser support, and conversion tradeoffs rather than as a generic upload option.
RAW origin and standardization should be reviewed against the source references before publication.
Choose conversion targets based on RAW compression, transparency, animation, metadata, and compatibility requirements.
Quality behavior depends on RAW compression: depends.
Uploaded files may contain metadata. Preserve color profiles intentionally and strip GPS/Exif when privacy matters.
Requires raw converter support for camera model.
format slug
raw
inventor
Camera manufacturers
strengths
Maximum editing latitude, Preserves sensor-stage data
use cases
photo editing, archival capture, exposure recovery, white-balance editing
weaknesses
Not delivery-ready, Compatibility depends on camera and decoder
color depth
High-bit-depth sensor data before final rendering.
compression
depends
origin year
1990
standard owner
Vendor-specific
browser support
none
metadata support
Exif, MakerNotes, XMP sidecars
software support
Requires raw converter support for camera model.
animation support
none
compression method
Vendor-specific sensor data packaging and optional compression.
best source formats
camera_capture
best target formats
jpg, tiff, png, dng
transparency support
none
inventor organization
Camera industry
RAW transparency support is: none. Choose a target format with alpha support when transparent backgrounds matter.
Convert RAW when another format better matches compatibility, file size, transparency, metadata, or editing needs.
RAW is best suited to photo editing, archival capture, exposure recovery.
RAW compression behavior is: depends.
Strip GPS and personal metadata for public sharing. Preserve ICC/color profiles when appearance matters.
Browser support is: none.
LibRaw - library_documentation
Adobe Help Center - official_vendor_doc