DDS to RAF Converter

Encoding: the DDS uses block compression (BC1 to BC7, also called DXT) or uncompressed RGBA; RAF uses uncompressed or lossless compressed sensor data in Fujifilm's own container, and the download is a Linear DNG: demosaiced 8-bit RGB with the colour matrices raw editors need.

Bit depth: 8 bits per channel for common texture formats in the DDS; RAF allows 12 to 16 bits per channel depending on the camera, and the DNG written here has 8 bits per channel, linearised.

Colour: RGB(A); normal maps and packed masks store data rather than colour in the DDS; RAF supports camera RGB from an X-Trans 6×6 or Bayer 2×2 mosaic, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the DDS stores it as alpha inside the compressed blocks (BC2, BC3, BC7) or a 1-bit cut-out (BC1); the DNG has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Other images: the DDS can hold mipmaps, cubemap faces or texture arrays; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the DDS can carry a 128-byte header (plus a DX10 header) describing the pixel format, nothing about the picture; RAF can carry EXIF and Fujifilm maker notes, including the Film Simulation, but nothing is copied across.

DDS is a GPU texture format used by DirectX games. It stores block-compressed textures (DXT/BC) and mipmaps that graphics cards decode directly.

A DDS file starts with 'DDS ' and a 124-byte header giving the size, mipmap count and pixel format: a FourCC such as DXT1 or DXT5, or 'DX10' followed by an extra header naming a DXGI format. The largest mipmap comes first.

DDS files usually come from DirectX games, game mods and texture tools such as NVIDIA Texture Tools and Intel's texture plugin.

RAF is the raw format of Fujifilm cameras, from the X series to the medium-format GFX. Most X-series bodies use an X-Trans sensor with a 6×6 colour filter pattern instead of the usual Bayer 2×2.

RAF is not TIFF at the top level: it opens with the text 'FUJIFILMCCD-RAW', then a header with the camera model and offsets to three blocks: a JPEG preview near the start of the file, a header describing the sensor layout, and the sensor data.

RAF files come from Fujifilm X-T, X-H, X-S, X-E, X100 and GFX cameras.

Forms and workflows that ask for RAF usually feed a raw editor, and each of those opens DNG as well, so the DNG can take the RAF's place. Keep the DDS if you only need to view or share the picture.

What RAF offers when it comes straight from the camera: Film Simulation baked into the embedded JPEG; Lossless compressed option on recent bodies; Large medium-format files from GFX cameras. Its drawbacks: Fujifilm's own container rather than TIFF; X-Trans demosaicing differs between raw editors; Film Simulations need camera-matching profiles in third-party editors.