RAW to SVG Converter

Encoding: the RAW uses uncompressed, lossless JPEG or vendor-specific coding of the sensor data, depending on the maker; SVG uses XML text describing paths, shapes and text, sometimes gzipped as .svgz, and the download is an SVG traced into vector paths (or, if you prefer, the pixels embedded in an SVG wrapper).

Bit depth: 12 to 16 bits per channel in the RAW; SVG allows not fixed: coordinates and colours are continuous values, and the SVG written here has vector paths with flat colours. The sensor's 12 to 16 bits are not used: the camera's 8-bit preview is converted.

Colour: camera-native RGB from a colour filter mosaic in the RAW; SVG supports sRGB by default, other spaces through CSS colour functions, written here as flat colour regions.

Metadata: the RAW can carry EXIF and vendor maker notes, almost always with an embedded JPEG preview; SVG can carry title, description and RDF metadata elements, but nothing is copied across.

Camera RAW files (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, ORF, RW2, RAF and others) hold the unprocessed sensor data from a camera along with an embedded full-size JPEG preview rendered by the camera.

.RAW is an extension rather than one format. Panasonic and Leica compacts wrote TIFF-like .RAW files before Panasonic moved to RW2, and scanners and scientific cameras use .raw for headerless dumps with no width, height or layout recorded, which nothing can read without being told those values.

RAW files usually come from older Panasonic and Leica compacts that saved .RAW, and scanners or scientific cameras that use the extension for pixel dumps.

SVG describes shapes, paths and text as XML instead of pixels, so it stays crisp at any size. It is the standard for logos, icons and illustrations on the web.

An SVG is an XML document: a root <svg> element with a viewBox, then paths, shapes, text, gradients and filters. It can also embed raster images and, dangerously, scripts, which is why untrusted SVG is sanitized before rendering here.

SVG is the better choice for logos, icons and illustrations, while RAW suits editing in Lightroom, Capture One or darktable.

SVG strengths: Infinitely scalable and sharp; Tiny files for logos and icons; Editable as text and styleable with CSS. Drawbacks to weigh: Not suitable for photographs; Can contain scripts, so untrusted SVG must be sanitized; Many apps and social sites will not accept it.