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RAW to TIFF Converter

Convert RAW to TIFF in your browser. The camera's embedded JPEG preview is what gets converted, not the sensor data; it matches what the camera showed on its screen. No raw development happens here. You get an uncompressed 8-bit RGBA TIFF with the resolution recorded. Nothing is uploaded.

  • Processed locally
  • No upload, no wait
  • No sign-up
  • No watermark

Drop images here

or choose files · paste with Ctrl/⌘ V

RAW expected · other image formats also work

Files are processed on this device. Nothing is uploaded.0 B uploaded

How to use RAW to TIFF

  1. 1

    Add your RAW files: drop them here, choose them, or paste from the clipboard.

  2. 2

    There is nothing to tune: the TIFF is written uncompressed. Resizing and rotating are under More options if you need them.

  3. 3

    Click Convert. Each file is decoded and encoded in a background thread on this device.

  4. 4

    Download the .tiff files one at a time or together as a ZIP.

Why use Aback Images for raw to tiff

Where the TIFF goes next

TIFF opens in Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP, Affinity, macOS Preview, Windows Photos and print RIPs.

TIFF next to RAW

The TIFF stores the camera preview's pixels uncompressed, so it can be as large as the 20 to 80 MB raw file, or larger, depending on the preview's resolution.

No new artefacts

The preview inside the RAW is a camera JPEG; the TIFF stores its decoded pixels uncompressed, so this step adds no compression damage of its own.

Processed on your device

Your images are decoded, edited and encoded inside this browser tab by Web Workers. Nothing is uploaded to a server.

RAW vs TIFF

What changes from RAW to TIFF

Encoding: the RAW uses uncompressed, lossless JPEG or vendor-specific coding of the sensor data, depending on the maker; TIFF uses none, LZW, PackBits, Deflate or JPEG, chosen per file, and the download is an uncompressed 8-bit RGBA TIFF with the resolution recorded.

Bit depth: 12 to 16 bits per channel in the RAW; TIFF allows 1 to 16 bits per channel, or 32-bit floating point, and the TIFF written here has 8 bits per channel. 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; TIFF supports RGB, CMYK, Lab, greyscale or palette, often with an ICC profile, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Metadata: the RAW can carry EXIF and vendor maker notes, almost always with an embedded JPEG preview; TIFF can carry EXIF, XMP, IPTC and ICC, all stored as tags, but nothing is copied across.

About RAW

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.

About TIFF

TIFF is the professional archive and print format. It can hold multiple pages, high bit depths and lossless data, and is common in scanning, publishing and GIS.

A TIFF begins with 'II' or 'MM' for the byte order and the number 42, then an offset to the first image file directory (IFD): a table of tags giving the size, compression, colour model and the location of the strips or tiles of pixels. Each further page is another IFD.

When converting RAW to TIFF makes sense

TIFF is the better choice for printing, scanning and archival masters, while RAW suits editing in Lightroom, Capture One or darktable.

TIFF strengths: Lossless and print-ready; Multiple pages in one file; Preferred by print shops and archives. Drawbacks to weigh: Very large files; Browsers cannot display it; Many variants and compression schemes.

Limitations

  • A headerless .raw pixel dump has no preview and no size information, so it cannot be converted here.
  • The TIFF is written uncompressed for maximum compatibility, so it is large; print shops and archives generally expect that.
  • Browsers other than Safari do not display TIFF, so it is not a format for the web.

Frequently asked questions

Does converting RAW to TIFF lose quality?

TIFF is written uncompressed, so the pixels are stored exactly as decoded. Those pixels come from the camera's JPEG preview, so its compression stays, but nothing new is lost. The sensor's 12 to 16 bits are not used: the camera's 8-bit preview is converted.

Does this process the RAW sensor data?

No. Camera RAW files carry a JPEG rendered by the camera when the picture was taken, and that is what gets converted, so the result matches what you saw on the camera screen. For full development (white balance, highlight recovery, lens corrections) use a RAW editor.

Which apps open TIFF files?

Photoshop, Lightroom, GIMP, Affinity, macOS Preview, Windows Photos and print RIPs. It opens in Safari only; other browsers do not display TIFF.

Are my images uploaded anywhere?

No. Processing happens inside your browser with WebAssembly and Web Workers. The site only downloads the app code and codecs; your files never leave your device. You can confirm this with the live upload counter on the tool, or in your browser's network panel.

Can I process many files at once?

Yes. Drop a whole selection or folder. Files are processed in parallel on several worker threads, each result can be downloaded on its own, and everything can be saved as one ZIP.

Is it free? Is there a file limit or watermark?

It is free with no account, no watermark and no daily limit. The only limit is your device's memory: very large images (over roughly 100 megapixels) may be refused to keep the tab from crashing.