WebP to NEF Converter

Encoding: the WebP uses lossy VP8 coding or lossless VP8L; NEF uses uncompressed, lossless compressed, lossy compressed, or High Efficiency on recent Z bodies, and the download is a Linear DNG: demosaiced 8-bit RGB with the colour matrices raw editors need.

Bit depth: 8 bits per channel in the WebP; NEF allows 12 or 14 bits per channel, and the DNG written here has 8 bits per channel, linearised.

Colour: RGB; lossy WebP stores colour at half resolution (4:2:0) in the WebP; NEF supports camera RGB from a Bayer mosaic, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the WebP stores it as a separate alpha plane, available in lossy as well as lossless files; the DNG has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Animation: ANMF frame chunks, each with its own delay and blending; the DNG holds one image, so only the first frame is converted.

Metadata: the WebP can carry EXIF, XMP and ICC chunks; NEF can carry EXIF and Nikon maker notes, partly encrypted, plus a thumbnail and a larger preview, but nothing is copied across.

WebP is Google's web image format. It supports lossy and lossless compression, transparency and animation, and is typically 25 to 35 percent smaller than JPEG at the same visual quality.

A WebP is a RIFF file: 'RIFF', a length, 'WEBP', then chunks. A simple lossy file is one VP8 chunk and a lossless one is VP8L; the extended VP8X header announces alpha, animation, ICC, EXIF or XMP chunks.

WebP files usually come from websites, Chrome's Save image as, CDNs and Android apps.

NEF is the raw format of Nikon cameras, from the D1 to the current Z series. It stores 12 or 14-bit sensor data, uncompressed or compressed, with a JPEG preview the camera renders using its Picture Control.

NEF is TIFF-based: the first directory usually holds a small thumbnail, and sub-directories hold the sensor data and, on current bodies, a full-size JPEG preview. Nikon's maker notes are a TIFF structure of their own, and since the D2X their white-balance block is encrypted with a key derived from the camera's serial number and shutter count.

NEF files come from Nikon DSLRs (D-series) and Z-series mirrorless cameras.

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

What NEF offers when it comes straight from the camera: Lossless compressed mode with no data loss; Picture Control recorded so Nikon NX Studio can reapply it; 12 or 14-bit sensor data. Its drawbacks: Partly encrypted maker notes; The lossy compressed mode discards some sensor data; Large files on high-resolution Z bodies.