Raw Image Format - File Contents

File Contents

Raw files contain, by necessity, the information required to produce a viewable image from the camera's sensor data. The structure of raw files, including the ISO standard raw image format ISO 12234-2, TIFF/EP, often follows a common pattern, that is:

• A short file header which typically contains an indicator of the byte-ordering of the file, a file identifier and an offset into the main file data
• Camera sensor metadata which is required to interpret the sensor image data, including the size of the sensor, the attributes of the CFA and its color profile
• Image metadata which is required for inclusion in any CMS environment or database. These include the exposure settings, camera/scanner/lens model, date (and, optionally, place) of shoot/scan, authoring information and other. Some raw files contain a standardized metadata section with data in Exif format.
• An image thumbnail
• Optionally a reduced-size image in JPEG format, which can be used for a quick preview
• In the case of motion picture film scans, either the timecode, keycode or frame number in the file sequence which represents the frame sequence in a scanned reel. This item allows the file to be ordered in a frame sequence (without relying on its filename).
• The sensor image data

Many raw file formats, including 3FR (Hasselblad), DCR, K25, KDC (Kodak), IIQ (Phase One), CR2 (Canon), ERF (Epson), MEF (Mamiya), MOS (Leaf), NEF (Nikon), ORF (Olympus), PEF (Pentax), RW2 (Panasonic) and ARW, SRF, SR2 (Sony), are based on the TIFF file format. These files may deviate from the TIFF standard in a number of ways, including the use of a non-standard file header, the inclusion of additional image tags and the encryption of some of the tagged data.

Panasonic's raw converter corrects geometric distortion and chromatic aberration on such cameras as the LX3, with necessary correction information presumably included in the raw. Phase One's raw converter Capture One also offers corrections for geometrical distortion, chromatic aberration, purple fringing and keystone correction emulating the shift capability of tilt-shift in software and specially designed hardware, on most raw files from over 100 different cameras. The same holds for Canon's DPP application, at least for all more expensive cameras like all SLRs and the G series of compact cameras.

DNG, the Adobe digital negative format, is an extension of the TIFF 6.0 format and is compatible with TIFF/EP, and uses various open formats and/or standards, including Exif metadata, XMP metadata, IPTC metadata, CIE XYZ coordinates, ICC profiles, and JPEG.