Sony ARW to TIFF

It is a free browser tool for Sony shooters that turns ARW raw files into TIFF images. Every ARW file contains the camera's own rendering of the shot as an embedded JPEG preview. The tool finds the largest of those previews, decodes it, and writes it out as an uncompressed 8-bit TIFF with the same file name. It does not develop the raw sensor data, so the result looks like the image on your camera's screen, and its size depends on the preview your camera stores, which can be smaller than full sensor resolution.

TIFF stores pixels without compression, so nothing is lost when the file is saved, and nothing is lost again each time you edit and re-save it. A JPEG is recompressed on every save, which slowly adds artifacts. Keep in mind that this tool starts from the camera's embedded JPEG preview, so the TIFF cannot contain more detail than that preview. What it gives you is a stable, uncompressed copy that survives repeated retouching and opens in almost any editing or layout application.

Drag your ARW files onto the upload area or click it to choose them. Only files ending in .arw are accepted. Each file appears in a list marked Ready. Click Convert to TIFF and the tool works through the list one file at a time, marking each Done or Error, and your browser downloads a .tiff file with the original name for each one. Click Clear All to empty the list and start again. Everything happens on your own computer, so the files are never sent anywhere.

They do different jobs. DNG is a raw format: it keeps the unprocessed sensor data, so you can still change white balance, exposure and color rendering later, much as you can with the original ARW. The TIFF from this tool is a finished 8-bit image made from the camera's JPEG preview, with those rendering choices already baked in. For archiving, keep your ARW files or a DNG copy. Use the TIFF when you need a ready-to-open image file, not a digital negative.

Use it when you need a usable image from an ARW file quickly and do not want to develop the raw first: sending a reference frame to a retoucher or designer, dropping a picture into a layout, or checking a shot on a computer that has no raw software installed. For final edits and prints, develop the raw file in your editor instead, because the TIFF here reflects the in-camera preview rather than a full-quality raw conversion. Always keep the ARW originals.

The TIFF is uncompressed. It stores four bytes for every pixel, one each for red, green, blue and an alpha channel, with nothing squeezed out, while the ARW holds compressed sensor data plus compressed JPEG previews. That is why even a TIFF made from a preview smaller than the sensor can be larger than the raw file. If file size matters more than avoiding recompression, a high-quality JPEG of the same image will be a fraction of the size.

No. The TIFF contains the image pixels and basic format information only. Camera settings such as shutter speed, aperture, ISO, lens, capture date and copyright are not copied from the ARW file into the new TIFF. If you need that information, keep the original ARW alongside the TIFF, or read its EXIF data with a metadata viewer before converting. Your catalog software can also keep the two files paired so the shooting details stay one click away.

The TIFF shows the camera's own JPEG rendering, made with the Creative Style, white balance and other picture settings you had at the time of capture. Your raw editor applies its own default profile to the same ARW, so the two can legitimately differ. The TIFF also carries no embedded color profile, so viewers treat it as sRGB. If your camera was set to Adobe RGB, colors may look muted. For full color control, develop the raw file in your editor.

Yes. You can select or drop several ARW files at once, and add more before converting. When you click Convert to TIFF, the tool processes them one after another and downloads a separate TIFF for each, with a Done or Error status next to every file. There is no ZIP archive, so your browser may ask once for permission to download multiple files. Large raw files take a moment each, so keep the tab open until the list finishes.

No. The tool only reads your ARW files and creates new TIFF files from them. The originals on your drive or memory card are never modified, renamed or moved, and they are not sent anywhere, because the reading and conversion happen entirely in your browser on your own device. It is still good practice to keep backed-up copies of your raw files, since they hold far more editing latitude than any converted image and remain your true digital negatives.