MillFile

Convert RW2 to JPG

Panasonic writes RW2 with almost nothing done to it, which is why photographers trust it and why it needs a real decode. Drop one here for a full-resolution JPG.

Quality:

Selected: Standard

Other formats: RAW to JPG CR2 to JPG CR3 to JPG NEF to JPG ARW to JPG DNG to JPG ORF to JPG RAF to JPG

What actually makes RW2 different

Panasonic applies very little processing before writing an RW2: little or no compression, and a minimum of metadata. That is the appeal - the file stays close to what the sensor recorded, which leaves more room for editing later - and it is also why an RW2 can be surprisingly large for its pixel count, and why there is no cheap shortcut to reading it.

The trade-off is that fewer baked-in conveniences come with it: no compression keeping the file small, and no colour profile doing some of the work for you. This page decodes the frame locally and hands back a full-resolution JPG using the white balance recorded in the file - a plain render of the data rather than something the camera dressed up first.

Nothing is uploaded. The RAW file is decoded in this tab by LibRaw compiled to WebAssembly — no upload step, no server copy, no account.

Questions about converting RW2 to JPG

Why is my RW2 so large?

Because Panasonic barely compresses it and stores very little processed data. A 20-megapixel frame can be several times the size of an equivalent compressed raw from another brand. That is a property of the format rather than something that went wrong, and it is one of the reasons people pick RW2 for editing.

Does it handle Panasonic's high-resolution composite modes?

Usually. The stacking modes on several Lumix bodies record more than one exposure in a single RW2, and the merged image decodes normally here. Separating the individual stacked frames is a different job and needs a tool built for that structure.

Will the colours match Panasonic's own software?

Not exactly. This page uses the white balance recorded in the file and a standard demosaic, while Panasonic's own pipeline applies its own processing on top. Expect the same picture with slightly different colour rendering - and expect the full sensor resolution either way.

Is there a size limit?

No hard limit, but the decoder and the JPEG encoder each hold a copy of the frame in memory, so a very large file needs a capable device. Because RW2 files run big by design, that warning comes up here more often than on the compressed formats; the page tells you before it starts a file over 60 MB.