BMP vs DPX — Differences, File Size & When to Use Each

BMP vs DPX

A detailed comparison of BMP Image and Digital Moving-Picture — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.

Convert BMP → DPX Convert DPX → BMP

BMP

BMP Image

Raster & Vector Images

BMP is an uncompressed raster image format native to Windows. Files are large but preserve exact pixel data with no compression artifacts. Rarely used on the web due to file size.

About BMP files

DPX

Digital Moving-Picture

Raster & Vector Images

DPX (Digital Picture Exchange) is a SMPTE standard file format for digital intermediate and visual effects work. It stores per-frame image data with rich metadata for color management and is widely used in film post-production pipelines.

About DPX files

Strengths Comparison

BMP Strengths

Dead-simple format — trivially easy to read and write.
Lossless and uncompressed — perfect bit-exact pixel storage.
Universally supported in Windows applications since 1985.
Supports 1, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32-bit color depths.

DPX Strengths

Industry-standard archival format for film.
Logarithmic color encoding preserves film look.
Lossless — no generation degradation.
SMPTE standardized (SMPTE 268M).
Every VFX and color-grading app reads and writes DPX.

Limitations

BMP Limitations

Enormous file sizes — no meaningful compression in typical use.
Not a web format — browsers support it but nobody serves BMPs over HTTP.
No metadata support (no EXIF, no ICC profile in practice).
Multiple header versions mean "a BMP" is ambiguous — parsers must handle several variants.

DPX Limitations

No compression — file sizes are enormous.
Not a display format — requires color-managed pipelines.
Gradually superseded by OpenEXR in modern VFX.
Overkill for anything but professional film work.

Technical Specifications

Specification	BMP	DPX
MIME type	image/bmp	image/x-dpx
Extensions	.bmp, .dib	—
Compression	None (typical); RLE 4/8 bit (rare)	—
Color depths	1, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 bits per pixel	—
Byte order	Little-endian	—
Extension	—	.dpx
Standard	—	SMPTE 268M
Bit depths	—	8, 10, 12, 16 bits per channel
Color encoding	—	Logarithmic (Cineon-style) by convention

Typical File Sizes

BMP

Small icon (32×32) 4 KB
Screenshot (1920×1080) ~6 MB
4K image (3840×2160) ~25 MB
Scanned A4 at 300 dpi ~25 MB

DPX

2K DPX frame (2048×1556, 10-bit) ~12 MB
4K DPX frame (4096×3112, 10-bit) ~50 MB
90-min feature at 4K DPX sequence ~6 TB

Ready to convert?

Convert between BMP and DPX online, free, and without installing anything. Encrypted upload, automatic deletion after 60 minutes.

Convert BMP to DPX Convert DPX to BMP

Frequently Asked Questions

BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image format developed by Microsoft for Windows. It stores images with no compression by default, resulting in large file sizes but pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.

BMP (Bitmap) is a raster image formato developed by Microsoft para Windows. It stores images com no compressão by default, resulting in large tamanho do arquivos mas pixel-perfect quality. It has been part of Windows since version 1.0.

BMP files open in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, and virtually any image viewer. All Windows applications support BMP natively.

BMP arquivos abrir in Windows Paint, Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, e virtually any image viewer. All Windows aplicativos support BMP natively.

PNG is better than BMP in almost every scenario since it provides lossless compression (smaller files), transparency support, and wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant for legacy Windows applications.

PNG is melhor que BMP in almost every scenario since it fornece sem perdas compressão (smaller files), transparência support, e wider cross-platform use. BMP is mainly relevant para legacy Windows aplicativos.