JPG vs RAF
A detailed comparison of JPEG Image and Fujifilm RAW — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
JPEG Image
Raster & Vector ImagesJPEG is the most widely used lossy image format on the web. It achieves small file sizes through adjustable compression, making it ideal for photographs and complex images where some quality loss is acceptable.
About JPG filesFujifilm RAW
Raster & Vector ImagesRAF is the RAW image format used by Fujifilm cameras, containing unprocessed sensor data with Fujifilm color science.
About RAF filesStrengths Comparison
JPG Strengths
- Excellent compression ratio for photographs (10:1 or better without visible quality loss).
- Universal support — every camera, phone, OS, and browser reads JPEG natively.
- Adjustable quality setting balances file size against visual fidelity.
- Embeds EXIF metadata (camera model, GPS, exposure) automatically.
- Progressive rendering for graceful loading over slow networks.
RAF Strengths
- Full 14-bit (most bodies) or 16-bit (GFX) sensor data.
- Film simulation recipe stored in metadata.
- X-Trans sensor produces distinctive moiré-free rendering.
- Supports every classic Fuji film-simulation look.
Limitations
JPG Limitations
- Lossy — every save degrades the image further (generation loss).
- No transparency channel (use PNG or WebP for that).
- Visible compression artifacts on text, sharp edges, and flat colors.
- Limited to 8 bits per channel — poor for HDR or print work.
- Baseline JPEG tops out at 65,535 × 65,535 pixels.
RAF Limitations
- X-Trans demosaicing is the hardest raw problem to solve cleanly.
- Third-party tools rarely match Fuji's own rendering.
- Proprietary with no official spec.
- GFX RAF files are massive (150+ MB per shot).
Technical Specifications
| Specification | JPG | RAF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/jpeg | image/x-fuji-raf |
| Compression | Lossy — Discrete Cosine Transform + quantization + Huffman coding | — |
| Color depth | 8 bits per channel (24-bit RGB or 8-bit grayscale) | — |
| Max dimensions | 65,535 × 65,535 pixels (baseline) | — |
| Transparency | Not supported | — |
| Typical quality | 75–90 for web, 95+ for print | — |
| Extension | — | .raf |
| Container | — | Fujifilm proprietary TIFF-like |
| Sensor arrays | — | X-Trans (APS-C), Bayer (GFX medium-format) |
| Bit depth | — | 14-bit (X-series); 16-bit (GFX) |
Typical File Sizes
JPG
- Phone photo (12 MP, quality 85) 2–5 MB
- Web thumbnail (400px) 20–60 KB
- Full-page magazine photo 500 KB – 2 MB
- Social-media square (1080×1080) 100–400 KB
RAF
- 26 MP RAF (X-T4, X-T5) 40-55 MB
- 40 MP RAF (X-H2, X-T5 40MP) 60-80 MB
- 102 MP RAF (GFX 100 II) 150-220 MB
Ready to convert?
Convert between JPG and RAF online, free, and without installing anything. Encrypted upload, automatic deletion after 2 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
JPG (JPEG) is the most widely used image format, developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group in 1992. It uses lossy compression to achieve small file sizes, making it the standard for digital photography, web images, and social media.
RAF (Fujifilm RAW) is an image format used to store raster graphics — a two-dimensional grid of pixels describing a picture. It is part of the raster & vector images family and designed around a specific trade-off between file size, visual fidelity, and feature support (transparency, colour depth, compression type). Photographers, web designers, and content creators choose RAF when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
JPG files can be opened by virtually any image viewer or editor, including Windows Photos, macOS Preview, Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, and all web browsers.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) open RAF natively. On mobile, iOS Photos and Google Photos display RAF in the gallery when supported by the OS. If the format is rare or new, convert to JPG or PNG first — both are universally readable — using our RAF to JPG or RAF to PNG converter.
Use JPG for photographs and complex images where small file size matters. Use PNG when you need transparency, sharp text, or lossless quality such as logos, screenshots, and graphics with flat colors.
Upload the RAF to KaijuConverter and pick a target format (JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, TIFF, BMP, SVG, PDF). The conversion runs in the browser via ImageMagick and returns a download in seconds. No account or installation required; both input and output delete automatically within two hours.