PDF vs RAF
A detailed comparison of PDF Document and Fujifilm RAW — file size, quality, compatibility, and which format to choose for your workflow.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | .RAF | |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | application/pdf | image/x-fuji-raf |
| Current version | PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2:2020) | — |
| Compression | Flate, LZW, JBIG2, JPEG, JPEG 2000 | — |
| Max file size | ~10 GB (practical); 2^31 bytes (theoretical per object) | — |
| Color models | RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, Lab, DeviceN, ICC-based | — |
| Standard subsets | PDF/A, PDF/X, PDF/UA, PDF/E, PDF/VT | — |
| 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) |
Strengths Comparison
.PDF Strengths
- Pixel-perfect fidelity across operating systems, browsers, and printers.
- Embeds fonts, so documents render identically without the reader having them installed.
- Supports digital signatures, encryption, and redaction for legal workflows.
- ISO-standardized (ISO 32000) with multiple validated subsets (PDF/A, PDF/X, PDF/UA).
- Supports both vector and raster content, keeping line art crisp at any zoom level.
.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
.PDF — Limitations
- Editing is difficult — the format is optimized for display, not mutation.
- Text extraction can scramble reading order in multi-column layouts.
- File sizes balloon quickly when embedding high-resolution images or fonts.
- Accessibility (screen readers) requires careful tagging that many PDFs skip.
- JavaScript support has historically been a malware vector.
.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).
Frequently Asked Questions
PDF (Portable Document Format) was created by Adobe in 1993 to present documents consistently across all devices and operating systems. It preserves fonts, images, layouts, and formatting regardless of the software used to view it.
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.
PDF files can be opened with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free), web browsers like Chrome and Edge, macOS Preview, and alternative readers like Foxit and Sumatra PDF.
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 PDF for final documents meant to be viewed or printed without changes. Use DOCX when the document needs to be edited collaboratively. PDF preserves exact layout while DOCX allows flexible editing.
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.
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