ARW vs AVIF
Ein detaillierter Vergleich von Sony RAW ARW und AVIF Image — Dateigröße, Qualität, Kompatibilität und welches je nach Workflow zu wählen ist.
Sony RAW ARW
Raster & Vector ImagesARW is Sony Alpha RAW format for professional and mirrorless cameras.
Über ARW-DateienAVIF Image
Raster & Vector ImagesAVIF is a next-generation image format based on the AV1 video codec. It offers significantly better compression than JPEG and WebP while maintaining excellent visual quality, including HDR and wide color gamut support.
Über AVIF-DateienVorteilsvergleich
ARW Vorteile
- Full 14-bit sensor data on flagship bodies.
- Rich Sony metadata (Creative Style, DRO, Focus Magnifier).
- Supported by every major raw processor.
- Lossless compression available on modern bodies.
AVIF Vorteile
- Best-in-class compression efficiency — 30-50% smaller than JPEG for the same quality.
- Royalty-free and patent-unencumbered (unlike HEIC).
- Supports alpha transparency, HDR, wide gamut (BT.2020), and up to 12-bit color.
- Progressive decoding: a blurry preview appears while the file is still downloading.
- Supported in all major browsers since late 2022 — no polyfills needed.
Einschränkungen
ARW Einschränkungen
- Proprietary — new Sony body launch = Lightroom update required.
- Lossy compression was the only option on many older bodies (visible banding in highlights).
- File sizes are huge on 50+ MP bodies.
- Some ARW variants use 16-bit layout that breaks older third-party tools.
AVIF Einschränkungen
- Encoding is CPU-expensive — an AVIF export can take 10-30× longer than JPEG.
- Older software (pre-2022) cannot open AVIF without plugins.
- Email clients still largely ignore it — stick to JPEG for attachments.
- Metadata support (EXIF, XMP) exists but tooling is less mature than for JPEG.
Technische Spezifikationen
| Spezifikation | ARW | AVIF |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | image/x-sony-arw | image/avif |
| Extension | .arw | — |
| Container | TIFF/EP with Sony MakerNote tags | HEIF (ISOBMFF) |
| Bit depth | 14-bit (flagship); 12-bit (entry) | — |
| Compression | Uncompressed, Lossless, Lossy | — |
| Codec | — | AV1 (intra-only) |
| Max dimensions | — | 65 536 × 65 536 px |
| Color depth | — | Up to 12-bit per channel |
| Color spaces | — | sRGB, Display-P3, BT.2020, arbitrary ICC |
Typische Dateigrößen
ARW
- 24 MP ARW (A7 III, A7C) 25-45 MB
- 42 MP ARW (A7R III) 50-90 MB
- 61 MP ARW (A7R IV, A7R V) 75-130 MB
AVIF
- Thumbnail (400px) 10-30 KB
- Web photo (1920px) 80-300 KB
- 4K photo (3840px) 300 KB - 1.2 MB
- Lossless copy of 24MP photo 8-15 MB
Bereit zum Umwandeln?
Wandle zwischen ARW und AVIF online um, kostenlos und ohne Installation. Verschlüsselter Upload, automatische Löschung in 60 Minuten.
Häufig gestellte Fragen
ARW (Sony RAW ARW) 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 ARW when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
ARW (Sony RAW ARW) is an image formato used to store raster graphics — a two-dimensional grid of pixels describing a picture. It is part of the raster & vector images family e designed around a specific trade-off between tamanho do arquivo, visual fidelity, e feature support (transparency, colour depth, compressão type). Photographers, web designers, e content creators choose ARW when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) open ARW natively. On mobile, iOS Photos and Google Photos display ARW 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 ARW to JPG or ARW to PNG converter.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) abrir ARW natively. On mobile, iOS Photos e Google Photos display ARW no gallery when suportado por the OS. If the formato is rare ou new, converter to JPG ou PNG first — both are universally readable — usando our ARW to JPG ou ARW to PNG converter.
Upload the ARW 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.
It depends on the task. JPG is the smallest file size for photographs; PNG is lossless with transparency; ARW has its own niche that may favour colour depth, animation, or encoding efficiency over one or both of those. For the final web publish, test all three and measure file size plus visible quality on real content.