About RW2 Files
Panasonic RAW RW2
RW2 is Panasonic Lumix RAW format.
Family
Raster & Vector Images
Extension
.rw2
MIME Type
image/x-panasonic-rw2
Can Use As
52 57 32 46 00 01 00 00 4B 41 49 4A
ASCII: RW2F....KAIJ
📈 Target Minimum File Size (Guaranteed ≥ KB)
Lossless JPEG Q100 + standard COM segment padding for government & exam portals
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HOW RW2 CAME TO BE.
RW2 shipped with the Panasonic Lumix G1 in 2008 — the first Micro Four Thirds camera, a joint Panasonic-Olympus mount. The earlier Panasonic raw format was RAW, a TIFF variant; RW2 is a cleaner successor with Panasonic’s own makernotes and a more rigid structure to accommodate the new mirrorless generation.
RW2 became the raw format of Panasonic’s video-forward Lumix S (full-frame, launched 2019) and GH series (Micro Four Thirds, hybrid video/photo bodies beloved by filmmakers). A GH5 or GH6 can shoot 6K photo mode that effectively captures 18 MP stills as RW2 files extracted from video streams.
Technical Specifications
- MIME type
- image/x-panasonic-rw2
- Extension
- .rw2
- Container
- TIFF/EP variant with Panasonic MakerNote
- Bit depth
- 12 or 14-bit
- Related
- .raw (older Panasonic bodies)
Typical Sizes & Weights
20 MP RW2 (G9, GH5)
20-25 MB
47 MP RW2 (Lumix S1R)
50-75 MB
STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS.
Strengths
- Compact thanks to Micro Four Thirds sensor size.
- Hybrid photo/video workflow friendly on GH bodies.
- Supports 14-bit depth on Lumix S.
- Stable format since 2008.
Limitations
- Proprietary — no public spec.
- Market share is niche; fewer tutorials.
- MFT sensor means less dynamic range than full-frame.
- Video-focused bodies mean some RW2 files are actually video-extracted frames with different artifacts.
CURIOSITIES & TRIVIA.
RW2 replaced the older RAW extension Panasonic used — same company, same company ethos, cleaner container.
The Panasonic GH series is the only stills camera that internally records RW2 photos extracted from 6K video frames.
Lumix S full-frame bodies write 47 MP RW2 files despite being designed primarily for video shooters.
Panasonic partnered with Leica on many lenses — but Leica's own cameras use DNG, not RW2.
RW2 files from 2008 G1 bodies still open in modern Lightroom — 17+ years of backward support.
Specialized Utilities for .RW2 Files
Compress Image to 20KB
Compress signature scans, stamp images, and ID photos to strictly ≤ 20 KB (20,000 bytes) for strict online exam and government application portals using binary-search JPEG quantization.
Compress Image to 50KB
Compress JPG, PNG, or WebP photos to strictly under 50 KB (50,000 bytes) for passport portals, university admissions, civil service forms, and KYC uploads without changing pixel dimensions.
Compress JPG to 100 KB
Upload a JPG and download a decodable JPG at or below 100,000 bytes. If the limit cannot be reached, no output is offered.
Crop Image & Photo Resizer
Crop and resize JPG, PNG, WEBP, and AVIF images to exact pixel dimensions, social media aspect ratios, or custom print DPI online for free.
Resize Image
Resize images to exact dimensions or scale by percentage. Lock aspect ratio to prevent distortion. Supports all common image formats.
PNG Compressor — Reduce PNG Size Preserving Transparency
Compress PNG images up to 80% while preserving full alpha-channel transparency, or lock exact file size targets (20 KB, 50 KB, 100 KB).
WEBP Compressor — Optimize WebP for Core Web Vitals
Compress WEBP images for ultra-fast page loads and Lighthouse scores with fine-grained quality sliders and exact byte targets.
Favicon Generator — Multi-Resolution .ICO from PNG, SVG or WEBP
Generate a production-ready multi-resolution favicon.ico containing 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, 64x64, 128x128, and 256x256 alpha layers from any logo.
EXIF Metadata Remover
Strip hidden GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, timestamps, and XMP/IPTC metadata from JPG, PNG, WebP, and TIFF photos before sharing online.
Image to Text (OCR)
Extract text from images using optical character recognition. Supports photos of documents, screenshots, receipts, and handwritten notes in 100+ languages.
JPG to Word Converter (OCR)
Convert scanned JPG, PNG, and WEBP images into editable Microsoft Word (DOCX) documents using 12-language optical character recognition (OCR).
CONVERT FROM RW2
Common Use Cases
Panasonic photography
Related Formats
Popular comparisons
RW2 vs PNG
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
RW2 vs WEBP
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
RW2 vs AVIF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
RW2 vs GIF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
RW2 vs BMP
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
RW2 vs TIFF
Differences, file size, and when to choose each format.
Popular RW2 conversions
The most-requested destinations when starting from RW2.
Frequently Asked Questions
RW2 (Panasonic RAW RW2) 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 RW2 when its particular strengths match the publishing target.
Most desktop photo viewers (Windows Photos, macOS Preview, GIMP, Photoshop, Affinity Photo) open RW2 natively. On mobile, iOS Photos and Google Photos display RW2 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 RW2 to JPG or RW2 to PNG converter.
Upload the RW2 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; RW2 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.
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