EXR to PNG Converter

Encoding: the EXR uses none, RLE, ZIP, PIZ, PXR24, B44 or DWA, chosen per file; PNG uses lossless DEFLATE with a prediction filter chosen per row, and the download is a lossless 8-bit PNG with full alpha.

Bit depth: 16-bit half or 32-bit floating point per channel in the EXR; PNG allows 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 bits per channel, and the PNG written here has 8 bits per channel. Floating-point values are mapped to 8 bits per channel, and anything brighter than white clips.

Colour: scene-linear RGB, often ACEScg or linear Rec.709 in the EXR; PNG supports RGB, greyscale, or an indexed palette of up to 256 colours, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the EXR stores it as an A channel stored like any other channel; the PNG keeps it as a full alpha channel, so edges and shadows can fade smoothly.

Other images: the EXR can hold extra channels (depth, normals, render passes) and multiple parts; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the EXR can carry named header attributes such as chromaticities, timecode and camera data; PNG can carry text chunks, an ICC profile, physical resolution and EXIF in an eXIf chunk, but nothing is copied across.

OpenEXR is the high dynamic range format of film visual effects. It stores half or full floating-point channels in linear light, plus any extra render passes, and is the working format of compositing pipelines.

An EXR starts with the magic number 76 2F 31 01 and a version field, then a header of named, typed attributes (channels, compression, dataWindow, displayWindow) and a table of offsets to scanline or tile blocks.

EXR files usually come from 3D renderers and compositing in Nuke, Blender, Houdini, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve.

PNG stores pixels losslessly with full alpha transparency. It is ideal for screenshots, logos, UI and anything with sharp edges, but photos saved as PNG are several times larger than JPEG.

A PNG opens with an 8-byte signature and is a chain of chunks, each with its own CRC: IHDR (size, depth, colour type), optional PLTE and tRNS for palettes, one or more IDAT chunks with the compressed rows, and IEND.

PNG is the better choice for screenshots, logos, graphics and anything that needs transparency, while EXR suits visual effects, compositing and 3D render output.

PNG strengths: Lossless: no quality loss, ever; Full transparency with smooth edges; Perfect for text, screenshots and graphics. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files for photographs; No standard animation (that is APNG).