HDR to DNG Converter
Convert HDR to DNG in your browser. HDR files usually come from HDRI environment maps, 360° panoramas and lighting simulation; DNG is the better fit for raw editing and archiving raw files in an open format. You get a Linear DNG: demosaiced 8-bit RGB with the colour matrices raw editors need. Nothing is uploaded.
- Processed locally
- No upload, no wait
- No sign-up
- No watermark
Drop images here
or choose files · paste with Ctrl/⌘ V
HDR expected · other image formats also work
How to use HDR to DNG
- 1
Add your HDR files: drop them here, choose them, or paste from the clipboard.
- 2
There is nothing to tune: the DNG is written uncompressed. Resizing and rotating are under More options if you need them.
- 3
Click Convert. Each file is decoded and encoded in a background thread on this device.
- 4
Download the .dng files one at a time or together as a ZIP.
Why use Aback Images for hdr to dng
Where the DNG goes next
DNG opens in Lightroom, Photoshop Camera Raw, Capture One, darktable, RawTherapee, Affinity Photo and macOS Photos.
DNG next to HDR
The DNG is written uncompressed, so expect it to be several times larger than the HDR, which stores run-length encoded RGBE scanlines.
Written without a lossy pass
The DNG is written uncompressed, so the pixels decoded from the HDR arrive unchanged, apart from precision beyond 8 bits per channel.
Processed on your device
Your images are decoded, edited and encoded inside this browser tab by Web Workers. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
HDR vs DNG
What changes from HDR to DNG
Encoding: the HDR uses run-length encoded RGBE scanlines; DNG uses lossless (or lossy) JPEG-compressed sensor data, plus optional JPEG previews, and the download is a Linear DNG: demosaiced 8-bit RGB with the colour matrices raw editors need.
Bit depth: an 8-bit mantissa per channel sharing an 8-bit exponent (RGBE), 32 bits per pixel in the HDR; DNG allows 8 to 16 bits per channel, and the DNG written here has 8 bits per channel, linearised. The high dynamic range is mapped to 8 bits per channel, and values above white clip.
Colour: linear RGB (or XYZ in the XYZE variant) in the HDR; DNG supports camera RGB plus the colour matrices that map it to XYZ (demosaiced linear RGB in a Linear DNG), written here as 8-bit sRGB.
Metadata: the HDR can carry a text header with FORMAT, EXPOSURE and optional comments; DNG can carry EXIF, XMP and DNG tags for colour matrices, calibration and lens corrections, but nothing is copied across.
About HDR
Radiance .hdr stores high dynamic range light values, widely used for 3D environment maps and HDRI lighting.
A Radiance file starts with '#?RADIANCE' (or '#?RGBE'), text lines such as FORMAT=32-bit_rle_rgbe and EXPOSURE, a blank line, a resolution line like '-Y 2048 +X 4096', then the scanlines.
HDR files usually come from HDRI environment maps, 360° panoramas and lighting simulation.
About DNG
DNG is Adobe's openly documented raw format. Some cameras and phones record it directly, Adobe DNG Converter turns other brands' raw files into it, and a Linear DNG holds already-demosaiced RGB that raw editors treat like any other raw file.
DNG is built on TIFF/EP. The raw image sits in a sub-IFD marked as the main image, with tags for black and white levels, colour matrices and the colour filter pattern; a Linear DNG (PhotometricInterpretation 34892) stores demosaiced RGB instead of a mosaic. Previews are optional, and Adobe DNG Converter can write a medium (1024 px), full-size or no preview.
When converting HDR to DNG makes sense
DNG is the better choice for raw editing and archiving raw files in an open format, while HDR suits 3D lighting and environment maps.
DNG strengths: Open specification read by every raw editor; Lossless compression and optional previews; Recorded directly by Leica, Pentax, DJI drones and phones. Drawbacks to weigh: Large files; No browser or ordinary photo viewer support on every platform.
Limitations
- Light values above 1.0 are clipped rather than tone-mapped, so the sun and bright sky turn flat white.
- Environment maps are 2:1 equirectangular panoramas, so the picture looks stretched near the top and bottom, as it should.
- Files in the XYZE variant cannot be read here; RGBE files, the common kind, can.
- The DNG holds the decoded 8-bit pixels, so it adds no dynamic range or detail beyond the HDR.
- Raw editors apply their own default profile and tone curve to a DNG, so it can look slightly different from the source until you adjust it.
- A Linear DNG has no sensor mosaic, so demosaicing settings in your raw editor have no effect on it.
More conversions
Related tools
Convert DNG to HDR in your browser, made from the full-size preview your Adobe camera stored in the file. Batch, private, no uploads.
Shrink JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF and GIF files with MozJPEG, OxiPNG and modern codecs, with a live before/after preview.
Resize to exact pixels, a percentage or a longest side, with Lanczos3 and Magic Kernel resampling. Batch ready.
Strip EXIF, GPS, XMP, IPTC and comments losslessly. Pixels are never re-encoded for JPG, PNG and WebP.
Convert between 34 image formats in bulk: HEIC, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, PNG, JPG, GIF, TIFF, SVG, ICO, PSD, RAW and more.
Frequently asked questions
Does converting HDR to DNG lose quality?
DNG is written uncompressed, so the pixels are stored exactly as decoded. The high dynamic range is mapped to 8 bits per channel, and values above white clip.
Can Lightroom edit this DNG like a camera raw file?
It opens with the full raw controls in Lightroom, Photoshop Camera Raw, Capture One and darktable, because it is a valid Linear DNG. It holds the decoded 8-bit pixels, though, so it has no more dynamic range or detail than the image it came from.
Which apps open DNG files?
Lightroom, Photoshop Camera Raw, Capture One, darktable, RawTherapee, Affinity Photo and macOS Photos. It does not open in web browsers.
Are my images uploaded anywhere?
No. Processing happens inside your browser with WebAssembly and Web Workers. The site only downloads the app code and codecs; your files never leave your device. You can confirm this with the live upload counter on the tool, or in your browser's network panel.
Can I process many files at once?
Yes. Drop a whole selection or folder. Files are processed in parallel on several worker threads, each result can be downloaded on its own, and everything can be saved as one ZIP.
Is it free? Is there a file limit or watermark?
It is free with no account, no watermark and no daily limit. The only limit is your device's memory: very large images (over roughly 100 megapixels) may be refused to keep the tab from crashing.