PSD to ORF Converter

Encoding: the PSD uses raw or RLE (PackBits) channel data, ZIP in some 16 and 32-bit files; ORF uses losslessly compressed sensor data, with a preview and thumbnail, and the download is a Linear DNG: demosaiced 8-bit RGB with the colour matrices raw editors need.

Bit depth: 8, 16 or 32 bits per channel in the PSD; ORF allows 12 bits per channel, and the DNG written here has 8 bits per channel, linearised. 16 and 32-bit documents are reduced to 8 bits per channel.

Colour: RGB, CMYK, Lab, greyscale, indexed or multichannel in the PSD; ORF supports camera RGB from a Bayer mosaic, written here as 8-bit sRGB.

Transparency: the PSD stores it as transparent layers plus extra alpha channels; the DNG has none, so transparent areas are filled with the colour you choose.

Other images: the PSD can hold layers, masks, adjustment layers and smart objects; only the main image is converted.

Metadata: the PSD can carry XMP, EXIF, IPTC and ICC in image resource blocks; ORF can carry EXIF and Olympus maker notes, which also contain the preview, but nothing is copied across.

PSD is Adobe Photoshop's layered working format. It keeps layers, masks and effects, but almost nothing outside Photoshop can display it, so finished designs are exported to PNG or JPG.

A PSD has five sections: a header ('8BPS', channel count, size, depth, colour mode), colour mode data, image resources (thumbnail, ICC, XMP, resolution), layer and mask information, and finally the merged composite image that the Maximize Compatibility option saves.

PSD files usually come from Photoshop and apps that save Photoshop documents, such as Affinity Photo, GIMP, Photopea and Krita.

ORF is the raw format of Olympus and OM System cameras, built around Four Thirds and Micro Four Thirds sensors. It stores 12-bit sensor data with a JPEG preview kept inside Olympus's maker notes.

ORF looks like TIFF but replaces the version number 42 with the letters 'RO', so a little-endian file starts 'IIRO' and generic TIFF readers reject it. Its JPEG preview is not in the main image directory but inside the camera-settings block of Olympus's maker notes.

ORF files come from Olympus E-series DSLRs, OM-D and PEN mirrorless cameras and OM System bodies.

Forms and workflows that ask for ORF usually feed a raw editor, and each of those opens DNG as well, so the DNG can take the ORF's place. Keep the PSD if you only need to view or share the picture.

What ORF offers when it comes straight from the camera: Compact files from a smaller Four Thirds sensor; High Res Shot results stored as a single file; Supported across two decades of Olympus and OM System bodies. Its drawbacks: An 'IIRO' header that generic TIFF readers reject; 12-bit depth, less than most full-frame raw files; A preview hidden inside the maker notes.