RAW to HEIC Converter
Convert RAW to HEIC in your browser. The camera's embedded JPEG preview is what gets converted, not the sensor data; it matches what the camera showed on its screen. No raw development happens here. You get a HEIF file whose picture is JPEG-compressed rather than HEVC, because no HEVC encoder runs in a browser. Nothing is uploaded.
- Processed locally
- No upload, no wait
- No sign-up
- No watermark
Drop images here
or choose files · paste with Ctrl/⌘ V
RAW expected · other image formats also work
How to use RAW to HEIC
- 1
Add your RAW files: drop them here, choose them, or paste from the clipboard.
- 2
Set the quality. 85 keeps the picture close to the original at a modest size.
- 3
Click Convert. Each file is decoded and encoded in a background thread on this device.
- 4
Download the .heic files one at a time or together as a ZIP.
Why use Aback Images for raw to heic
Where the HEIC goes next
HEIC opens in Apple devices, recent Android phones, and Windows with the HEIF and HEVC extensions.
HEIC next to RAW
The HEIC is made from the camera's 8-bit preview, so it is a small fraction of a 20 to 80 MB raw file.
A second JPEG generation
The pixels come from the JPEG preview the camera embedded in the RAW, so they have been compressed once already; keep the quality at or above the default.
Processed on your device
Your images are decoded, edited and encoded inside this browser tab by Web Workers. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
RAW vs HEIC
What changes from RAW to HEIC
Encoding: the RAW uses uncompressed, lossless JPEG or vendor-specific coding of the sensor data, depending on the maker; HEIC uses lossy HEVC (H.265) intra coding, on iPhones as a grid of 512×512 tiles, and the download is a HEIF file whose picture is JPEG-compressed rather than HEVC, because no HEVC encoder runs in a browser.
Bit depth: 12 to 16 bits per channel in the RAW; HEIC allows 8 or 10 bits per channel, and the HEIC written here has 8 bits per channel. The sensor's 12 to 16 bits are not used: the camera's 8-bit preview is converted.
Colour: camera-native RGB from a colour filter mosaic in the RAW; HEIC supports YCbCr, usually tagged Display P3 on iPhones, written here as 8-bit sRGB.
Metadata: the RAW can carry EXIF and vendor maker notes, almost always with an embedded JPEG preview; HEIC can carry EXIF, XMP and an ICC profile, stored as items, but nothing is copied across.
About RAW
Camera RAW files (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, ORF, RW2, RAF and others) hold the unprocessed sensor data from a camera along with an embedded full-size JPEG preview rendered by the camera.
.RAW is an extension rather than one format. Panasonic and Leica compacts wrote TIFF-like .RAW files before Panasonic moved to RW2, and scanners and scientific cameras use .raw for headerless dumps with no width, height or layout recorded, which nothing can read without being told those values.
RAW files usually come from older Panasonic and Leica compacts that saved .RAW, and scanners or scientific cameras that use the extension for pixel dumps.
About HEIC
HEIC is the default photo format on iPhones and many Android phones. It is about half the size of JPEG, but Windows, many websites and older software cannot open it without converting.
A HEIC is a HEIF file (ISO base media boxes with the brand 'heic'). iPhone photos store the picture as a grid of 512×512 HEVC tiles that the decoder stitches together, with the thumbnail, depth map and HDR gain map as further items.
When converting RAW to HEIC makes sense
HEIC is the better choice for storing photos on Apple devices, while RAW suits editing in Lightroom, Capture One or darktable.
HEIC strengths: About half the size of JPEG; Stores depth maps, Live Photos and HDR. Drawbacks to weigh: Not supported by most websites and Windows apps; Patent-encumbered codec.
Limitations
- A headerless .raw pixel dump has no preview and no size information, so it cannot be converted here.
- The file is a valid HEIF, but its picture is JPEG-coded rather than HEVC, so apps that expect HEVC (Apple Photos, Windows' HEVC extension) may not open it.
- The picture inside is JPEG-coded, so the file is about the size of a JPG at the same quality rather than the half size of a camera HEIC.
More conversions
Related tools
Convert HEIC to RAW in your browser, saved as a Linear DNG, the raw file every RAW editor also opens. Batch, private, no uploads.
Convert RAW to JPG in your browser, made from the full-size preview your camera camera stored in the file. Batch, private, no uploads.
Convert JPG to HEIC in your browser, a HEIF file with JPEG compression inside. 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 RAW to HEIC lose quality?
HEIC is lossy, so detail the eye barely notices is discarded to save space. The RAW's preview is a camera JPEG already, so keep the quality high to avoid stacking artefacts. The sensor's 12 to 16 bits are not used: the camera's 8-bit preview is converted.
Does this process the RAW sensor data?
No. Camera RAW files carry a JPEG rendered by the camera when the picture was taken, and that is what gets converted, so the result matches what you saw on the camera screen. For full development (white balance, highlight recovery, lens corrections) use a RAW editor.
Will the HEIC open in Apple Photos?
Not always. The file is a valid HEIF container, but its picture is JPEG-compressed rather than HEVC, because no HEVC encoder can run in a browser. libheif-based apps such as GIMP, darktable and ImageMagick open it; Apple Photos and Windows' HEVC extension expect HEVC and may refuse it. For an iPhone, JPG is the safer choice.
Which apps open HEIC files?
Apple devices, recent Android phones, and Windows with the HEIF and HEVC extensions. It opens in Safari on recent Apple systems; other browsers do not display it.
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.