# HEIC/RAW Image Converter

> Convert iPhone HEIC, AVIF and camera RAW (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG…) to JPG, PNG or WebP. Decodes HEIC/HEIF and AVIF photos with libheif and camera RAW files with LibRaw, applies the camera rotation and saves a JPG, PNG or WebP at the quality you choose. Shows the camera, lens and exposure details, and keeps or removes the EXIF metadata as you prefer.

Part of usefulweb.site (https://usefulweb.site/). Results are deterministic calculations from the inputs and the listed assumptions; the API returns exactly what the web page shows.

## Use it
- Human interface: https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/ (interactive tool at https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/tool)
- JSON API: POST https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/api/v1/calculate with a JSON object of inputs (schema: https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/api/v1/tool)
- OpenAPI: https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/openapi.json
- MCP (Streamable HTTP): https://heicrawconverter.usefulweb.site/mcp - tool `heic_raw_converter`

## Inputs
- file (file, required): HEIC, AVIF or RAW photo - HEIC/HEIF (iPhone), AVIF or camera RAW (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, ORF, RW2, RAF, PEF…), max 50 MB and 100 megapixels. Deleted after processing; the result can be downloaded for about 2 hours.
- format (select): Output format
- quality (integer): Quality - For JPG and WebP. PNG is always lossless.
- keepExif (boolean): Keep EXIF metadata (camera, date, GPS location) - Off removes all metadata, including the GPS location.
- autoOrient (boolean): Apply the camera rotation - Rotates the pixels upright. HEIC rotation is always applied because the HEIF format requires it.
- rawWhiteBalance (select): RAW white balance

## Method
- The file type is detected from its content: HEIC/HEIF and AVIF by their ISO-BMFF brand, RAW by its TIFF/ORF/RW2/RAF/CR3 signature (for TIFF-based RAW such as NEF/ARW the file extension decides between RAW and plain TIFF).
- HEIC/HEIF and AVIF are decoded with libheif (heif-convert/heif-dec), which applies the rotation and mirroring stored in the file. RAW files are developed with LibRaw (dcraw_emu): demosaicing (AHD), camera or automatic white balance, sRGB output, 8 bits per channel.
- ImageMagick encodes JPG/PNG; WebP is encoded with libwebp (cwebp) when installed. Width, height and pixel count are checked before decoding (limit 100 megapixels).
- With "Keep EXIF" on, exiftool copies EXIF/XMP/IPTC from the original into the new file (without embedded previews) and resets the Orientation tag when the pixels were rotated. Otherwise the output carries no metadata at all.
- RAW development here is a neutral default rendering. A dedicated RAW editor (Lightroom, darktable, RawTherapee) gives more control over exposure, noise and colour.

## Limits
- Keep your original HEIC/RAW file: converting to JPG or WebP discards detail and dynamic range.