RW2 to BMP Converter

Panasonic RAW Image (RW2) is an unprocessed image taken by a Panasonic Lumix camera. Raw files, such as RW2 (and others) provide photographers and image editors with complete control over processing an image file, which is the main advantage and benefit of working with RW2.

How to open an RW2 file?

The default program for opening RW2 is Panasonic’s PHOTOfunSTUDIO. On Microsoft Windows (Windows) and macOS, use Adobe products, such as Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or Photoshop Lightroom. On Linux/Unix, use darktable, which is open-source, cross-platform, and free. 

Alternative free viewers to try are XnView MP, RawTherapee, and IrfanView. A paid viewer is FastRawViewer. On Windows, the LUMIX RAW Codec is a compatible viewer. 

Developed by: Panasonic

Initial Release: May 2014

Bitmap (BMP) is a pixel-based file format that stores two-dimensional images, generally without any compression. BMP utilizes a dot matrix data structure called raster graphics, which establishes the color depth of the image. BMP is mostly used for digital publishing of photographs. However, due to the lack of compression, BMP files are usually large.

How to open a BMP file?

BMP can be device-dependent or independent. BMP opens readily in the Microsoft Paint application and is often associated with Microsoft operating systems. Despite the association with Microsoft, a device-independent BMP, or DIB, can open on almost any device, operating system, or application. 

In addition to opening BMP files, many applications can be used to create them, such as Adobe Illustrator. Should you need to convert the BMP into a vector-based image, then consider using CorelDRAW. Other applications that can open BMP files include Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Photos, Apple Preview, Apple Photos, and ColorStrokes.

Developed by: Microsoft Corporation

Initial Release: 20 November 1985

Useful links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMP_file_format

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/gdi/bitmaps