Participant

Question

How to convert a TIFF to a RAW

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
March 17, 2023
6 replies
11800 views

Hello,

Is it possible to convert a TIFF file to a RAW file using Photoshop?

Many thanks

Windows

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

I am not aware of any way to convert a rendered RGB image into a raw camera image (not to be confused with the Photoshop Raw file format which is something else entirely).

Although it is possible to convert a JPEG or TIFF into a DNG using Adobe Camera Raw, this doesn't make it a raw camera image. DNG is just a "wrapper" and ACR knows that the underlying data was originally JPEG and it will not process the same way as a raw camera file would.

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

Why would you want to convert to RAW? I can think of three reasons why, maybe

- because "RAW is better". Actually, RAW is only better because it has more information from the original photo. So if you could convert (you can't) you wouldn't get that info back and it wouldn't be better.

- because someone demands RAW. In this case you need to actually get RAW from your camera, you can't fake it.

- because there is something you want to do that you can only do with RAW. In this case... please let us know what it is you want to do, there might still be a way.

A

Andrea28933247pit1Author

Participant

Hello,

This came about because of the X-rite color checker. I am finding that their software does not allow you to apply their color correction abilities to TIFF photos, but rather only RAW photos. So I would like to convert to the photos to RAW so I can utilize the color checker.

Thanks

Stephen Marsh

Community Expert

As an analogy, your question could be rephrased as:

"I have baked a cake, however, I need to return the flour and eggs back to their previous raw state, how can I do so?"

You need the raw files, not the (baked) TIFF files.

jane-e

Community Expert

@Andrea28933247pit1

May I ask what it is that are you trying to achieve by doing this? Are you aware that you can open tiffs and jpegs in Adobe Camera Raw? Right-click in Adobe Bridge and open in ACR (or Ctrl+R).

Jane

A

Andrea28933247pit1Author

Participant

Hello,

We have a company that sent us images in TIFF format with the X-rite color checker in them. However my understanding is that the color correction software will not work with TIFF formats and only RAW. Therefore I was hoping to find a way to convert the TIFFs to RAW so we can use the color checker.

Thanks

jane-e

Community Expert

We have a company that sent us images in TIFF format with the X-rite color checker in them.
By @Andrea28933247pit1

I don't use X-rite color checker, but their site says they use DNG. Will the very first response from @Kevin Stohlmeyer work for you?

"You can use the Adobe Digital Converted to change your file to a DNG format:

https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/using/adobe-dng-converter.html"

Jane

TheDigitalDog

Inspiring

The answer is no.

What Per wrote (a rendered image, can't be turned into a raw).

This is really what raw looks like:

Author “Color Management for Photographers" & "Photoshop CC Color Management/pluralsight"

Per Berntsen

Community Expert

The DNG converter will convert raw files to DNG (which is also a raw format), but it cannot convert Tiff files to DNG.

Only digital cameras can create raw files.

If you mean the Photoshop Raw format (which has nothing to do with raw files from cameras), do a Save As.

The Photoshop Raw format is a flexible file format for transferring images between applications and computer platforms. This format supports CMYK, RGB, and grayscale images with alpha channels, and multichannel and Lab images without alpha channels. Documents saved in the Photoshop Raw format can be of any pixel or file size, but they cannot contain layers.