LibRaw For Mac

Digital cameras store captured visual data in various RAW file formats, and it’s always preferable to work with these when doing any kind of image processing. However, creating an application that can handle all these formats can be tricky, which is why libraries that can handle RAW image decoding are valuable.

LibRaw is a free, open-source library that can be integrated into any application intended for working with RAW images. It implements the required functionality for reading these files and retrieving data needed for further processing. It can extract pixel values, metadata, and embedded thumbnails.

This library can be used with RAW viewers, converters, and data analyzers, along with applications designed for stitching together multiple photos to create panoramas and image stacks.

While it isn’t mainly intended for handling RAW conversion, it does offer some basic functionality that can be added to software where this particular feature isn’t its main selling point.

Given how many types of RAW formats are in use by numerous camera manufacturers, offering support for all of these is one of the main focuses of LibRaw. Every popular device on the market should be supported, from smartphones to DSLRs. You can check out the full list here.