Photographers rejoice! Chrome and Chrome OS’ chrome.mediaGalleries API now support more RAW picture formats and the list has gotten pretty big. Most photographers who take their images seriously shoot RAW images instead of using formats like .jpeg. This allows them to use the uncompressed, complete image data for better end results.
This may not be a big deal for Chrome users who use a desktop for work, they can already use other desktop programs for viewing and editing RAW images. Chromebook owners will be most excited about this update. The Chrome OS platform is starting to accomplish more and more. I have showed you how one can even do video editing on a Chromebook, and there are many cloud photo editors out there, as well. Having RAW compatibility can change everything for a photographer.
RAW formats supported by Chrome
- .3fr Hasselblad
- .arw Sony
- .cr2 Canon
- .crw Canon
- .dcr Kodak
- .dng Adobe, Leica, Ricoh, Samsung
- .erf Epson
- .k25 Kodak
- .kdc Kodak
- .mef Mamiya
- .mos Leaf
- .mrw Minolta
- .nef Nikon
- .orf Olympus
- .pef Pentax
- .raf Fuji
- .raw Leica, Panasonic, Phase One – TIFF
- .rw2 Panasonic
- .sr2 Sony
- .srf Sony
- .x3f Sigma
As a Photography enthusiast, I always shoot my images in RAW (at least the ones where I care about quality). I can’t express how excited I am about this update. I am just hoping for a good web photo editor to come to Chrome. Hopefully sometime soon Adobe will have its apps available completely in the cloud. They have already moved to a subscription payment system, why not set up some servers and allow for cloud photo editing?
[Chromium via François Beaufort]
