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How to Convert RAW Photos to JPG on Mac

Convert camera RAW files such as CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF and DNG to JPG on a Mac, one photo or a whole folder, with Kompressor, Preview or the Terminal.

Steps

  1. Download Kompressor for Mac or get it on the Mac App Store
  2. Open the Kompressor app
  3. Drag and drop your RAW image(s) into Kompressor
  4. Select JPEG as your output format
  5. Adjust compression settings as needed
  6. Click on the ▷ (play) button to convert your RAW image(s) offline

Kompressor is free to try: you get 3 conversions, and each conversion can include as many images as you want.

Which RAW formats work?

Kompressor reads the RAW formats that macOS supports. These include Canon (CR2, CR3), Nikon (NEF), Sony (ARW), Fujifilm (RAF), Panasonic (RW2), Olympus (ORF), Pentax (PEF), Leica (RWL), Hasselblad (3FR, FFF), Phase One (IIQ) and Adobe DNG. The homepage has the full list of input formats.

Apple adds new cameras with macOS updates, and Kompressor supports them automatically. If macOS does not know your camera yet, Kompressor cannot read its RAW files.

When this method is the correct one

A RAW file contains the data from the camera sensor. A RAW editor such as Lightroom, Capture One or Apple Photos lets you change exposure, white balance and colors before you export.

Kompressor is not a RAW editor. It converts the RAW file with the standard rendering of macOS, without adjustments. Use it when you want JPG files fast: to send a shoot to a client for selection, to share photos with friends, or to make small previews of an archive. Use a RAW editor for the photos that you want to develop.

Other ways to convert RAW to JPG on Mac

Preview

  1. Select the images in Finder and open them with Preview. They open in one window.
  2. Click a thumbnail in the sidebar and press ⌘A to select all.
  3. Choose File > Export Selected Images, click Options and select JPEG.

Preview is free and already on your Mac. It applies one setting to all images without a preview of the result.

Terminal (sips)

sips is part of macOS and converts a whole folder with one command:

mkdir converted
sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 80 *.CR3 --out converted

The number after formatOptions is the quality from 0 to 100. There is no preview, so you must open the results to check them.

Replace CR3 with the extension of your camera.

When Kompressor is the better tool

RAW files are large, and a shoot has hundreds of them. Kompressor converts whole folders on all processor cores and can resize the photos in the same step, for example to a long edge of 3000 pixels.

Set Metadata to Keep if you want to keep the date and the camera data of your photos. Kompressor removes metadata by default.

Which quality setting to use

Kompressor shows quality as a bar with ten steps, from 10% to 100%. The default is 80%, and it is a good start for photos. Before you convert, open the compare view: drag the slider across the image to see the original next to the result, with the real output file size. Lower the quality until you see a difference, then go one step back.

Questions

Does the JPG look like the preview on the camera?

Not exactly. The camera applies its own picture style. Kompressor uses the standard RAW rendering of macOS, which is the rendering that you also see in Preview and Finder.

Can I convert RAW to other formats?

Yes. Select HEIC or AVIF for smaller files, or TIFF for a lossless file that you can edit.

Is JPG the same as JPEG?

Yes. JPG and JPEG are two names for the same format. Kompressor calls it JPEG.

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