Free online CRW to PNG converter

Many photo editors, publishing systems, and image viewers do not accept Canon’s older CRW raw format, while PNG is widely supported for editing and lossless sharing. Converting also produces a rendered image that can be archived or used in documents without requiring raw-processing software.

What the CRW format is

CRW is Canon’s proprietary raw camera format, used mainly by older PowerShot and some early EOS cameras. A CRW file stores minimally processed sensor data rather than a finished RGB image, along with camera metadata such as exposure, white balance, and lens information.

CRW files commonly use Canon’s CIFF container and may require a raw decoder that recognizes the specific camera model. You may encounter them in camera card backups, older photo archives, or folders exported from Canon software. Programs that can open many CRW files include darktable, RawTherapee, digiKam, Adobe Lightroom, and Canon Digital Photo Professional; support varies by camera and software version.

What the PNG format is

PNG is a lossless raster image format supported by web browsers, office applications, graphics editors, and operating systems. It is suitable for screenshots, diagrams, logos, line art, and photographs that must not lose additional detail through JPEG compression.

PNG stores a rendered RGB or RGBA image, not the original raw sensor data. It can preserve an 8-bit or 16-bit-per-channel export, but PNG files are often larger than JPEG files for ordinary photographs. Use PNG when compatibility, lossless storage, or transparency is more useful than small file size.

How to actually convert CRW to PNG

Using 101convert online

1. Open the CRW-to-PNG converter on 101convert.com; the service can be used free without installing software.
2. Choose or upload the .crw file.
3. Select PNG as the output format and start the conversion.
4. Download the resulting .png file and open it in an image viewer to check its dimensions, orientation, and colors.

Do not upload photographs containing sensitive or confidential information unless the service’s current privacy and file-retention terms are acceptable.

Using darktable on a computer

1. Install darktable and import the CRW file through Lighttable → Import.
2. Open the image in the darkroom and adjust exposure, white balance, highlights, cropping, and lens corrections if needed.
3. Return to Lighttable, select the image, and choose Export.
4. Set File format to PNG, select 8-bit or 16-bit output if available, choose an output folder, and start the export.

For batch conversion, darktable’s command-line exporter can be used with an output filename ending in .png:

darktable-cli input.crw output.png

Use a separate output folder so the rendered files do not overwrite the original CRW files.

Using RawTherapee

1. Open the CRW in RawTherapee and make any required raw-processing adjustments.
2. Send the image to the processing queue, choose PNG in the output settings, and select the destination folder.
3. Start processing and verify the generated .png file.

RawTherapee and darktable are preferable to a generic image converter when you need control over demosaicing, white balance, exposure recovery, color profile, and bit depth.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

Conversion is not a simple container change: the raw data must be demosaiced and rendered into pixels. The chosen software’s camera profile and processing settings therefore affect sharpness, color, noise, and dynamic range.

Keep the original CRW files. A PNG export cannot restore raw adjustment latitude, and editing the PNG does not preserve the camera’s original sensor data. For further editing, export 16-bit PNG when the software and target application support it; use 8-bit PNG for general viewing and compatibility.

PNG compression is lossless, but it does not necessarily make camera photos smaller. For email or web delivery, JPEG is usually more compact; for screenshots, graphics, or files that will undergo repeated editing, PNG avoids additional lossy compression. Some old CRW variants are unsupported by current decoders, in which case Canon Digital Photo Professional or another application with the matching camera profile may be required before exporting.