RW2 to JPG without uploading your photos
Search for RW2 to JPG and most results are converter websites. They work, but each one means uploading every raw file, often 20 MB or more apiece, then waiting and downloading the results. For a day of Lumix photos that is slow, and it puts your pictures on someone else's server.
RW2 Viewer does the conversion on your PC. It opens Panasonic RW2 files from Micro Four Thirds and full-frame Lumix bodies alike, develops the raw data with the LibRaw engine built in, and writes JPG copies wherever you point it. You see every picture before you convert it, which a web form never shows you.
The RW2 originals are only ever read. Keep them for a proper edit later and use the JPGs for sharing now.
How to convert RW2 files to JPG
TIFF is also offered if you want a lossless copy for editing in another program, and PNG, BMP, PDF and ICO round out the list.
- Open any RW2 in the folder you want, with a double-click or Ctrl+O.
- Click Convert on the command bar, or right-click the photo and choose Convert image.
- Under Convert, pick This image or Whole folder.
- Set Format to JPG and drag Quality: 90 is the default, 70 to 80 suits email.
- For a folder, decide what Existing files does when a JPG is already there: Skip, Keep both or Replace.
- Choose the destination and start. The run reports any file it could not read at the end instead of stopping.
Checking Lumix shots before you export
Double-click the photo to jump between fit and actual size, which is the quickest focus check there is. The wheel zooms around the pointer, and dragging pans. The info panel on I lists the camera, lens and exposure next to the resolution and dates.
With the optional Professional Pack, P draws the box where autofocus locked on files that record it, C compares up to four frames side by side, and the number keys set stars (1 to 5) and color labels (6 to 9), saved to an XMP sidecar rather than the RW2.
Smaller JPGs for sharing
The pack also extends Convert with Export options: Resize to a long edge of 3840, 2048, 1600 or 1080 pixels, cap the File size at Under 300 KB up to Under 5 MB, apply a Look, choose Remove location to strip GPS, and add a Stamp line of text such as a copyright notice. It adds WebP, AVIF and JPEG XL as output formats too. All of it happens in the same pass as the conversion.
