Open ARW Files

ARW is a proprietary file format typically used for the files captured by Sony digital cameras.

ARW files are raw and unprocessed, therefore users will not be able to print or adjust them until they have been converted to other formats. This also means that the picture hasn't been compressed or manipulated in any way; it's in the same raw form it was when the camera first captured it.

ARW pictures are based on the TIFF format and they store graphics data exactly as it was recorded by the camera's sensor.

In order to open ARW pictures, users will have to select a compatible graphics viewer. Fortunately, there are many software applications capable of running, opening and editing ARW files, and some of them even come preinstalled with the latest versions of windows. For those of you interested in professional third-party software tools, however, there is a wide selection of such programs to choose from.