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Image MIME Reference
Canon-CRW

Canon Raw Format

image/x-canon-crw
VS

GIMP Image Format

image/x-xcf
XCF

A complete technical comparison of Canon Raw Format and GIMP Image Format — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Canon-CRW XCF
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes Yes
ICC Color Profile ✕ No Yes
Canon Raw Format
image/x-canon-crw
Extension
.crw
Container CIFF (Camera Image File Format)
Compression Lossless JPEG (ITU-T81)
Algorithm
Lossless JPEG
Color Depth 10-bit (Per Channel), 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Canon Inc.
Released 1998
Magic Bytes
49 49 1A 00 00 00 (Header) / 48 45 41 50 43 43 44 52 (HEAPCCDR signature near end)
Full Canon-CRW reference →
GIMP Image Format
image/x-xcf
Extension
.xcf
Container GIMP Hierarchical Chunk Container
Compression None / RLE (Run-Length Encoding) / Zlib / Deflate (In newer GIMP versions)
Algorithm
NoneRLEZlib
Color Depth 8-bit per channel, 16-bit per channel, 32-bit floating point
Developed by Spencer Kimball, Peter Mattis, and the GIMP Development Team
Released 1995
Magic Bytes
67 69 6D 70 20 78 63 66
Full XCF reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Canon-CRW XCF
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Canon-CRW

Canon-CRW Strengths

  • Preserves original raw sensor data from foundational early digital SLR cameras, allowing for modern noise reduction and demosaicing algorithms to extract better images than software could in 2003
  • Files are remarkably small (often 6-8 MB) compared to modern 40MB+ raw files due to the lower megapixel count of early sensors
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete and utilizes the idiosyncratic CIFF structure rather than the modern, standardized TIFF/EP structure
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized codecs
  • Less robust metadata support compared to modern CR2 or CR3 formats
XCF

XCF Strengths

  • Preserves all non-destructive editing elements, layer hierarchies, masks, and alpha channels across GIMP sessions
  • Open and thoroughly documented specification within the open-source community, allowing third-party tools like Krita and ImageMagick to read project files
  • Reliable magic byte header prevents misidentification
Limitations
  • Massive file sizes because raw, unflattened layer bitmaps and masks are stored directly within the project archive
  • Completely proprietary to the GIMP ecosystem for deep editing; cannot be natively rendered or parsed by web browsers
  • Third-party software supporting XCF may occasionally struggle to render complex text layer adjustments or advanced layer blend modes identically to GIMP

When to choose which format

Canon-CRW
Use Canon-CRW when…
  • Historical Digital Photography (2000-2004)
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • Raw Imaging Archival
XCF
Use XCF when…
  • GIMP Native Project Archival
  • Layered Photo Editing and Graphic Design
  • Intermediary Asset Preparation for Export

More comparisons

Canon-CRW vs ACES → XCF vs ACES → Canon-CRW vs APNG → XCF vs APNG → Canon-CRW vs AVCI → XCF vs AVCI → Canon-CRW vs AVCS → XCF vs AVCS → Canon-CRW vs AVIF → XCF vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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