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Image MIME Reference
FITS

Flexible Image Transport System

image/fits
VS

Minolta Raw Image

image/x-minolta-mrw
Minolta-MRW

A complete technical comparison of Flexible Image Transport System and Minolta Raw Image — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature FITS Minolta-MRW
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No ✕ No
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata ✕ No Yes
ICC Color Profile ✕ No Yes
Flexible Image Transport System
image/fits
Extension
.fits.fit.fts
Container FITS
Compression Uncompressed / Tile Compressed (Rice, GZIP)
Algorithm
UncompressedRiceGZIPHcompress
Color Depth 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit (Float/Double)
Developed by IAU FITS Working Group / NASA
Released 1981
Magic Bytes
53 49 4D 50 4C 45 20 20 3D 20
Full FITS reference →
Minolta Raw Image
image/x-minolta-mrw
Extension
.mrw
Container Proprietary MRW Container
Compression Uncompressed / Proprietary Lossless
Algorithm
NoneProprietary Lossless
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Minolta (later Konica Minolta)
Released 2001
Magic Bytes
00 4D 52 4D
Full Minolta-MRW reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser FITS Minolta-MRW
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
FITS

FITS Strengths

  • The undisputed global standard for archiving and sharing astronomical data
  • Self-documenting: Headers are written in plain ASCII, ensuring data is readable decades later regardless of software
  • Supports incredibly high dynamic range, N-dimensional arrays, and complex binary tables
Limitations
  • No support in standard consumer software or web browsers
  • Uncompressed raw FITS files from modern telescopes can be excessively large
  • Does not use standard metadata models like EXIF or XMP, requiring specialized parsers
Minolta-MRW

Minolta-MRW Strengths

  • Retains full, unadulterated sensor data from early CCD digital cameras, allowing modern demosaicing algorithms to extract far superior image quality than what was possible when the cameras were released
  • Possesses a very distinct, unambiguous magic header (\x00MRM), making programmatic identification completely foolproof
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete proprietary format that has not seen a new camera release since 2006
  • Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized decoders
  • Relies entirely on open-source reverse engineering (like LibRaw) for continued modern software compatibility

When to choose which format

FITS
Use FITS when…
  • Astronomy & Astrophysics
  • Space Telescope Data (Hubble, JWST)
  • Scientific Data Archiving
  • Spectroscopy
Minolta-MRW
Use Minolta-MRW when…
  • Vintage Digital Photography (Konica Minolta DiMAGE / Maxxum)
  • Raw Imaging Archival
  • Historical Camera Sensor Research

More comparisons

FITS vs ACES → Minolta-MRW vs ACES → FITS vs APNG → Minolta-MRW vs APNG → FITS vs AVCI → Minolta-MRW vs AVCI → FITS vs AVCS → Minolta-MRW vs AVCS → FITS vs AVIF → Minolta-MRW vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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