Image MIME Reference
Minolta-MRW
Minolta Raw Image
image/x-minolta-mrw
VS
Apple PICT Image
image/x-pict
PICT
A complete technical comparison of Minolta Raw Image and Apple PICT Image — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.
Equal browser support
Feature Support
| Feature | Minolta-MRW | PICT |
|---|---|---|
| Transparency (Alpha) | ✕ No | Yes |
| Animation Support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Progressive Loading | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HDR Support | Yes | ✕ No |
| EXIF Metadata | Yes | ✕ No |
| ICC Color Profile | Yes | ✕ No |
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
Apple PICT Image
image/x-pict
Extension
.pict.pct.pic
Container
QuickDraw Metafile
Compression
Uncompressed / Run-Length Encoding (RLE) / QuickTime Compressors (JPEG, SMC)
Algorithm
Apple PackBits (RLE)QuickTime Image Compression Manager (ICM)
Color Depth
1-bit, 2-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit (Indexed), 16-bit (High Color), 24-bit (True Color), 32-bit (RGBA)
Developed by
Apple Computer, Inc.
Released
1984
Magic Bytes
None (Requires offset parsing, e.g., 00 11 02 FF at byte 522)
Browser Support Comparison
| Browser | Minolta-MRW | PICT |
|---|---|---|
Chrome
|
✕ | ✕ |
Firefox
|
✕ | ✕ |
Safari
|
✕ | ✕ |
Edge
|
✕ | ✕ |
IE (Legacy)
|
✕ | ✕ |
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
PICT
PICT Strengths
- Incredibly versatile for its time, allowing a single file to cleanly scale text and vector shapes while simultaneously housing raster photos
- Served as the flawless universal clipboard format for the classic Mac OS, enabling seamless copy/pasting between wildly different applications
Limitations
- Deeply tied to Apple's legacy QuickDraw graphics architecture, making it exceptionally difficult to write accurate third-party parsers on modern operating systems
- Lack of a standard magic header makes file detection unreliable without seeking 522 bytes deep into the file
- Completely unsupported in modern web environments and discontinued by Apple itself
When to choose which format
Minolta-MRW
Use Minolta-MRW when…
- Vintage Digital Photography (Konica Minolta DiMAGE / Maxxum)
- Raw Imaging Archival
- Historical Camera Sensor Research
PICT
Use PICT when…
- Classic Mac OS Clipboard Data
- Legacy Macintosh Desktop Publishing (Aldus PageMaker, QuarkXPress)
- 1980s/1990s Digital Clip Art