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Image MIME Reference
Panasonic-RAW-(RW2)

Panasonic RAW Image

image/x-panasonic-raw
VS

Pixologic ZBrush PCX

image/vnd.zbrush.pcx
ZBrush-PCX

A complete technical comparison of Panasonic RAW Image and Pixologic ZBrush PCX — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) ZBrush-PCX
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No ✕ No
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
Panasonic RAW Image
image/x-panasonic-raw
Extension
.raw.rw2
Container TIFF-based (Proprietary)
Compression Uncompressed / Panasonic Proprietary Lossless
Algorithm
NoneProprietary Lossless
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel), 14-bit (Per Channel), 16-bit (Per Channel - High-res mode)
Developed by Panasonic Corporation
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
Older RAW: 49 49 2A 00 | Newer RW2: 49 49 55 00
Full Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) reference →
Pixologic ZBrush PCX
image/vnd.zbrush.pcx
Extension
.pcx
Container ZSoft PCX
Compression Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Algorithm
ZSoft Run-Length Encoding (RLE)
Color Depth 8-bit (Grayscale), 24-bit (RGB)
Developed by ZSoft (Format) / Pixologic (MIME Registration)
Released 1985
Magic Bytes
0A 05 01 08
Full ZBrush-PCX reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) ZBrush-PCX
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Panasonic-RAW-(RW2)

Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) Strengths

  • Retains maximum sensor data, allowing significant recovery of highlights and shadows compared to in-camera JPEGs
  • Modern RW2 files embed proprietary lens correction profiles (distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration) that raw converters can automatically apply
  • The unique 'IIU' signature on RW2 files makes programmatic identification extremely reliable compared to other TIFF-spoofing raw formats
Limitations
  • Proprietary format requires continuous updates to third-party processing engines whenever Panasonic releases a new Lumix camera
  • Produces very large file sizes, particularly when using Panasonic's High-Resolution multi-shot modes
  • Cannot be directly embedded into web pages or used in standard HTML/CSS contexts
ZBrush-PCX

ZBrush-PCX Strengths

  • Extremely simple, lossless RLE compression makes it trivial to parse and encode programmatically
  • Universally supported by almost every 2D image editor created since the 1990s
Limitations
  • Completely obsolete for modern 3D workflows, which require 16-bit or 32-bit floating-point precision (like OpenEXR or TIFF) to avoid stepping artifacts in displacement maps
  • No support for modern metadata (EXIF/XMP) or native alpha channels
  • Zero native support in modern web browsers

When to choose which format

Panasonic-RAW-(RW2)
Use Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) when…
  • Professional Digital Photography
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • High Dynamic Range (HDR) Lumix Archival
ZBrush-PCX
Use ZBrush-PCX when…
  • Legacy ZBrush Alpha Brushes
  • 8-bit Grayscale Displacement Maps
  • ZBrush Texture Exports

More comparisons

Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) vs ACES → ZBrush-PCX vs ACES → Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) vs APNG → ZBrush-PCX vs APNG → Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) vs AVCI → ZBrush-PCX vs AVCI → Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) vs AVCS → ZBrush-PCX vs AVCS → Panasonic-RAW-(RW2) vs AVIF → ZBrush-PCX vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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