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Image MIME Reference
Pentax-PEF

Pentax Electronic File

image/x-pentax-pef
VS

Valve Texture Format

image/vnd.valve.source.texture
VTF

A complete technical comparison of Pentax Electronic File and Valve Texture Format — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Pentax-PEF VTF
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes Yes
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes ✕ No
Pentax Electronic File
image/x-pentax-pef
Extension
.pef
Container TIFF-based (Proprietary)
Compression Uncompressed / Proprietary Lossless
Algorithm
NonePentax Proprietary Lossless
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel), 14-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Pentax (now Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.)
Released 2003
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 (Little-endian) or 4D 4D 00 2A (Big-endian)
Full Pentax-PEF reference →
Valve Texture Format
image/vnd.valve.source.texture
Extension
.vtf
Container Valve Texture Format Header
Compression DXTC (DXT1, DXT3, DXT5) / Uncompressed (BGRA8888, RGB888, etc.)
Algorithm
DXT1-DXT5None
Color Depth 8-bit, 24-bit (RGB), 32-bit (RGBA), 16-bit Floating Point (HDR)
Developed by Valve Corporation
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
56 54 46 00
Full VTF reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Pentax-PEF VTF
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Pentax-PEF

Pentax-PEF Strengths

  • Retains absolute maximum sensor data, enabling massive shadow recovery and highlight protection compared to compressed in-camera JPEGs
  • White balance and sharpening are saved as metadata instructions rather than 'baked in', meaning they can be perfectly adjusted in post-production
  • Utilizes the standard TIFF container structure, making it relatively straightforward for open-source software like LibRaw to parse
Limitations
  • Proprietary format requires continuous updates to third-party processing software whenever Pentax releases a new camera model (unlike the open DNG format)
  • Produces very large file sizes compared to standard web formats
  • Cannot be directly embedded into web pages or used in standard HTML/CSS contexts
VTF

VTF Strengths

  • Extremely fast loading within the Source Engine because the block-compressed data goes directly into the GPU's VRAM without CPU decompression overhead
  • Bundles mipmaps, volumetric slices, cubemap faces, and animation frames entirely within a single file
  • Openly documented by the Valve Developer Community, leading to a massive ecosystem of third-party modding tools
Limitations
  • Strictly tied to the Source Engine ecosystem; entirely useless in standard web or print contexts
  • No native support in standard image editors without hunting down and installing specialized plugins
  • Block compression algorithms (DXT) are lossy and can cause visible artifacting, especially on normal maps or smooth gradients

When to choose which format

Pentax-PEF
Use Pentax-PEF when…
  • Professional Digital Photography
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • Pentax Camera Archival
VTF
Use VTF when…
  • Source Engine Game Textures
  • Custom Maps and Modding (Garry's Mod, CS:GO)
  • Animated In-Game Decals and Sprays
  • Environment Cubemaps (Skyboxes)

More comparisons

Pentax-PEF vs ACES → VTF vs ACES → Pentax-PEF vs APNG → VTF vs APNG → Pentax-PEF vs AVCI → VTF vs AVCI → Pentax-PEF vs AVCS → VTF vs AVCS → Pentax-PEF vs AVIF → VTF vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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