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Image MIME Reference
Sigma-X3F

Sigma X3F RAW Image

image/x-sigma-x3f
VS

TIFF for Facsimile eXtended

image/tiff-fx
TIFF-FX

A complete technical comparison of Sigma X3F RAW Image and TIFF for Facsimile eXtended — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Sigma-X3F TIFF-FX
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No ✕ No
Animation Support ✕ No ✕ No
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Sigma X3F RAW Image
image/x-sigma-x3f
Extension
.x3f
Container Foveon Proprietary Header
Compression Uncompressed / Proprietary Lossless
Algorithm
NoneFoveon Proprietary Huffman-based
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel), 14-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Foveon, Inc. / Sigma Corporation
Released 2002
Magic Bytes
46 4F 56 62
Full Sigma-X3F reference →
TIFF for Facsimile eXtended
image/tiff-fx
Extension
.tiff.tif
Container TIFF 6.0 Tag Directory Structure
Compression MH / MR / MMR (CCITT Group 3 & 4) / JBIG / JPEG
Algorithm
CCITT Group 3/4JBIGJPEG
Color Depth 1-bit (Monochrome B&W), 8-bit (Grayscale/Color Indexed), 24-bit (RGB Color)
Developed by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
Released 1998
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 (Little-Endian) / 4D 4D 00 2A (Big-Endian)
Full TIFF-FX reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Sigma-X3F TIFF-FX
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Sigma-X3F

Sigma-X3F Strengths

  • Provides absolute per-pixel color accuracy without the interpolation artifacts or moiré patterns typical of Bayer-sensor RAW files
  • Unique 'FOVb' magic byte signature prevents accidental misidentification by standard file sniffers, unlike many TIFF-based raw formats
  • Incredible sharpness and detail resolution at the raw sensor level
Limitations
  • Decoding is extremely computationally expensive and completely proprietary, meaning third-party software often struggles to match the color science of Sigma's own (famously slow) Photo Pro application
  • Massive file sizes because it records three complete RGB channels for every single spatial pixel coordinate
  • Zero support in web browsers or standard OS image viewers
TIFF-FX

TIFF-FX Strengths

  • Provides a universal, standardized format for transmitting multi-page documents over IP networks and email (Internet Fax)
  • Supports highly efficient telecom-centric compression algorithms (MMR, JBIG) that produce very small files for text documents
  • Maintains backwards compatibility with standard TIFF parsers
Limitations
  • Not supported natively by web browsers
  • Requires complex parsing of TIFF IFD tags to differentiate a true TIFF-FX file from a standard TIFF file
  • Usage is slowly declining as traditional faxing is replaced by secure PDF transmission and e-signature platforms

When to choose which format

Sigma-X3F
Use Sigma-X3F when…
  • Professional Digital Photography
  • Sigma / Foveon High-Acuity Imaging
  • Non-destructive RAW Post-Processing
TIFF-FX
Use TIFF-FX when…
  • Internet Fax (T.37)
  • Enterprise Fax Servers
  • Document Archiving
  • Telecommunications

More comparisons

Sigma-X3F vs ACES → TIFF-FX vs ACES → Sigma-X3F vs APNG → TIFF-FX vs APNG → Sigma-X3F vs AVCI → TIFF-FX vs AVCI → Sigma-X3F vs AVCS → TIFF-FX vs AVCS → Sigma-X3F vs AVIF → TIFF-FX vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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