Kodak-DCR

Kodak Digital Camera Raw

image/x-kodak-dcr Released 1998 · by Eastman Kodak Company

The image/x-kodak-dcr MIME type represents the Kodak Digital Camera Raw (DCR) format. Developed by the Eastman Kodak Company, it is a proprietary raw image format utilized primarily by Kodak's professional line of digital SLR cameras, such as the Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n and DCS Pro SLR/c, during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Built on the TIFF/EP architecture, a DCR file stores uncompressed or losslessly compressed raw pixel data directly from the camera's sensor, preserving maximum dynamic range and color depth for post-processing. Since Kodak exited the professional digital camera market, the format is largely considered a legacy archival format.

Photography & Raw Imaging ✦ HDR Production Ready

Technical Specifications

MIME Type

image/x-kodak-dcr

Extensions

.dcr

Container

TIFF/EP

Compression

Uncompressed & Lossless JPEG

Algorithms

NoneLossless JPEG (ITU-T81)

Color Depth

12-bit (Per Channel)

Metadata

EXIF XMP ICC

Capabilities

Transparency

Animation

Progressive Loading

Alpha Channel

HDR Support

Official Specification

Aliases: image/dcrimage/x-dcr

Magic Bytes & HTTP Headers

File Signature (Magic Bytes)

49 49 2A 00 or 4D 4D 00 2A

ASCII: II*\x00 or MM\x00*

HTTP Headers

Content-Type: image/x-kodak-dcr

HTML Accept Attribute

accept="image/x-kodak-dcr, .dcr"

Browser Support Matrix

Browser	Status	Min Version
Chrome	Not Supported	—
Firefox	Not Supported	—
Safari	Not Supported	—
Edge	Not Supported	—
Internet Explorer	Not Supported	Legacy

Advantages & Limitations

Advantages

Preserves the full dynamic range and uncompressed raw sensor data captured by foundational professional digital cameras
Utilizes the standard TIFF container structure, ensuring that open-source decoders like LibRaw can easily parse and interpret the files long after official vendor support has ended

Limitations

Completely obsolete proprietary format tied to camera hardware that is no longer manufactured
Shares the TIFF magic header, leading to widespread misidentification by automated MIME detection libraries
Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized codecs

Developer Code Snippets

import magic
# Libmagic will identify DCR files as standard TIFFs due to the shared 49 49 2A 00 / 4D 4D 00 2A header
print(magic.from_file('photo.dcr', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/tiff'

const FileType = require('file-type');
const type = await FileType.fromFile('photo.dcr');
console.log(type?.mime); // Usually resolves to 'image/tiff'. Extension checking is required for 'image/x-kodak-dcr'.

import (
    "bytes"
    "net/http"
)
// Native Go HTTP detection reads the TIFF magic bytes and returns 'image/tiff'.
// Advanced metadata parsers are required to read the Kodak MakerNote EXIF tags.

$mime = mime_content_type('photo.dcr');
echo $mime; // Standard PHP installations will resolve this to 'image/tiff' based on the file header.

File Detection Steps

How to programmatically detect a image/x-kodak-dcr file by reading its raw bytes:

1 DCR files begin with the standard TIFF little-endian (49 49 2A 00) or big-endian (4D 4D 00 2A) magic bytes.
2 Because DCR shares its header exactly with standard TIFF files and other TIFF-based raw formats (like CR2 and NEF), standard file sniffers will initially identify it simply as 'image/tiff'.
3 To definitively identify a DCR file programmatically, a parser must read the TIFF Image File Directory (IFD) EXIF tags and locate the Kodak-specific 'MakerNote' string.

Software Support

A

Adobe Lightroom Classic / CC

D

Darktable

R

RawTherapee

ImageMagick

Conversion Tools

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Markdown Badge

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Interactive iframe Widget

<iframe src="https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/kodak-dcr/embed" width="100%" height="280" style="border:1px solid #cbd5e1;border-radius:8px;" title="Kodak-DCR Specs"></iframe>

JSON API

All data on this page is available as a free, open JSON API. Use it in your project, documentation, or tooling.

GET https://freewebptojpg.com/mime/image/kodak-dcr.json Open JSON

Free to use

No auth required

CORS enabled

Use from any domain

Cached 24h

Cache-Control headers set

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Kodak DCR file?

A DCR file is a raw image format created by Kodak for its professional digital cameras. It contains raw, unprocessed sensor data that allows photographers to make extensive, non-destructive adjustments to exposure, color, and white balance.

Is the Kodak DCR format still actively used?

No. Kodak discontinued its professional DSLR line (the DCS series) in the mid-2000s. DCR files are now primarily encountered when archiving historical digital photography or using vintage early-2000s professional cameras.

How do I open a DCR file?

Because it is a raw format, standard web browsers and consumer image viewers cannot open it natively. You must use raw processing software like Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, Darktable, or RawTherapee to decode the file and export it as a JPEG or TIFF.