{"id":"image-x-minolta-mrw","mimeType":"image/x-minolta-mrw","name":"Minolta Raw Image","shortName":"Minolta-MRW","category":"Photography \u0026 Raw Imaging","extensions":[".mrw"],"description":"The image/x-minolta-mrw MIME type represents the Minolta Raw (MRW) image format. Developed by Minolta (which later merged with Konica to form Konica Minolta), this proprietary raw format was utilized in their early DiMAGE series bridge cameras and Maxxum/Dynax digital SLRs during the early to mid-2000s. An MRW file contains unprocessed, uncompressed or losslessly compressed raw pixel data directly from the camera's sensor, alongside camera settings, EXIF metadata, and an embedded JPEG thumbnail. Following Sony's acquisition of Konica Minolta's camera division in 2006, the MRW format was retired and directly succeeded by Sony's ARW format.","seo":{"title":"image/x-minolta-mrw MIME Type | Developer Reference for Minolta MRW","description":"Complete reference for the image/x-minolta-mrw MIME type: Minolta Raw (MRW) format, Konica Minolta camera history, MRM magic bytes, and legacy raw processing.","faqs":[{"question":"What is a Minolta MRW file?","answer":"An MRW file is a legacy raw image format created by Minolta and Konica Minolta for their digital cameras in the early 2000s. It stores unprocessed sensor data, allowing for high-quality post-processing of exposure and color."},{"question":"Is the MRW format still being used?","answer":"No. Konica Minolta exited the camera business in 2006 and sold its assets to Sony. Sony replaced the MRW format with their own ARW (Alpha Raw) format. MRW is now purely an archival format."},{"question":"How do I open an MRW file today?","answer":"Standard web browsers and operating system viewers cannot open MRW files natively. You must use specialized raw processing software such as Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, RawTherapee, or Darktable to decode and export the files to JPEG or TIFF."}]},"index":{"compression":["Uncompressed","Proprietary Lossless"],"browserSupport":{"score":1,"label":"None"},"commonUses":["Vintage Digital Photography (Konica Minolta DiMAGE / Maxxum)","Raw Imaging Archival","Historical Camera Sensor Research"]},"technical":{"magicBytes":{"hex":"00 4D 52 4D","ascii":"\\x00MRM"},"container":"Proprietary MRW Container","compressionAlgorithm":["None","Proprietary Lossless"],"colorDepth":["12-bit (Per Channel)"],"transparency":false,"animation":false,"metadata":{"exif":true,"xmp":true,"iccProfile":true},"alphaChannel":false,"progressiveLoading":false,"hdrSupport":true},"history":{"developer":"Minolta (later Konica Minolta)","released":"2001","specification":"Proprietary (Reverse-engineered by dcraw/LibRaw)"},"browserSupport":{"chrome":false,"chromeVersion":"None","firefox":false,"firefoxVersion":"None","safari":false,"safariVersion":"None","edge":false,"edgeVersion":"None","internetExplorer":false},"softwareSupport":[{"name":"Adobe Lightroom Classic / CC","logo":""},{"name":"Darktable","logo":""},{"name":"RawTherapee","logo":""},{"name":"ImageMagick","logo":"image-magic.webp"}],"conversion":{"convertTo":["dng","jpeg","tiff","png"],"convertFrom":[]},"developer":{"httpHeaders":[{"header":"Content-Type","value":"image/x-minolta-mrw"}],"htmlAccept":"image/x-minolta-mrw, .mrw","fileDetection":["Unlike many raw formats that piggyback on the TIFF specification, MRW files have a highly distinct proprietary header.","Check the first 4 bytes for the signature: a null byte followed by the ASCII string 'MRM' (Hex: 00 4D 52 4D).","This is a highly reliable identifier that prevents MRW files from being accidentally spoofed or misidentified as standard TIFF files."]},"prosCons":{"pros":["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"],"cons":["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"]},"specifications":{"url":"https://www.libraw.org/","rfc":"","mimeAliases":["image/mrw"]},"developerSnippets":{"python":"import magic\n# Libmagic will reliably detect the '\\x00MRM' signature\nprint(magic.from_file('vintage.mrw', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/x-minolta-mrw'","nodejs":"const fs = require('fs');\n// Manually detecting the 4-byte MRW magic signature\nconst buffer = Buffer.alloc(4);\nconst fd = fs.openSync('vintage.mrw', 'r');\nfs.readSync(fd, buffer, 0, 4, 0);\nfs.closeSync(fd);\nconst isMRW = buffer[0] === 0x00 \u0026\u0026 buffer[1] === 0x4D \u0026\u0026 buffer[2] === 0x52 \u0026\u0026 buffer[3] === 0x4D; // \\x00, M, R, M\nconsole.log('Is Minolta MRW:', isMRW);","go":"import (\n    \"bytes\"\n    \"net/http\"\n)\n// Native Go HTTP detection will likely return application/octet-stream.\n// Check directly for the explicit 4-byte signature:\n// isMRW := bytes.HasPrefix(buf, []byte{0x00, 0x4D, 0x52, 0x4D})","php":"$mime = mime_content_type('vintage.mrw');\necho $mime; // Standard PHP setups with updated magic definitions will return 'image/x-minolta-mrw'"},"relatedFormats":["sony-arw","dng","tiff"]}