{"id":"image-x-sony-sr2","mimeType":"image/x-sony-sr2","name":"Sony SR2 Raw Image","shortName":"Sony-SR2","category":"Photography \u0026 Raw Imaging","extensions":[".sr2"],"description":"The image/x-sony-sr2 MIME type represents the Sony SR2 format, a proprietary raw image format used briefly by Sony before standardizing on the modern ARW format. Introduced in the mid-2000s alongside early prosumer Cyber-shot cameras (such as the highly regarded DSC-R1) and very early Alpha DSLRs, SR2 acted as an evolutionary bridge between Sony's original SRF format and today's ARW. Built upon the standard TIFF container specification, an SR2 file stores uncompressed or losslessly compressed pixel data directly from the camera's image sensor. While completely obsolete for modern hardware, it remains fully supported by most major raw processing software for archival purposes.","seo":{"title":"image/x-sony-sr2 MIME Type | Developer Reference for Sony SR2","description":"Complete reference for the image/x-sony-sr2 MIME type: Sony SR2 RAW image format, early Cyber-shot/Alpha cameras, TIFF structure, and raw file detection.","faqs":[{"question":"What is a Sony SR2 file?","answer":"An SR2 file is a legacy proprietary raw image format developed by Sony. It contains unprocessed sensor data and was primarily used in mid-2000s prosumer digital cameras like the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1."},{"question":"What is the difference between Sony SR2 and ARW?","answer":"ARW (Alpha Raw) is the modern, current raw format used by all modern Sony cameras. SR2 is an older, obsolete format that served as a stepping stone between Sony's first raw format (SRF) and ARW."},{"question":"How do I open an SR2 file today?","answer":"Standard web browsers cannot open SR2 files natively. However, despite its age, it is still broadly supported by major raw processing engines like Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, RawTherapee, and Sony's own Imaging Edge software."}]},"index":{"compression":["Uncompressed","Sony Proprietary Lossless"],"browserSupport":{"score":1,"label":"None"},"commonUses":["Legacy Sony Cyber-shot/Alpha Photography","Non-destructive Image Post-Processing","Raw Imaging Archival"]},"technical":{"magicBytes":{"hex":"49 49 2A 00","ascii":"II*\\x00"},"container":"TIFF-based (Proprietary)","compressionAlgorithm":["None","Sony 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":"Sony Corporation","released":"2005","specification":"Proprietary (Reverse-engineered by the community / LibRaw)"},"browserSupport":{"chrome":false,"chromeVersion":"None","firefox":false,"firefoxVersion":"None","safari":false,"safariVersion":"None","edge":false,"edgeVersion":"None","internetExplorer":false},"softwareSupport":[{"name":"Sony Imaging Edge Desktop","logo":""},{"name":"Adobe Lightroom Classic / CC","logo":""},{"name":"RawTherapee","logo":""},{"name":"Capture One","logo":""}],"conversion":{"convertTo":["dng","jpeg","tiff","png"],"convertFrom":[]},"developer":{"httpHeaders":[{"header":"Content-Type","value":"image/x-sony-sr2"}],"htmlAccept":"image/x-sony-sr2, .sr2","fileDetection":["SR2 files are built on the standard TIFF specification and generally begin with the standard little-endian (49 49 2A 00) magic bytes.","Because they share this exact header with standard TIFF files and other raw formats, MIME sniffers will almost universally misidentify SR2 files as 'image/tiff'.","To definitively detect an SR2 file programmatically, developers must parse the TIFF header directories and examine the EXIF MakerNote to confirm the Sony manufacturer signature and camera model."]},"prosCons":{"pros":["Retains raw, unprocessed sensor data from legacy cameras, allowing modern raw processors to extract vastly superior image quality than what was possible in 2005","Utilizes a standard TIFF container structure, ensuring that community-maintained open-source decoding libraries (like LibRaw) can easily parse and maintain support for it indefinitely"],"cons":["Completely obsolete format that has not been utilized in a new camera release in over a decade","MIME detection via magic bytes is unreliable due to TIFF header spoofing, requiring deeper EXIF inspection","Cannot be natively viewed in web browsers or standard operating system image viewers without specialized decoders"]},"specifications":{"url":"https://www.libraw.org/","rfc":"","mimeAliases":["image/sr2"]},"developerSnippets":{"python":"import magic\n# Libmagic will identify SR2 files as standard TIFFs due to the shared 49 49 2A 00 header\nprint(magic.from_file('vintage.sr2', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/tiff'","nodejs":"const FileType = require('file-type');\nconst type = await FileType.fromFile('vintage.sr2');\nconsole.log(type?.mime); // Usually resolves to 'image/tiff'. You must rely on the .sr2 extension for precise routing.","go":"import (\n    \"bytes\"\n    \"net/http\"\n    \"strings\"\n)\n// Native Go HTTP detection reads the TIFF magic bytes and returns 'image/tiff'.\n// You must explicitly check the filename extension to infer Sony SR2 intent.\n// isSR2 := strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(filename), \".sr2\")","php":"$mime = mime_content_type('vintage.sr2');\necho $mime; // Standard PHP setups will resolve this to 'image/tiff' based on the file header."},"relatedFormats":["sony-arw","sony-srf","dng","tiff"]}