How it works
A RAW file holds the sensor data, which needs a RAW converter to become a picture, and a JPEG preview that the camera made at the moment you took the shot. The camera's screen shows you that preview. This page finds the biggest preview in each RAW file and uses it for the sheet, reading only the part of the file it needs, so a folder of 50 MB files is quick.
Which cameras
Tested with sample files from Canon (CR2 and CR3), Nikon (NEF), Sony (ARW), Fujifilm (RAF), Olympus (ORF), Panasonic (RW2) and DNG from Leica and Adobe DNG Converter. Most other TIFF-based RAW formats (PEF, SRW, ERF, 3FR …) work the same way. The preview sizes differ by camera:
- Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Leica DNG: usually full size, so thumbnails are sharp at any size.
- Sony ARW: often about 1616 × 1080 pixels, plenty for a contact sheet.
- Panasonic RW2: about 1920 × 1280.
- DNGs from some converters have only a small preview, or none. Those files are listed as left out.
What you see is the camera's JPEG
The preview has the camera's own colour, contrast and picture style, not your edits from Lightroom or Capture One. For culling and client proofs that's what you want. The exposure details printed under each frame come from the RAW file itself: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, focal length, camera and lens.
Portrait shots
Cameras record which way up you held them. The sheet turns each preview upright using that note, so portrait frames come out standing up.
RAW and JPEG pairs
If you shot RAW + JPEG, drop just one set, or both: sorting by name puts DSC_0101.NEF next to DSC_0101.JPG, which is handy when you want to check the pair matches.
Free
Reading RAW files is free, on sheets of up to 36 photos like every other format, with no RAW converter, plug-in or account needed. For a whole card in one go, the one-time unlock removes the 36-photo limit and the small credit line at the foot of each page, and adds a CSV of every frame with its exposure details.