Camera RAW conversion
Convert ARW to PDF
Updated Jul 2026
ARW is Sony's raw camera format, storing everything the sensor captured. PDF is a document you can open and print anywhere. To convert, open the ARW file in a converter, choose PDF, and export. Doing this on your own computer means the raw photo, camera details and all, never gets uploaded anywhere else.
- Extension
- .arw
- Type
- Camera RAW
- Typically
- Sony cameras
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
- Extension
- Type
- Documents
- Typically
- The universal document format
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
Convert ARW to PDF on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
How to convert ARW to PDF
- Open Morphjet and drag in the ARW files, or drop in a whole folder of them at once.
- Choose PDF as the output format.
- Convert. Morphjet develops the raw image and writes a PDF right next to your originals, and nothing leaves your machine.
ARW vs PDF: what actually changes
| ARW | ||
|---|---|---|
| File size | Large, often 20 to 60MB of uncompressed sensor data | Much smaller, since the image is compressed into the document |
| Opens everywhere | No, needs raw-compatible photo software | Yes, opens on virtually any computer, phone, or printer |
| Editable afterward | Yes, exposure and white balance can be adjusted non-destructively | No, it's a flattened final image, like a printed photo |
| Quality | Full sensor data, the closest thing to the original capture | A finished image only, all raw processing choices are locked in |
| Keeps camera metadata (EXIF) | Yes, in full detail | Partial, basic details like date and camera model often carry over |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert ARW to PDF when you need to send a shot to someone who can just open it without special software, print a proof, or attach a photo to a report or claim that has to be one plain, no-fuss file.
Keep the ARW original if you still plan to edit the photo, since once it's a PDF, the raw sensor data and your ability to adjust exposure or white balance are gone for good.
Why not just use an online converter?
Sony cameras write a lot into an ARW file beyond the image itself, including the date, camera settings, and sometimes GPS location. Sending that file to an online converter means all of that travels to someone else's server along with the photo. Converting on your own computer keeps the raw file, and everything embedded in it, on the machine it started on.
Questions
Does converting ARW to PDF lose quality?
In a sense, yes, but not the way JPG compression does. The raw sensor data gets developed into one fixed image, so you lose the ability to reprocess it later, even though the resulting picture looks fine for viewing or printing.
Can I still edit the photo after it's a PDF?
Not in the way you can edit a raw file. A PDF holds a finished image, so basic tools can crop or annotate it, but the exposure and white balance adjustments raw editors offer are no longer available.
Will the PDF keep my camera's metadata?
Some of it. Basic details like the date and camera model typically carry over, but PDF isn't built to store the full range of raw metadata an ARW file holds.
Why convert a RAW photo to PDF instead of JPG?
PDF is the better choice when the photo needs to live inside a document, like a report, insurance claim, or proof sheet, and you want one file that opens the same way on any computer or printer.
Can I convert ARW to PDF without uploading it anywhere?
Yes. A desktop app like Morphjet develops and converts the file on your own computer, so it never has to leave your machine or pass through anyone else's server.
Morphjet converts ARW, PDF, and 1,800+ other formats, all on your machine. Launching this July.