{
 "id": "pentax-pef-image-file",
 "name": "Pentax PEF Image File",
 "category": "image",
 "identifiers": {
  "extensions": [
   "pef",
   "ptx"
  ],
  "mime": [
   "image/x-pentax-pef",
   "image/x-ptx",
   "image/dng",
   "image/x-raw-pentax"
  ],
  "puid": [
   "fmt/1781"
  ],
  "wikidata": [
   "Q3964876"
  ],
  "magic": [
   {
    "offset": 0,
    "hex": "4d4d002a",
    "notes": "Pentax PEF Image File"
   },
   {
    "offset": 0,
    "hex": "4d002a00"
   },
   {
    "offset": 1,
    "hex": "4d002a00"
   }
  ],
  "signatures": [
   {
    "name": "Pentax PEF Image File",
    "sequences": [
     {
      "position": "bof",
      "offset": 0,
      "pattern": "4d4d002a*50454e544158{0-2048}414f43004d4d"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "priority_over": [
   "fmt/353"
  ]
 },
 "status": "writable",
 "summary": "Pentax PEF Image File (or Pentax RAW) is a RAW image format based on TIFF [fmt/353] file format, provided by Pentax and associated with Pentax Digital SLR cameras. Its use has been deprecated since the release of DNG format. Similarly to RAW camera formats, PEF format contains information of image capture such as colour, lighting or camera sensor. The structure of these informations related to each image differs in each PEF format depending on which camera model was used to capture the image. The format first appeared with Pentax's digital *its Series and continued until Pentax Q series.",
 "tools": [
  {
   "name": "ImageMagick",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org",
   "license": "ImageMagick License",
   "open_source": true,
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Abydos",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133445760",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU Lesser General Public License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "ACDSee",
   "url": "https://www.acdsee.com",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "proprietary license"
  },
  {
   "name": "Adobe Camera Raw",
   "url": "http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Adobe Photoshop Elements",
   "url": "http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Converseen",
   "url": "https://converseen.fasterland.net/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License, version 3.0",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "ExifTool",
   "url": "https://exiftool.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "F-Spot",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q948619",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License / MIT License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Fast Picture Viewer",
   "url": "http://www.fastpictureviewer.com",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "FastStone Image Viewer 5.2",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q112767622",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "IrfanView",
   "url": "https://www.irfanview.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "freeware"
  },
  {
   "name": "libexiv2",
   "url": "https://exiv2.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true,
   "license": "GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "LibRaw",
   "url": "https://www.libraw.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "Common Development and Distribution License version 1.0 / GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "MediaRich Server",
   "url": "https://equilibrium.com/mediarichserver/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Microsoft Photos",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26328552",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "Microsoft end-user license agreement"
  },
  {
   "name": "PaintShop Photo Pro X3",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122675173",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PaintShop Pro X4",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110977057",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PaintShop Pro X6 Ultimate",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q113679458",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PhotoRec",
   "url": "http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "GNU General Public License",
   "open_source": true
  },
  {
   "name": "Photorecovery",
   "url": "https://lc-tech.com/help/PhotoRecovery/English/index.html",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "PicaJet",
   "url": "http://picajet.com/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "freeware"
  },
  {
   "name": "Q122522973",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122522973",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Q1936840",
   "url": "https://www.darktable.org/",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false
  },
  {
   "name": "Q472277",
   "url": "https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": false,
   "license": "freeware"
  },
  {
   "name": "Zoner Photo Studio",
   "url": "http://www.zoner.com",
   "reads": true,
   "writes": true
  }
 ],
 "projects": [
  {
   "name": "File Formats Wiki",
   "url": "http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Pentax_PEF",
   "kind": "wiki"
  },
  {
   "name": "PRONOM fmt/1781",
   "url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/1781",
   "kind": "format-doc"
  },
  {
   "name": "Wikidata Q3964876",
   "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3964876",
   "kind": "wiki"
  }
 ],
 "provenance": {
  "sources": [
   "converters",
   "ffw",
   "pronom",
   "wikidata"
  ]
 },
 "updated": "2026-10-24",
 "aliases": [
  "Pentax RAW"
 ],
 "conversions": [
  {
   "to": "portable-network-graphics",
   "tool": "ImageMagick",
   "command": "convert in.pef out.png",
   "fidelity": "lossless",
   "losses": "Pixels kept; some metadata, colour profiles or layers may be dropped.",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "tagged-image-file-format",
   "tool": "ImageMagick",
   "command": "convert in.pef out.tif",
   "fidelity": "lossless",
   "losses": "Pixels kept; some metadata, colour profiles or layers may be dropped.",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "jpeg-file-interchange-format-1-02",
   "tool": "ImageMagick",
   "command": "convert in.pef out.jpg",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Lossy compression.",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "webp",
   "tool": "ImageMagick",
   "command": "convert in.pef out.webp",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Lossy compression.",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org"
  },
  {
   "to": "gif",
   "tool": "ImageMagick",
   "command": "convert in.pef out.gif",
   "fidelity": "lossy",
   "losses": "Reduced to 256 colours.",
   "url": "https://imagemagick.org"
  }
 ],
 "structure": [],
 "parsers": [],
 "samples": [],
 "claims": [],
 "verification": []
}