What is RMF format?

RMF (Raw Media Format)

RMF, the Raw Media Format, is how Canon's cinema cameras such as the EOS C500 record raw footage. Instead of a compressed video file, the camera writes the unprocessed sensor data, normally as a sequence of files with one frame in each, so that colour, exposure and white balance can be decided later in grading rather than baked in at the moment of shooting.

That flexibility comes at a price. Raw frames are large, they need dedicated software to be developed into a viewable picture, and the editing and grading tools that handle them are professional applications. Outside that workflow an RMF file is close to unusable: ordinary photo viewers and editors do not recognise it at all.

This site reads RMF through LibRaw, the same library that handles most still-camera raw files, which develops the sensor data into a normal image with default settings. Because each RMF file is a single frame, converting one produces a still picture — useful for a reference frame, a thumbnail or a quick look at a shot — not a video clip. Grading decisions such as exposure and colour are better made in proper raw software, and for keeping the most of the frame, TIFF or PNG preserve far more than a compressed JPEG.

What programs can open RMF format?

  • DaVinci Resolve
  • Canon's cinema raw development software
  • LibRaw-based raw converters
  • ImageMagick

Use cases for RMF format?

  • Pulling reference stills from raw cinema footage
  • Thumbnails and contact sheets for raw shots
  • Checking a raw frame without a grading suite
  • Archiving individual frames as standard images
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RMF Converter