ARW Viewer

Purpose & User Intent: The tool solves the need to quickly view Sony ARW RAW files and analyze technical details without editing, suitable for photographers, retouchers, and studios evaluating exposure, white balance, color, and lens data before processing. It accepts a single ARW file and returns a lossless pixel preview, a histogram, and a structured metadata summary to support pre-edit decision making. Core Logic & Features: Core capabilities include decoding Sony ARW sensor data, rendering a high-contrast preview, computing a luminance histogram, and extracting EXIF/IPTC metadata (camera model, lens, focal length, ISO, shutter, aperture, WB, color space, GPS). Optional advanced features include comparing two ARW files, estimating exposure value, classifying color profiles, and non-destructive metadata export for workflow integration. It preserves the original file without modification. Required features are ARW decoding, non-destructive preview, metadata extraction, and histogram generation; optional features include multi-file comparison, export customization, and dynamic range assessment. Inputs & Outputs: Inputs: ARW file (name: string, type: file, required; sample: sample.arw). Outputs: preview image (PNG, 8-bit), histogram data (array of counts or a rendered chart), metadata object with width, height, camera, lens, focal length, ISO, exposure time, f-number, WB, color space, GPS, and a dynamic range estimate. Algorithms & Calculations: Decoding follows Sony ARW specifications; histogram computed on luminance channel; EXIF/IPTC values parsed; exposure value estimated from shutter, aperture, ISO; dynamic range inferred from highlights/shadows analysis. Error & Edge Cases: Unsupported ARW variants or corrupted files trigger a non-destructive error report; missing metadata fields marked as unknown; very large files may trigger streaming decode and progressive thumbnail generation. Industry/Region & Localization: Uses SI units (mm, meters, seconds, EV), ISO standard; GPS data encoded in WGS84 when present; supports typical photo workflows across regions. Assumptions & Exclusions: Input must be a Sony ARW RAW file; no editing or RAW conversion is performed; multi-file editing or batch processing is out of scope.