What is IIQ?

Phase One IIQ is a professional medium-format raw format used by Phase One digital backs, delivering exceptional image quality for commercial photography.

What is ARW?

Sony Alpha Raw (ARW) is Sony's proprietary raw image format containing unprocessed sensor data from Sony Alpha and Cyber-shot cameras.

When Should You Use IIQ vs ARW?

IIQ vs ARW: Key Differences

• •IIQ uses lossless compression while ARW uses lossless compression — both take the same approach to file size management.
• •Since both IIQ and ARW use lossless compression, the quality characteristics are comparable — differences in file size come down to how efficiently each format implements compression.
• •Alpha channel support: ARW lacks transparency support.
• •IIQ files are typically 50-150MB per image from medium-format backs while ARW files range 20-40MB per photo
• •Primary audience: IIQ is built for professional studio photography, digital back capture scenarios, while ARW focuses on sony camera post-processing, professional editing — pick the format that matches your output requirement.

Advantages of IIQ

• ✓IIQ applies lossless compression specifically calibrated for Professional studio photography, digital back capture.
• ✓IIQ enjoys broad native support across operating systems, browsers, and creative tools alike.
• ✓IIQ guarantees every bit of the original data survives — no approximations, no shortcuts.
• ✓You will find IIQ support built into virtually every tool that handles Professional studio photography, digital back capture — no plugins or converters needed.

Advantages of ARW

• ✓At its core, ARW relies on lossless encoding — a design choice that makes it perfect for Sony camera post-processing, professional editing.
• ✓You won't run into compatibility issues with ARW — it's a universal standard across platforms.
• ✓File size management with ARW: larger files guaranteed to match the original exactly.
• ✓Every major application in the Sony camera post-processing, professional editing space supports ARW natively.

Common Use Cases for IIQ to ARW Conversion

• Email marketing campaigns
• Presentation graphics
• Blog and article illustrations
• Mobile app UI assets
• Product photography for marketplaces
• Digital art portfolios

Industry Applications

Best Practices for IIQ to ARW Conversion

• →Before converting IIQ to ARW, decide whether you need maximum quality or smallest file size — this determines which format truly fits
• →Save a master copy in a lossless format before converting to ARW — you cannot recover detail lost during lossy compression
• →Check the color profile: IIQ images may use a wider gamut than ARW supports, causing a visible shift after conversion
• →Resize images to the final display dimensions before converting — this avoids unnecessary processing of oversized files
• →Run a single test conversion first to verify quality meets your standards
• →Strip unnecessary metadata to reduce file size after conversion

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Troubleshooting IIQ to ARW Conversion

• !Converting IIQ to ARW gives blurry output → increase the quality setting before conversion
• !Colors look different in ARW than IIQ → check color profile mismatch (sRGB vs Adobe RGB)
• !File size changed more than expected → ARW uses different compression, file size differences of 2-5x are normal
• !Transparent areas in IIQ turned white in ARW → ARW may not support transparency

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