What is ORF?

Olympus Raw Format (ORF) contains raw sensor data from Olympus OM-D, PEN, and other Olympus digital cameras.

What is BPG?

Better Portable Graphics (BPG) is a modern image format based on HEVC video compression, offering excellent compression efficiency.

When Should You Use ORF vs BPG?

ORF vs BPG: Key Differences

• •ORF uses lossless compression while BPG uses lossy compression — this is the fundamental technical difference between the two formats.
• •Moving from ORF (lossy) to BPG (lossy) means the output file will be significantly smaller — but at the cost of some visual fidelity.
• •Alpha channel support: BPG handles transparency, so semi-transparent pixels from the source will be lost.
• •ORF files are typically 15-40MB per photo while BPG files range 30-50% smaller than JPEG at same quality
• •Use case fit: ORF targets olympus camera raw processing and BPG targets web images with superior compression — your choice depends on which workflow stage you are serving.

Advantages of ORF

• ✓The lossless nature of ORF means file sizes stay reasonable while handling Olympus camera raw processing efficiently.
• ✓From mobile devices to enterprise servers, ORF is recognized and supported everywhere.
• ✓The trade-off for ORF's perfection is larger files — but for archival work, it is worth every megabyte.
• ✓ORF is a first-class citizen in all major software ecosystems, from creative suites to development environments.

Advantages of BPG

• ✓At its core, BPG relies on lossy encoding — a design choice that makes it perfect for Web images with superior compression.
• ✓You won't run into compatibility issues with BPG — it's a universal standard across platforms.
• ✓File size management with BPG: aggressive compression with minimal visible quality loss.
• ✓Every major application in the Web images with superior compression space supports BPG natively.

Common Use Cases for ORF to BPG Conversion

• Print materials and publications
• Social media posts and ads
• Digital photography and editing
• Graphic design projects
• E-commerce product images
• Email marketing campaigns

Industry Applications

Best Practices for ORF to BPG Conversion

• →When converting ORF to BPG, check whether BPG supports transparency — if not, your transparent areas will be filled with a solid color
• →Use BPG for maximum quality archival and ORF for lossless workflows
• →Optimize images for web to reduce page load times — tools like our converter let you adjust quality settings before conversion
• →Maintain original aspect ratio to avoid distortion during conversion
• →Always keep a backup of your original files before converting
• →Choose the appropriate quality settings for your specific use case

Related Article

Troubleshooting ORF to BPG Conversion

• !BPG shows visible compression artifacts → lower the compression level or switch to a lossless variant
• !The converted BPG image looks washed out → the source ORF likely uses a wider color space than BPG supports
• !BPG file is much larger than expected → check if the conversion preserved an unnecessarily high resolution
• !Text in the converted BPG looks fuzzy → text-heavy images benefit from higher quality settings or a different output format

Related Image Converters

All Image Formats

More Image tools

Related Tools