Looking to turn a CR3 into a RW2 file? Here's the honest answer — and what actually works instead.
You can't convert CR3 to RW2. RW2 is a camera's own RAW format — it only ever comes out of the camera.
RW2 is the raw sensor data a Panasonic camera writes at the moment of capture. It's produced by the camera's own hardware and firmware — software can read it, but nothing can manufacture a genuine RW2 from a finished CR3.
Your CR3 is a developed, final image. The extra sensor information a RW2 carries — wider dynamic range, full color depth, untouched highlights — was discarded when the photo was first saved, and can't be put back.
RW2 is proprietary to Panasonic. Even other RAW formats (NEF, ARW, RAF…) aren't interchangeable with it — there is no universal "save as RAW" that produces a real RW2.
Every real RAW file is one of these camera-maker-specific formats, written by the camera itself:
CR3 is Canon’s newer, more efficient raw format used by recent EOS cameras — smaller than CR2 with the same flexibility.
How to open CR3 opens in recent Lightroom, Photoshop, Canon DPP and modern raw editors.
Full CR3 format guideRW2 is Panasonic’s raw photo format used by Lumix cameras.
How to open RW2 opens in Lightroom, Photoshop and Panasonic software.
Full RW2 format guideLossless and uncompressed — ideal for editing, archiving and print.
CR3 → TIFFLossless with transparency — perfect for graphics, logos and screenshots.
CR3 → PNGA small, universal photo format that opens everywhere.
CR3 → JPGConvert your RW2 and other camera RAW files to JPG, PNG or TIFF.
Open the converter