How large is an ORF file compared to the HEIC output?

ORF is the RAW format used by every Olympus and OM SYSTEM camera since the E-1 in 2003, including the OM-1, OM-5, E-M1 Mark III, E-M5 Mark III, PEN-F, and the Tough TG-6. The format stores 12-bit or 14-bit sensor data from Micro Four Thirds chips alongside Olympus's in-camera Art Filter metadata. Travel photographers, macro enthusiasts using the 60mm f/2.8, and birders running the 300mm f/4 PRO convert ORF to HEIC to keep developed, viewable copies of entire trips without the storage weight of RAW or even JPG - HEIC runs about half the size of an equivalent JPG.

The Micro Four Thirds crowd skews heavily toward travel and mobile-first workflows, which is exactly where HEIC shines. Converted ORF files drop straight into Apple Photos and iCloud as native-format citizens, AirDrop to an iPhone without transcoding, and sync across devices at half the bandwidth of JPG. HEIC's 10-bit color support also means the OM-1's 14-bit files keep smoother sky and water gradients than an 8-bit JPG derivative would - a real advantage for the landscape and underwater work these cameras excel at.

Wildlife shooters with the OM-1 II's 80fps Pro Capture often finish a session with 1000+ ORF files; batch-converting the keepers to HEIC makes an iPad culling and sharing library practical where the same set as JPG would double the storage bill. The caveat: dive-log sites, stock agencies, and most forums still want JPG uploads, and Windows users need a codec to open HEIC. Keep HEIC for the personal archive and Apple-side workflow, and use our HEIC to JPG tool for the frames you publish.

Reasons to convert ORF to HEIC usually come down to compatibility, file-size, or specific feature requirements. Common situations:

• An app or platform only accepts HEIC uploads.
• You need a feature unique to HEIC (e.g. transparency, vector scaling, animation, multi-page pages, etc.) that ORF doesn't provide.
• You're optimising file size — modern formats often produce smaller files than the older format you started with.
• You need a single archival format across a project so files behave consistently in the same viewer.

1. Open the ORF → HEIC tool on heic.now.
2. Drag your ORF file onto the drop zone, or click Select files. You can drop a whole folder of files at once.
3. The output is fixed to HEIC. If the format supports extra options (page size, transparency background, quality, EXIF stripping), tweak them in the right-hand panel.
4. Click Convert. The job runs on our server and finishes in a few seconds for typical photos.
5. Download the result. Files stay in storage for 24 hours and are then permanently deleted.

The entire flow is free for the first 10 jobs per day with no signup required. A free account doubles that quota; a premium plan removes the limit entirely.

• Develop the ORF in OM Workspace first if you want the camera's Live Composite or Art Filter look - then convert the developed file to HEIC for compact storage.
• If you shot Handheld High-Res, use the ORI file (50MP merged), not the companion ORF (20MP base) - check the extension before batch converting to HEIC.
• HEIC preserves the ORF's full EXIF including GPS from the TG-6 - strip location data before sharing converted dive or trail shots publicly.
• For Pro Capture bursts, batch-rename ORFs by capture time before converting so the HEIC output sorts chronologically for review.
• Sync converted HEIC files through iCloud Photos rather than emailing them - most email clients can't preview HEIC, but iCloud handles it natively.