PEF to ICON Converter
FileFlip converts PEF to ICON entirely inside your browser, using ImageMagick compiled to WebAssembly. The file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. That means no file-size limit, no queue and no account.
How do I convert a PEF file to ICON?#
- Drop your PEF file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer. You can add as many as you like.
- Leave the target set to ICON and the conversion starts on its own. FileFlip downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, then runs ImageMagick on your own machine.
- Save the ICON file. Your browser writes it straight to your downloads folder, because there was never a server holding it.
Does converting PEF to ICON lose quality?#
No. Converting PEF to ICON writes the data out again without discarding any of it, so nothing that was in the PEF file is lost on the way. What changes is the size of the file, not what is inside it.
Is it safe to convert PEF files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts PEF files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What PEF to ICON actually does to the file#
Converting PEF to ICON runs on ImageMagick, downloads 14.1 MB of WebAssembly the first time and nothing after that, writes the data out again without discarding any of it.
| Engine | ImageMagick |
|---|---|
| Conversion path | One step: PEF → ICON |
| Downloaded to your browser | 14.1 MB, once, then cached by your browser |
| Quality | Lossless |
| You get back | One file |
| Where it runs | In a background worker, so the page stays responsive |
Worth knowing before you start:
- camera raw is demosaiced with ImageMagick's defaults, which will not match the camera's own rendering
- some cameras write lossily compressed raw, so the source is not always a complete sensor record
What is a PEF file?#
A PEF file holds unprocessed sensor data captured by a Pentax digital SLR, stored in a TIFF-based container that Pentax has used as its native raw format since the *ist D in 2003.
Shoot PEF, Pentax's default raw setting, to keep full sensor data with Pentax's own lossless compression, and switch the camera to DNG only if a specific workflow needs Adobe's open raw container instead.
Convert PEF once editing is done and the image needs to open somewhere that doesn't read camera raw, such as a web upload, a shared album, or a printer.
What is an ICON file?#
ICON is ImageMagick's alternate name for the ICO format, the container Windows uses for small multi-resolution images shown as application, file and shortcut icons, so a file written as ICON is the same Windows icon container as one written as ICO.
Use ICON, or the equivalent ICO, for Windows application icons, favicons and shortcut images, where the file needs to offer several sizes in one container.
Convert to PNG when a single-resolution image is needed for general use, since most software outside Windows icon contexts doesn't expect an ICO/ICON container.
PEF to ICON questions people ask#
What camera creates PEF files?
PEF files come from Pentax K-mount digital SLRs and the Pentax Q series shooting in raw mode, starting with the *ist D in 2003. It's Pentax's own raw format, distinct from the DNG option the same cameras can also write.
Should I shoot PEF or DNG on a Pentax camera?
Pentax cameras let you choose PEF or DNG as the raw format in the camera menu. PEF is Pentax's native format with the camera's own lossless compression, while DNG is Adobe's open raw container, useful mainly if a workflow specifically expects DNG.
What software opens PEF files?
Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop all open PEF files, as do Pentax's own Digital Camera Utility and open-source raw processors like RawTherapee and darktable. Most general image viewers cannot open a PEF without one of these.
Does converting PEF to JPG lose image quality?
Converting a PEF file to JPG applies the raw processing (demosaicing, white balance, tone curve) and then compresses the result, so some of the original sensor data is discarded in the process. The source PEF file is untouched by the conversion.