SR2 File Format (.sr2)

An SR2 file holds raw sensor data from Sony's 2005 Cyber-shot DSC-R1, using less encryption than Sony had applied to its earlier SRF format, before Sony replaced it with ARW the following year.

.sr2Image Files

SR2 at a glance#

Full name	Sony Raw Format 2
File extension	.sr2
Category	Image Files
Developer	Sony Corporation
First released	2005
MIME types	image/x-sony-sr2
Compression	Uncompressed
FileFlip support	FileFlip reads this format but does not write it

What a .sr2 file can hold#

These are the things a SR2 file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.

Lossless compression	Yes
Embedded metadata	Yes
Colour profiles	Yes

Strengths and limitations of SR2#

What SR2 does well

Stores uncompressed sensor data, matching SRF's fidelity while dropping most of the encryption that had blocked early third-party readers

Where SR2 falls short

Sony used SR2 only briefly, on cameras like the Cyber-shot DSC-R1, before replacing it with ARW across the Alpha DSLR line starting in 2006
Some maker-note fields stayed proprietary and undocumented even after Sony reduced the encryption

SR2 only turns up from a small set of Sony cameras from 2005, most notably the Cyber-shot DSC-R1; there's no active reason to choose it.

Convert SR2 files to DNG or JPEG, since current raw processors and Sony's own software support ARW and DNG far better than this short-lived intermediate format.

How to open a .sr2 file#

A .sr2 file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts SR2 into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.

Platform	Programs that open it
Windows	Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic
macOS	Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom Classic
Linux	darktable, RawTherapee
Web	FileFlip

SR2 questions people ask#

What's the difference between SR2 and SRF?

SR2 is the raw format Sony introduced after SRF, on cameras like the Cyber-shot DSC-R1, and it carries far less of the file-level encryption that made SRF hard for third-party software to decode correctly.

What's the difference between SR2 and ARW?

SR2 was the raw format Sony used briefly around 2005, on cameras like the Cyber-shot DSC-R1, before replacing it with ARW starting with the Alpha DSLR-A100 in 2006. Every Alpha DSLR, SLT and mirrorless camera Sony has released since has written ARW instead.

What Sony cameras produced SR2 files?

SR2 appeared on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1, a bridge camera released in 2005. Sony replaced it with ARW the following year when it launched the Alpha DSLR-A100, its first Alpha-branded DSLR, and every Sony camera since has written ARW instead.

Converting SR2 files#

FileFlip does not write .sr2 files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.

Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.