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Image Conversion

Convert DPX to PDF — Free Online Converter

Convert Digital Picture Exchange (.dpx) to Portable Document Format (.pdf) online for free. Fast, secure image conversion with no watermarks or regist...

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How to Convert

1

Upload your .dpx file by dragging it into the upload area or clicking to browse.

2

Choose your output settings. The default settings work great for most files.

3

Click Convert and download your .pdf file when it's ready.

About DPX to PDF Conversion

DPX (Digital Picture Exchange) is the SMPTE 268M standard for digital cinema, encoding film scan data at 10-bit or 16-bit depth with logarithmic color for maximum dynamic range capture. DPX is the interchange format for the entire post-production chain — from film scanners to color grading, VFX compositing, and digital intermediate output. PDF (Portable Document Format) is the universal document standard for professional distribution.

Converting DPX to PDF creates shareable, printable documents from cinema-grade frame data. This conversion is critical for film production documentation: shot reports, VFX progress books, color grading reference sheets, and festival submission packages all require PDF format. The PDF output embeds the DPX frame (after color space conversion) in a document that anyone can open, print, and annotate.

Why Convert DPX to PDF?

Film production generates massive documentation requirements. Daily shot reports with frame references, VFX progress books showing composite evolution, color reference books for consistency checks, and marketing lookbooks all need to be distributed as PDF. Converting DPX frames to PDF embeds these cinema-grade stills in the format that production offices, studio executives, festival programmers, and press contacts all expect to receive.

PDF's print capabilities make it the format for physical output from DPX source material. Poster proofs, exhibition prints, book layouts, and press kit sheets all start with DPX frames converted to high-resolution PDF. The PDF carries the color-corrected image at full resolution with proper page sizing, margins, and metadata for professional reproduction.

Common Use Cases

  • Create shot report PDFs with embedded DPX frame references for daily production review
  • Build VFX progress books from DPX compositing sequences for client presentation
  • Produce color reference PDFs from DPX graded frames for on-set continuity checking
  • Generate festival submission lookbooks with DPX key frames embedded in PDF format
  • Prepare high-resolution PDF proofs from DPX scans for poster and exhibition printing

How It Works

The DPX header is parsed for image dimensions, bit depth, and color encoding. Log-to-linear conversion is applied using a Cineon-to-sRGB LUT, and the image is tone-mapped to 8-bit per channel. The converted image is embedded in a PDF page sized to match the image dimensions at the specified DPI (default 300 DPI for print-quality output, 150 DPI for screen viewing). The image data is compressed within the PDF using FlateDecode (lossless) or DCTDecode (JPEG, for smaller files). PDF metadata fields (title, author, keywords) can be populated for cataloging.

Quality & Performance

The log-to-linear color conversion is the primary quality factor. A proper film stock LUT produces accurate tonal reproduction; the generic Cineon curve provides acceptable but less precise results. The 10/16-bit to 8-bit reduction compresses the source's dynamic range. Within the PDF, lossless embedding preserves the converted image perfectly, while JPEG embedding introduces minor lossy compression. For print output at 300 DPI, a 2K DPX frame produces a ~7x5 inch print area — sufficient for most documentation purposes. 4K frames provide larger or higher-resolution output.

SHARP EngineFastMinimal Quality Loss

Device Compatibility

DeviceDPXPDF
Windows PCPartialPartial
macOSPartialPartial
iPhone/iPadPartialPartial
AndroidPartialPartial
LinuxPartialNative
Web BrowserNoNative

Tips for Best Results

  • 1Use 300 DPI for print-quality output and 150 DPI for screen-only documentation
  • 2Apply your show LUT before conversion for color-accurate production PDFs
  • 3Use lossless embedding for color reference sheets where accuracy is critical
  • 4JPEG compression at quality 90 produces much smaller PDFs suitable for email distribution
  • 5Add PDF metadata (project name, shot number, date) for organized production documentation

DPX to PDF conversion produces professional-grade documents from cinema source material. The output supports the full range of production documentation needs, from daily shot reports to print-quality exhibition proofs.

Frequently Asked Questions

300 DPI for standard print quality. 150 DPI for screen-only viewing. At 300 DPI, a 2K DPX frame produces a ~7x5 inch image; a 4K frame produces ~14x10 inches.
Yes. Multiple frames can be placed on separate pages for shot reports, progress books, and reference sheets. Each frame gets its own PDF page.
The converter applies a standard log-to-linear transform. For color-accurate PDFs, apply your show LUT in DaVinci Resolve or Nuke and export 8-bit images before PDF creation.
With lossless embedding: 10-40 MB per frame (2K-4K). With JPEG compression at quality 90: 1-5 MB per frame. Choose based on your quality/size requirements.
Yes. The output PDF can be opened in any PDF editor to add text, annotations, measurements, and markup. Adobe Acrobat, Preview, and free tools like PDF-XChange all support this.

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