X3F is Sigma's proprietary RAW format for cameras equipped with the Foveon X3 direct image sensor — a fundamentally different technology from conventional Bayer pattern sensors. While Bayer sensors capture one color per pixel and interpolate the rest, Foveon's stacked silicon layers capture full RGB data at every pixel location, producing images with exceptional per-pixel sharpness and color accuracy. Cameras like the SD1 Merrill, DP1/DP2/DP3 Merrill, SD Quattro, and SD Quattro H produced X3F files.

Converting X3F to BMP creates uncompressed bitmap output from this unique sensor technology. BMP's simplicity ensures universal readability, preserving the Foveon's distinctive per-pixel sharpness in a format accessible to any system. X3F is notoriously difficult for third-party software to decode correctly — Sigma Photo Pro is the only official processing tool — making universal format conversion particularly important for Foveon photographers.

BMP is readable by every operating system and image viewer. X3F files are among the most difficult RAW formats for third-party software to decode — many RAW processors either refuse to open them or produce visibly inferior results compared to Sigma Photo Pro. Converting to BMP eliminates this compatibility barrier permanently.

The Foveon sensor's unique characteristic — full RGB capture at every pixel without Bayer interpolation — produces per-pixel sharpness that no conventional sensor can match at equivalent resolution. BMP preserves this sharpness exactly in an uncompressed format that any application can display.

The conversion reads the X3F container and decodes the Foveon X3 sensor data. Unlike Bayer sensors, no demosaicing is needed — Foveon captures full RGB at each photosite. However, the three silicon layers have overlapping spectral responses that require complex color separation algorithms. The SD1 Merrill with its 15.3 MP (4,704 x 3,136 x 3 layers) sensor produces a BMP of approximately 44 MB at 24-bit. The Quattro architecture captures 19.6 MP luminance with 4.9 MP per-color channel.

SD1 Merrill (15.3 MP effective): ~44 MB. DP2 Merrill (15.3 MP): ~44 MB. SD Quattro (19.6 MP luminance): ~56 MB. Larger than Bayer cameras at similar effective resolution.

The Foveon sensor's stacked silicon layers have overlapping spectral responses. Accurate color separation requires Sigma's proprietary algorithms. Third-party implementations often produce visible color artifacts or muted tonality.

Yes. BMP preserves the per-pixel RGB data without any compression that could mask the sensor's exceptional resolving power.

Yes. The Quattro uses a modified Foveon architecture (higher luminance resolution) but stores data in the same X3F container.

For uncompressed raster output, BMP works. TIFF at 16-bit is better for archival. PNG provides lossless compression at smaller sizes. BMP is for systems that require uncompressed input.

Device	X3F	BMP
Windows PC	Partial	Native
macOS	Partial	Partial
iPhone/iPad	Partial	Partial
Android	Partial	Partial
Linux	Partial	Partial
Web Browser	No	No

Egenskap	X3F	BMP
Fullt navn	Sigma RAW (Foveon)	Bitmap Image
Filendelse	.x3f	.bmp
Best egnet for	Sigma cameras	Uncompressed

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