Raw image formats are intended to capture the radiometric characteristics of the scene, that is, physical information about the light intensity and color of the scene, at the best of the camera sensor's performance. The purpose of raw image formats is to save, with minimum loss of information, data obtained from the sensor. Unlike physical film after development, the Raw file preserves the information captured at the time of exposure. Like undeveloped photographic film, a raw digital image may have a wider dynamic range or color gamut than the developed film or print. (With exposed film, development is a single event that physically transforms the unexposed film irreversibly.)

Rather, the raw datasets are more like exposed but undeveloped film which can be converted (electronically developed) in a non-destructive manner multiple times in observable, reversible steps to reach a visually desired image. Raw image files are sometimes incorrectly described as 'digital negatives'. There are dozens of raw formats in use by different manufacturers of digital image capture equipment.

Normally, the image is processed by a raw converter, in a wide- gamut internal color space where precise adjustments can be made before conversion to a viewable file format such as JPEG or PNG for storage, printing, or further manipulation. Raw files are so named because they are not yet processed, and contain large amounts of potentially redundant data. A camera raw image file contains unprocessed or minimally processed data from the image sensor of either a digital camera, a motion picture film scanner, or other image scanner.

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