Why do Panasonic LX5 RAW files appear slightly larger than the camera JPEGs?
Asked 10/27/2010
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When I shoot RAW+JPEG on a Panasonic Lumix LX5 at 16:9, the JPEG is 3968×2232 but the RAW appears as 3976×2238 in Bibble. The RAW view also shows extra edge pixels with noticeable vignetting and chromatic aberration that are not present in the JPEG. Why does the RAW seem to cover a slightly larger area, and should I crop those edges off when processing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
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Firstly there are a couple of general reasons raw and JPEG images differ in size, and raw differs from the actual number of pixels on the sensor:
Whilst JPEG image dimensions don't have to be multiples of 16 (or 8 if not using chroma subsampling) it is more efficient to do so, as it allows you to rotate the images without re-encoding (lossless rotation). So that can account for a small image size difference, as you say.
Even raw image sizes typically differ from the actual number of pixels as most sensors have strips masked pixels (that receive no light) down each side in order to detect banding issues with uneven amplification. Further, the size you see in your raw viewer will differ from the actual raw data as some image processing operations use a form of averaging which doesn't work at extreme edges (because there's no data beyond the image to use when averaging) so they get cropped off when the image is viewed/converted.
Secondly the Panasonic Lumix LX3 and LX5 have a different sensor design to most cameras, which is partially responsible for the difference in coverage between raw and jpeg you are experiencing:
The maximum 16:9 image size is actually wider than the maximum 4:3 image size. You would expect them to be the same width but different heights.
This is because they've made the sensor a bit wider for 16:9, employing a non rectangular design and it's pushing the very edges of the lens image circle, this explains the vignetting and CA you observe with the raw. This diagram shows the irregular design:

As Joanne C suggests, the JPEG image pipeline is doing some correction, including barrel distortion correction, given that 24mm equiv. is very wide for a compact, and the sensor is pushing to the very edge of the image circle.
Barrel distortion correction makes straight lines straight again, but will cause the image edges to bend in response. In response to this the correcting transformation enlarges the image slightly and crops to get straight edges again.
Can you see any differences in the appearance of straight lines between the raw and JPEG? It might be quite subtle but get revealed if you overlay them.
Originally by user1375. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1375
15y ago
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This is normal. A camera JPEG is not just the sensor data saved as-is: the camera applies built-in corrections and cropping, especially for compact cameras with strong lens correction. Your LX5 JPEG is likely being corrected for lens distortion, vignetting, and chromatic aberration, then cropped slightly.
RAW files can also include a few extra edge pixels beyond the final JPEG framing. Some of that comes from masked/calibration pixels on the sensor and some from how RAW converters demosaic and interpret the file. If your software doesn’t fully read Panasonic’s RAW metadata, it may show those uncorrected edge areas instead of applying the same crop/corrections the camera used.
So the larger apparent RAW area in Bibble doesn’t mean the camera captured a meaningfully bigger photo; it usually means the RAW converter is showing more of the uncorrected sensor output. Cropping those edges is fine if you want the same framing/look as the JPEG. You can also try a converter that better supports LX5 RW2 metadata or converts through DNG with proper lens corrections applied.
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