JPG and RAW
Selekt understands both the camera JPG and the RAW file behind it, and lets you look at either one.
Pairs and standalone RAWs
Section titled “Pairs and standalone RAWs”If you shoot JPG + RAW, Selekt pairs the two automatically by matching base filenames (for example IMG_0042.jpg and IMG_0042.raf). The pair shows as a single frame in the grid, so you are not scrolling past every photo twice.
A RAW file with no JPG sibling imports as a standalone RAW. Either way, the original files are copied untouched into your library's RAW/ folder.
Switching between JPG and RAW
Section titled “Switching between JPG and RAW”Open a photo in the preview and you will see a small control that reflects what kind of file it is:
- JPG + RAW pair: a JPG / RAW switch, plus a Process RAW button.
- Standalone RAW: an Embedded / Sensor switch (the embedded preview versus the decoded sensor data), plus Process RAW.
- JPG only: a plain JPG label, nothing to switch.
Decoding true RAW sensor data is slow (tens of seconds per file), so Selekt does not do it on import. Choose Process RAW once to decode a file; after that the switch is live and you can flip it with the R key. Until a RAW is processed, the switch stays greyed out.
The difference is real: the camera JPG has the manufacturer's colour and film-simulation processing baked in, while the RAW view is Selekt's own render of the raw sensor data.
How Selekt decodes RAW
Section titled “How Selekt decodes RAW”RAW decoding uses LibRaw, covering 400+ camera models. Fujifilm X-Trans sensors get proper Markesteijn demosaicing. When a full decode is not possible, Selekt falls back to the RAW file's embedded JPEG so you still see the frame.
For the full list of supported RAW extensions, see Supported formats and cameras.
- Saving space on RAWs - keep only the RAWs worth keeping.
- Quickview and loupe - look closer at a frame.