ORF to SIXEL Converter

Easily convert ORF images to SIXEL format online

Drop files here. 1 GB maximum file size or Sign Up
to
Facebook Amazon Microsoft Tesla Nestle Walmart L'Oreal

Batch Processing

Convert multiple Olympus ORF photos to SIXEL at once. Upload a batch, set the format, and download all converted images together.

Many Formats

Your Olympus ORF can go to SIXEL and over a hundred other formats. Convertio handles a wide range of image, document, and vector conversions.

Browser-Based Tool

No apps or plugins to install. Your Olympus ORF to SIXEL conversion happens right in the browser — accessible from any modern device.

How to convert ORF to SIXEL

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose sixel or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your sixel file right afterwards

About formats

ORF (Olympus RAW Format) is the proprietary RAW image format used by Olympus (now OM Digital Solutions) digital cameras, introduced in 2000 with the E-10 digital SLR and continuing through the entire Micro Four Thirds OM-D and PEN lineups. ORF files capture the unprocessed 12-bit or 14-bit readout from the camera's Four Thirds or Micro Four Thirds Live MOS or CCD sensor, preserving the complete Bayer-pattern mosaic data before any demosaicing, noise reduction, or color processing. The format uses an Olympus-specific container that stores the raw data with lossless compression alongside multiple embedded JPEG previews, extensive EXIF metadata, and Olympus MakerNote tags encoding Art Filter settings, in-body image stabilization parameters, face/eye detection results, and computational photography mode information. ORF has evolved across several generations of Olympus sensors, from the original 4-megapixel Four Thirds CCD to the 20+ megapixel stacked sensors in current OM System bodies, and the format has accommodated these changes while maintaining backward compatibility in processing software. One advantage is the Micro Four Thirds system's depth-of-field characteristics: ORF files from these smaller sensors deliver greater depth of field at equivalent apertures compared to full-frame, a genuine advantage for macro, landscape, and travel photography where sharpness throughout the frame matters. Wide processing support is another strength — ORF files are handled by Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, DxO, Olympus/OM Workspace, dcraw, and RawTherapee.
Developer: Olympus
Initial release: 2000
SIXEL (Six Pixel) is a bitmap graphics encoding format created by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1983 for rendering images on character-cell printers and video terminals. The name derives from the encoding's fundamental unit: a column of six pixels represented by a single ASCII character. Each printable character in the sixel data stream (ASCII 63-126) encodes a 6-pixel vertical column, with the character's binary value determining which pixels are on or off. Color is specified through register-based palette control: a Select Color Sequence assigns an HLS or RGB color value to a numbered register, and subsequent sixel characters use that color until another register is selected. The encoding supports raster attributes for specifying pixel aspect ratio and image dimensions, repeat sequences (! followed by a count and character) for run-length compression of identical columns, and $ (carriage return) and - (new line) for navigating the sixel grid. DEC implemented SIXEL support in their VT240, VT241, VT330, and VT340 terminals, as well as multiple printer models. One advantage of the SIXEL encoding is its ASCII-clean nature: the data stream consists entirely of printable characters and standard control sequences, meaning SIXEL graphics can be transmitted through any text-based communication channel — serial terminals, SSH sessions, telnet connections — without requiring binary-safe transport or protocol modifications. The format's modern renaissance provides another remarkable dimension: after decades of obscurity, SIXEL support has been implemented in numerous contemporary terminal emulators, enabling inline image display in command-line workflows. SIXEL output can be generated by ImageMagick, libsixel, chafa, and various plotting libraries.
Initial release: 1983

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert ORF to SIXEL?

SIXEL renders images directly in compatible terminal emulators. Converting from ORF lets you display Olympus photos in the command line interface.

What programs open SIXEL?

You can open SIXEL in SIXEL-capable terminals like mlterm, xterm, WezTerm, and foot.

What happens to my uploaded ORF images?

Your Olympus ORF images are deleted right after conversion. The resulting SIXEL output is removed from servers within 24 hours for complete privacy.

Does this work with all Olympus cameras?

The converter supports ORF from all Olympus camera models — whether you shoot with an entry-level body or a professional flagship.

Can I convert ORF from Google Drive?

Yes — import Olympus ORF photos directly from Google Drive or Dropbox without downloading them to your device first. Cloud-to-cloud workflow.