How to use Raw Compact

Before you start

An Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later.
Nikon Z video in R3D NE (.R3D) or N-RAW (.NEV).
Space for the new files. Raw Compact never changes or moves your originals, so keep them until you’ve checked the copies.

The first time you open Raw Compact it asks once whether to check for updates automatically. You can change that later in Settings.

Trial or licence. The trial does everything on your own footage, but exports carry a watermark. After you buy, your licence key arrives by email: choose Settings ▸ Enter licence key… and paste it. One licence works on one Mac at a time.

1Add your clips

Raw Compact's empty window: Drop clips here, with Add files and Add folder buttons on the left and the Quality, Output and Save to steps on the right — An empty batch. Everything you need is in this one window.

Drag clips or folders onto the window, or use Add files… and Add folder…
Offload card… does a whole card in one pass (see Let it run itself).
Each clip shows what it becomes before anything runs: its size now and after, its resolution, and its level.

Four clips in the queue with thumbnails, size before and after, resolution and level for each — Four clips in, with the size before and after for each, and for the whole batch at the bottom right.

2Pick a level

Every level stays RAW. Each one is set by your camera’s own bitrates, and the panel shows the size it would give this batch.

Level	Size	Use it for
Master	Camera High ÷ 1.5	Heavy grades, closest to the camera file
Studio	The camera’s own Normal	The everyday choice. Start here
Edit	Camera High ÷ 3	Light enough for big edits
Max	Camera High ÷ 4	The most savings

The Quality panel with Master selected, showing the projected size for each level — Click a level, then **Use for every clip**. Each clip also has its own level menu.

Not sure? Fit it to a drive. Choose Fit batch to a size… and pick 1 TB, 2 TB, the free space on your Save to drive or any size. Raw Compact picks each clip’s level, best quality first, and re-plans after every clip.

✓Test before you commit

Press Test on a clip. Play it, stop on any frame, and Raw Compact compresses a few frames exactly as the full export would. Nothing is saved.

The Compare window: original and compressed frames side by side with their sizes — Compare: the original on the left, the test on the right, with the size of that frame in each.

View: Side by side, Split (drag the line) or Difference (black means identical).
Zoom: Fit, 100%, 200% or 400%. Click a picture to look somewhere else.
Picture: Rec.709 or Log, the same on both sides. It’s a preview, not a grade.
Scopes (⇧⌘S): waveform, parade, vectorscope, histogram.
Colour pickers (⇧⌘P): read RGB and IRE at up to three spots on both sides.
Happy with a different level, size or file type? Pick it at the top and press Use … for this clip.

Compare with a waveform scope showing both pictures, original in blue and compressed in orange — Scopes draw the original in blue and the new file in orange. White means they agree.

Test all at the top of the list does a few frames of every clip, one after another, so you can flip through the whole batch.

3Choose the output

Resolution: As shot keeps every clip’s size. 4K from 6K makes 6K clips 4032 × 2268, still RAW.
File type: Keep, N-RAW or R3D NE. Converting changes each clip so it opens like the camera’s own file of that type.
Convert only, don’t compress: changes the file type and keeps about the original size.
Extras: an HD edit proxy (still RAW) in a Proxy folder. When you add whole folders, you can also back up the original RAW and copy every other file, each checked.

Resolution set to 4K from 6K: each 6K clip shows 6K to 4K and the batch gets smaller — 4K from 6K: each 6K clip is marked 6K → 4K and the batch total drops.

Compare: an N-RAW clip converted to R3D NE next to the camera's own R3D NE take of the same scene — Check a conversion: pick the camera’s own R3D NE of the same scene under **Compare against**.

4Save and compress

Save to: choose a folder. The bar shows how much space the batch needs and what’s left.
New files get a level in their name, like _RC-MQ. A name that’s taken gets a number. Nothing is ever overwritten.
Checks: Thorough is the default. Maximum checks every part of every frame; Fastest spot-checks. The file is the same either way.
Press Compress (⌘↩).

A batch compressing: progress for the clip and the batch, with speed, time left and space saved — While it runs: speed, time left and space saved, for the clip and the whole batch.

Pause stops at once. Resume carries on from the same frame.
Stop lets you finish the current clip first, or stop now. Finished clips are kept.
Settings lock while a batch runs. Press + next to the batch tab to set up the next one; it starts when this one finishes.

★When it’s done

Finished clips, each showing size before and after, percent smaller, time taken and a Compare link — Each finished clip shows before, after, how much smaller and how long it took.

Compare on any finished clip opens the real export next to the original.
The … menu on a clip: show the file, save a verification report, or try every level on that clip.
Save batch report (PDF)… lists every clip, before and after, and what was checked. Good for clients and DITs.
Grade the new files in your RAW editor as usual. Keep your camera masters until you’ve checked them.

∞Let it run itself

Offload a card

Connect a card and Raw Compact offers to offload it. Choose the card, and in one pass it backs up the original RAW (checked), compresses the clips and copies photos, audio and sidecars with their folders.

A banner in Raw Compact: NIKON Z is connected, offload it in one pass — The offer appears as soon as a card is connected.

Watch folders

In Settings ▸ Watch folders, add folders and choose a preset (level, resolution, file type, Save to). New clips start once they’ve stopped copying, after a five-second countdown with Don’t start. Closing the window keeps watching from the menu bar.

A watch-folder clip found by Raw Compact and compressing automatically — A clip copied into a watch folder starts by itself.

Tips and answers

Which level should I start with?: Studio. Test a few frames of your hardest shot (fine texture, skin, shadows) and step down to Edit or Max only if you’re happy with what you see.
Is it lossless?: No. Every level is lossy, and the files stay RAW. That’s why Compare exists: check before you keep, and keep your camera masters.
Will my editor relink?: Turn on Keep original file names in Settings to keep the camera’s names, and keep folder structure when adding folders.
Did I already compress this?: Raw Compact remembers finished clips by their content and marks them “Compressed before”.
Can I move my licence to another Mac?: Yes: Settings ▸ Deactivate this Mac, then enter the key on the new Mac. Lost a Mac? Email support and we’ll reset it.
Does it work offline?: Yes, for up to seven days after an online licence check. Raw Compact never sends your footage anywhere.

Still stuck? Support or [email protected].

How to use it