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Lumix .RW2 RAW bug in MacOS Tahoe 26.4 ?

PJD

PJD

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This past Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Apple released their latest MacOS update, "Tahoe" 26.4, and I updated my Mac that day.

After installing the update, I didn't shoot any photos until today (Saturday), and now I realize there appears to be a bug which affects Lumix cameras: On my MacBook Pro 13" M1, MacOS 26.4 can't display/edit/render Lumix .RW2 RAW files in the Finder, or in Apple's Preview app, or in Pixelmator Pro 3.7.1.

Thankfully, Affinity Photo Photo 2.6.5 can display/edit/render Lumix .RW2 RAW files on my Mac running MacOS 26.4. So, I can edit (or convert to .PNG, .TIF, etc. if needed) my Lumix .RW2 RAW files in Affinity until this issue is fixed.

The problem isn't with my camera (S5iiX), because RAW photos I shot & successfully edited in Finder, Preview & Pixelmator Pro _before_ the MacOS 26.4 update now have the same issue. Meanwhile, my old Cannon .CR2 RAW and Olympus .ORF RAW files can display/edit/render without any problem. So it appears Tahoe 26.4 doesn't yet include the required driver/extension for Lumix .RW2 files. This hasn't been an issue with previous MacOS updates.

I don't usually capture to JPEG in-camera, but today I tested that, and as expected they work fine under MacOS 26.4.

Anyone else seeing this Lumix .RW2 RAW issue under MacOS 26.4?
 
Thanks for the heads up. I've not updated to 26.4 yet, I have 26.3.1 and now not in a hurry to update. Mac Preview still works okay for .RW2.

That said I don't use Preview that much. I almost always open RAW photos in Lightroom with Adobe RAW, which doesn't depend on Apple.
 
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PJD said:
Anyone else seeing this Lumix .RW2 RAW issue under MacOS 26.4?
Click to expand...
Hi Peter,

I hadn't noticed this yesterday when processing photos as I only ever open the RW2 files in DxO PhotoLab.

So I just checked (MacBook Pro M5 running 26.4) and you are correct, RW2s do not render in Finder or Preview. o_O
 
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Thanks for confirming you’re seeing this issue on your updated Mac, too.

I sent Apple a feedback bug report. Hopefully they fix this ASAP. In the meantime, as noted above I’ll use Affinity software. Cheers.
 
I'm still sticking with Sequoia for the moment!
 
pdk42 said:
I'm still sticking with Sequoia for the moment!
Click to expand...
#metoo, latest Sequoia, can't stand that cpu-power-eating glass theme stuff. I'm in no hurry to upgrade
 
So … a few days ago Apple released another update, MacOS 26.4.1, and I installed, but it still doesn’t fix this bug.

(LUMIX .RW2 RAW photos still don’t display file image icons in Finder, and Preview & the “non-Creator” paid version of Pixelmator Pro still can’t display or edit .RW2 photos).

MacOS 24.3 and earlier didn’t have this issue. And Apple’s documentation still says .RW2 files are supported.

I reported this bug to Apple and Panasonic. I hope Apple fixes it soon.

As noted previously, I’m working around it by opening .RW2 photos in Affinity.

Here’s a weird twist: In Finder, .RW2 RAW file image icons DO appear in “icon” view, but not in column or gallery view!
 
PJD said:
So … a few days ago Apple released another update, MacOS 26.4.1, and I installed, but it still doesn’t fix this bug.

(LUMIX .RW2 RAW photos still don’t display file image icons in Finder, and Preview & the “non-Creator” paid version of Pixelmator Pro still can’t display or edit .RW2 photos).

MacOS 24.3 and earlier didn’t have this issue. And Apple’s documentation still says .RW2 files are supported.

I reported this bug to Apple and Panasonic. I hope Apple fixes it soon.

As noted previously, I’m working around it by opening .RW2 photos in Affinity.

Here’s a weird twist: In Finder, .RW2 RAW file image icons DO appear in “icon” view, but not in column or gallery view!
Click to expand...

Hi Peter,

Yes, I also noticed that 26.4.1 didn't fix the problem displaying RW2 files. I also reported this via the Feedback Assistant.
 
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Apple doesn't seem in a hurry to fix this. I ended Lightroom to go with Photomator... But Photomator is on apple raw engine also, so I can't open up raw files in it. Luckily Lightroom last till end of this month :)
 
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R-J Sunday said:
Apple doesn't seem in a hurry to fix this. I ended Lightroom to go with Photomator... But Photomator is on apple raw engine also, so I can't open up raw files in it. Luckily Lightroom last till end of this month :)
Click to expand...
I've seen a recommended workaround online that suggests using the free Adobe DNG Converter to convert RW2 files to DNG format.

I am using DxO which has its own raw converter so the issue is not pressing for me, just annoying.
 
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Anyone tried Affinity? Seems to work alright for me, although if you're used to Adobe products there's a bit of a learning curve...
 
As a former Macromedia employee, I suffer from Adobe Derangement Syndrome Z04 Flucht... so I avoid anything with the name Adobe attached to it.

As noted above, I'm using Affinity Photo 2 to open and process my .RW2 RAW files as a semi-OK workaround. Not as convenient as also being able to open/view/edit the RAW files directly in Finder, Preview & Pixelmator Pro, but I often use various features in Affinity anyway. Hopefully Apple & Panasonic fix this issue soon.

Meanwhile, the new PHOTO feature in the new Davinci Resolve Studio 21 BETA is also currently unable to open/view/edit Lumix .RW2 RAW files. Blackmagic is aware of the issue, and there's a chance it may be addressed "soon". TBD. Cheers.
 
PJD said:
I suffer from Adobe Derangement Syndrome Z04 Flucht... so I avoid anything with the name Adobe attached to it.
Click to expand...
I also avoid Adobe as the plague. I find their way of business very sh*tty
PJD said:
Meanwhile, the new PHOTO feature in the new Davinci Resolve Studio 21 BETA is also currently unable to open/view/edit Lumix .RW2 RAW files. Blackmagic is aware of the issue, and there's a chance it may be addressed "soon". TBD. Cheers.
Click to expand...
This was a bummer for me, and the photopage not stable yet on my Ryzen 9 with RTX5070TI and 96GB internal memory, but I hope that is fixed soon.

BMD might help me single-handedly to go to Linux finally:
- Video editing Daumenhoch Smilie
- Photo catalog and grading/basic editing Daumenhoch Smilie
- Music mixing (Fairlight finally supports the Behringer Touch Kiss1) Daumenhoch Smilie

Now if only Affinity would have a Linux version...
 
The Rigger said:
I know it's spelled "sh*tty" but I believe it's pronounced "borderline criminal."
JMHO...
Click to expand...
It’s sad, and I mean that in the original sense of the word. I’ve been aware of them since they first made their name with Postscript in the mid-80s, back when they were still a scrappy little company. And they were generally one of the good guys- their software was lean and fast, like Illustrator 1.0.

The big turning point for me was when they went subscription. Wasn’t just my hatred for the subscription model, either; that was when their background ‘check for updates’ management software, which had always been a resource hog, became downright abusive.
 
PJD said:
This past Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Apple released their latest MacOS update, "Tahoe" 26.4, and I updated my Mac that day.

After installing the update, I didn't shoot any photos until today (Saturday), and now I realize there appears to be a bug which affects Lumix cameras: On my MacBook Pro 13" M1, MacOS 26.4 can't display/edit/render Lumix .RW2 RAW files in the Finder, or in Apple's Preview app, or in Pixelmator Pro 3.7.1.

Thankfully, Affinity Photo Photo 2.6.5 can display/edit/render Lumix .RW2 RAW files on my Mac running MacOS 26.4. So, I can edit (or convert to .PNG, .TIF, etc. if needed) my Lumix .RW2 RAW files in Affinity until this issue is fixed.

The problem isn't with my camera (S5iiX), because RAW photos I shot & successfully edited in Finder, Preview & Pixelmator Pro _before_ the MacOS 26.4 update now have the same issue. Meanwhile, my old Cannon .CR2 RAW and Olympus .ORF RAW files can display/edit/render without any problem. So it appears Tahoe 26.4 doesn't yet include the required driver/extension for Lumix .RW2 files. This hasn't been an issue with previous MacOS updates.

I don't usually capture to JPEG in-camera, but today I tested that, and as expected they work fine under MacOS 26.4.

Anyone else seeing this Lumix .RW2 RAW issue under MacOS 26.4?
Click to expand...
Today's MacOS 26.5 update appears to have fixed this bug, at least on my M1 MBP 13" laptop. Cheers.
 
PJD said:
Today's MacOS 26.5 update appears to have fixed this bug, at least on my M1 MBP 13" laptop. Cheers.
Click to expand...
Thanks Peter! I didn't know there was an update available.
 
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