BatchFoxWhen someone tries BatchFox for the first time, I usually get one of two messages. "Wait, it cut my folder in HALF?" Or "hm, it only saved a little on mine." Usually they're both right, and the difference is mostly the camera.
I'm a Sony shooter myself. I started on the A7 IV, and my love of Sony pushed me straight to the A1 II: way more megapixels, way faster bursts, a lot more bells and whistles, and a lot more storage if you leave your finger on the shutter too long.
Some cameras already squeezed the file
A lot of cameras save RAW already compressed. Canon's CR3 does, so do compressed NEFs from Nikon, and plenty of others. The camera already took some of the space back before the file ever hit your card.
So when you archive those, there's just less left to get. You still get real savings on top of what the camera already did, just not as much.
Uncompressed RAW is the other end. Nobody's squeezed it yet, so that's where you see the big numbers.
Same camera, different shoots, different numbers
Even on one camera the number moves around. A clean shot at a low ISO usually comes back smaller than a grainy night shot at a high ISO. Grain is randomness, and randomness is the hardest thing in a photo to store in less space. That's not BatchFox being moody, that's just physics.
Why I show you the real number every time
I could slap one big number on the box and call it a day. I'd rather the app tell you what YOUR archive actually saved, every single time, because your camera and your shoots are the only ones that matter to you.
So the finish screen shows what came back on that run, and Home keeps a running total of everything BatchFox has given back on your computer. If your number's low, that's worth knowing too. Send it my way, I want to look at it.
Roughly what to expect
It depends a lot on your camera, but here's the honest rough picture. Sony uncompressed is typically around half, up to 71.69% on the best files. Fuji RAFs often save around half too. If your camera already compresses its files (Canon CR3, compressed NEF), there's less left to get, anywhere from single digits to about 25%. And the app always shows you exactly what each archive saved, so you never have to guess.
How the usual options compare
| Zip the folder | Convert to DNG | Shoot compressed in camera | BatchFox Archive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Works on photos you already have | Yes | Yes | No, new photos only | Yes |
| You get your original camera file back | Yes | Only if you embed the original, which adds its full size back | It is the original | Yes, byte for byte on the default Exact setting |
| Space saved on RAW | Only a little | Large only with lossy DNG, which discards data; modest with lossless | Depends on the camera | Up to 71.69% on promoted Sony files; most shots around half |
| Works on RAW the camera already compressed | Almost nothing, often under 1% | Varies | Not applicable | Yes, up to 25.1% proven on a Nikon Zf shooting lossless NEF |
| You can prove the file is identical | Only by unzipping and comparing | No | Not applicable | Yes, with a SHA-256 fingerprint |
| Getting your files back later | Free | Free | Not applicable | Always free, on every plan |
Numbers are from our own tests on the cameras listed on the beta page. Your results depend on your camera and how you shoot.
Whatever the number, you get your file back
On the default Exact setting you get your original camera file back, byte for byte, whether it saved half or a little. And getting your photos back is always free on every plan.
BatchFox is in beta. Try it on your own camera and tell me what you got, sign up at batchfox.app.
What do you shoot, compressed or uncompressed RAW?