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PFM File Format

Portable Float Map category

PFM (Portable Float Map) stores pixels as raw 32-bit floats — the lossless hand-off format for HDR pipelines, radiance research and render passes, riding the same family spirit as PBM/PGM/PPM.

Typical use: Convert PFM to PNG or JPG to get a viewable tone-mapped preview of float data.

About the PFM format

PFM (Portable Float Map) stores pixels as raw 32-bit floating-point values — no palette, no compression tricks, just the numbers. It belongs to the Netpbm family (PBM/PGM/PPM) and is the lingua franca for handing high-dynamic-range data between renderers, tone-mapping experiments and radiance research scripts.

Because the values are floats, a PFM can hold sunlight and candlelight in the same image without clipping. Viewers rarely open it directly: convert to PNG or JPG to get a tone-mapped preview of the same data.

Strengths

  • ✓ Full floating-point precision
  • ✓ Dead-simple text/binary layout
  • ✓ Widely read by research tooling

Limitations

  • ✗ Enormous files (16 bytes per pixel)
  • ✗ Almost no viewer support
Compression
None (raw floats)
Transparency
Not supported
Animation
Not supported
Metadata
Minimal header only
Best for
HDR interchange, render passes

Convert PFM to…

48 direct directions plus 12 workflows, sorted A–Z; 🔥 marks popular targets.

PFM to AVIF Hot PFM to BMP Hot PFM to CIN PFM to CUR PFM to DCX PFM to DDS PFM to FARBFELD PFM to FITS PFM to GIF Hot PFM to GRAY PFM to GRAYA PFM to HDR PFM to ICO Hot PFM to J2C PFM to J2K PFM to JFIF PFM to JP2 PFM to JPE PFM to JPEG Hot PFM to JPG Hot PFM to JPT PFM to JXL PFM to OTB PFM to PALM PFM to PBM PFM to PCL PFM to PCX PFM to PDF Hot PFM to PGM PFM to PNG Hot PFM to PNG24 PFM to PNG8 PFM to PNM PFM to PPM PFM to QOI PFM to RAS PFM to SIXEL PFM to SVG Hot PFM to SVGZ PFM to TGA PFM to TIF PFM to TIFF Hot PFM to UYVY PFM to VICAR PFM to WebP Hot PFM to XBM PFM to XPM PFM to XV

Cross-engine workflows

PFM to 7Z PFM to APK PFM to JAR PFM to TAR PFM to TAR.BZ2 PFM to TAR.GZ PFM to TAR.XZ PFM to TBZ2 PFM to TGZ PFM to TXZ PFM to WIM PFM to ZIP

Convert other files to PFM…

AVIF to PFM Hot BMP to PFM Hot CIN to PFM CUR to PFM DCX to PFM DDS to PFM FARBFELD to PFM FITS to PFM GeoTIFF to PFM GIF to PFM Hot GRAY to PFM GRAYA to PFM HDR to PFM HEIC to PFM Hot HEIF to PFM ICO to PFM Hot J2C to PFM J2K to PFM JFIF to PFM JP2 to PFM JPE to PFM JPEG to PFM Hot JPG to PFM Hot JPT to PFM JXL to PFM OTB to PFM PALM to PFM PBM to PFM PCL to PFM PCX to PFM PGM to PFM PNG to PFM Hot PNG24 to PFM PNG8 to PFM PNM to PFM PPM to PFM PSB to PFM PSD to PFM Hot QOI to PFM RAS to PFM RAW to PFM Hot SIXEL to PFM SVG to PFM Hot SVGZ to PFM TGA to PFM TIF to PFM TIFF to PFM Hot UYVY to PFM VICAR to PFM WebP to PFM Hot XBM to PFM XPM to PFM XV to PFM

Frequently asked questions

What is a PFM file?

PFM (Portable Float Map) stores pixels as raw 32-bit floats — the lossless hand-off format for HDR pipelines, radiance research and render passes, riding the same family spirit as PBM/PGM/PPM.

How do I convert PFM files online?

Pick a target format from the "Convert PFM to…" list below, drop your file and hit convert. Everything runs in your browser — no install, no upload, no watermark, no limits.

Is it safe to convert PFM files here?

Yes. Every conversion is performed by your own device inside the browser — files never leave for a server, and the page keeps working even offline.

Which formats can PFM convert to?

This page lists all 60 directions across documents, images, audio, video, spreadsheets and archives — each one is its own free converter page.