VICAR to PFM Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
VICAR is NASA/JPL's planetary image format — Mars rover and Voyager frames circulate in it, with a label block describing the instrument. Convert PFM to PNG or JPG to get a viewable tone-mapped preview of float data.
Because the whole conversion happens on your device, it is instant, unlimited and genuinely private — no accounts, no watermarks, no files on anyone's server. Multiple files are converted in one go.
How to convert VICAR to PFM
- 1
Select your files
Drag & drop your VICAR files onto the area above, or click to browse. You can add multiple files at once for batch conversion.
- 2
Convert instantly
Click "Convert to PFM". The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly — no upload, no queue, no waiting.
- 3
Download results
Download each converted PFM file individually, or grab everything at once as a ZIP archive.
About the VICAR format
The VICAR Planetary Image coder of the ImageMagick set — the planetary-science format is written natively by the magick.wasm engine, entirely in your browser.
Obscure coder formats like this are exactly what template-driven converters list and never actually convert — here it really works.
+Strengths
- ✓Written natively by ImageMagick
- ✓Runs entirely in your browser
- ✓Free, private, no watermarks
!Limitations
- −Niche format — few modern readers
- −Feature subset varies by coder
- −Keep the original for re-editing
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
Why convert VICAR to PFM?
There is a concrete reason this conversion exists: Niche format — few modern readers PFM sidesteps that — Full floating-point precision If that is your situation, the tool above settles it in seconds, entirely on your device.
Frequently asked questions
Is this VICAR to PFM converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Will I lose quality converting VICAR to PFM?
No — PFM is a lossless format, so every pixel of the converted image matches your original VICAR file. You can also adjust the quality/size balance before converting when the target format supports compression.
Will transparent areas survive the conversion to PFM?
Transparency is kept whenever PFM actually supports an alpha channel. If the target format has none (like JPG), transparent areas are flattened onto a white background — that is a property of the format, not of this tool.
What happens to EXIF data and other metadata?
Conversions here re-encode the image, and re-encoding generally does not carry the original metadata over. If the EXIF data of your VICAR files matters (camera model, GPS, timestamps), keep the original file as the master and treat the converted copy as the shareable version.