Photos is available starting with ZimaOS 1.8.
Photos is built to take everything you shoot, from the phone in your pocket to the RAW files on your camera card. This page lists what goes into the library, and how each format behaves once it is in.
How Support Works
Three things can happen to a file in Photos, and they do not always come together:
- Indexing. The file is accepted into the library.
- Thumbnails. A preview image is generated for the gallery.
- Metadata. Camera, lens, and settings are read and shown.
A format can be indexed while its thumbnail depends on the file itself. RAW files are the main example: a camera that embeds a JPEG preview gets a fast thumbnail, while a file without one needs decoding. Both end up in the library with their metadata.
Image Formats
| Format family | Indexed | Thumbnails | Metadata |
|---|---|---|---|
| JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg, .jfif, .mpo) | Yes | Served directly or scaled | Standard fields plus vendor tags |
| HEIC, HEIF, AVIF | Yes | Built-in extractor, avoids full decoding | Yes, including Live Photo data |
| PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, ICO | Yes | Generic pipeline | Basic fields |
| TIFF (.tif, .tiff) | Yes | Embedded preview preferred | Yes |
| Professional containers (PSD, PSB, JPEG XL, JPEG 2000, EXR) | Yes | Generic pipeline | Yes |
The standard metadata fields are camera, lens, focal length, aperture, exposure time, ISO, GPS, orientation, and date taken. Vendor metadata such as MakerNote and private XMP is read for common phone and camera brands.
RAW Formats
RAW files follow one of three thumbnail strategies, depending on what the camera embeds:
| Group | Formats | Thumbnail behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Embedded preview first | ARW, TIFF | Photos reads the JPEG preview the camera embedded, without decoding the sensor image. |
| Preview when available | CR2, CR3, CRW, DNG, NEF, NRW, ORF, ORI, PEF, RW2, SR2, SRF, and others | The embedded preview is used when it is large enough for the request. Otherwise Photos decodes the RAW. |
| Decoder dependent | 3FR, DCR, ERF, IIQ, KDC, MEF, MOS, MRW, RAF, RWL, SRW | These rarely carry a usable preview. Thumbnails are generated by decoding, and depend on decoder support. |
| Native thumbnail | X3F | Photos reads the camera’s built-in RGB thumbnail directly. |
If a format has no embedded preview and no decoder support, the file is still indexed and its metadata is kept. The thumbnail is simply not available.
Video Metadata
Video files use a separate metadata path. QuickTime and ISO-BMFF files (MOV, MP4), AVI, and Matroska (MKV) are all parsed, so video metadata shows up alongside photos.
Next
- Photos — the library itself
- Phone Backup — get the phone photos in