Only black & white
Output has only black and white pixels. The threshold defaults to 128 and is adjustable in Advanced options; gray levels and colour are lost.
Convert HDR to PBM
- In your browser
- No upload
- Private by design
What happens when you convert HDR to PBM?
HDR to SDR
HDR is rendered to SDR using exposure and Reinhard tone mapping.
Lossless sample storage
Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning. PBM can store its supported image samples without lossy compression. This applies after rendering and sample conversion: it does not guarantee preservation of source precision, colour space or document structure, and cannot undo earlier losses.
HDR
Source
HDR
Radiance HDR / RGBE
Compression: LosslessTransparency: NoMetadata: Radiance header, EXPOSURE, FORMAT
Radiance pictures with a shared exponent for high-dynamic-range lighting values.
Explore HDR format →PBM
Target
PBM
Portable Bitmap
Compression: UncompressedTransparency: NoMetadata: Header, Comments
Portable Bitmap: simple uncompressed raster samples for image-processing pipelines.
Explore PBM format →Is HDR → PBM right for you?
Good choice when
- PBM fits your delivery use: Bitonal line art & binary masks.
- Your destination needs a bitonal mask or black-and-white bitmap.
- You need an SDR delivery copy and can review its tone mapping.
- You need lossless storage of the rendered samples supported by PBM.
Probably not when
- You need continuous tones or colour.
- You need the original HDR range for relighting or grading.
- You expect lossless encoding to restore lost details or editing structure.
- You require identical samples without a defined colour and precision policy.
HDR to PBM conversion details
- Only black & white
- Output has only black and white pixels. The threshold defaults to 128 and is adjustable in Advanced options; gray levels and colour are lost.
- HDR to SDR
- HDR is rendered to SDR using exposure and Reinhard tone mapping.
- Lossless sample storage
- Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning. PBM can store its supported image samples without lossy compression. This applies after rendering and sample conversion: it does not guarantee preservation of source precision, colour space or document structure, and cannot undo earlier losses.
- Sample precision & colour
- Pixel conversion only. Original EXIF, GPS, XMP and ICC profiles are not copied; processing uses 8-bit display pixels.
- Metadata & colour
- Pixel conversion only. Original EXIF, GPS, XMP and ICC profiles are not copied; processing uses 8-bit display pixels.
- Compression
- HDR: Lossless → PBM: Uncompressed HDR: RLE preserves stored RGBE bytes; RGBE quantization is not exact storage of arbitrary float RGB. The .hdr format is distinct from the general concept of HDR photography. PBM: Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning.
- Colour depth
- HDR: 32-bit RGBE / XYZE pixel → PBM: 1 bit/pixel
- HDR
- HDR: Radiometric values
- Dimensions
- Rendered image dimensions are retained within the converter limits; this tool does not offer resizing. Orientation handling depends on the source decoder.
- Metadata
- Pixel conversion only. Original EXIF, GPS, XMP and ICC profiles are not copied; processing uses 8-bit display pixels.
Common questions
Can PBM retain gray shading?
Output has only black and white pixels. The threshold defaults to 128 and is adjustable in Advanced options; gray levels and colour are lost.
How will HDR brightness be mapped?
HDR is rendered to SDR using exposure and Reinhard tone mapping.
Does lossless output mean an unchanged source?
Netpbm stores these samples without compression. Reducing colour, thresholding or changing maxval can still lose information before storage; text and binary representations change the layout, not its image meaning. PBM can store its supported image samples without lossy compression. This applies after rendering and sample conversion: it does not guarantee preservation of source precision, colour space or document structure, and cannot undo earlier losses.
Are bit depth and colour values guaranteed to match?
Pixel conversion only. Original EXIF, GPS, XMP and ICC profiles are not copied; processing uses 8-bit display pixels.
Will metadata and colour profiles be retained?
Pixel conversion only. Original EXIF, GPS, XMP and ICC profiles are not copied; processing uses 8-bit display pixels.