Can't view or edit Sony raw files after Sequoia 15.4 update on new MacBook Pro

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Level 1

5 points

Can't view or edit Sony raw files after Sequoia 15.4 update on new MacBook Pro

I purchased a brand new Sony digital camera, and a new MacBook Pro M4 last week. I also signed up for an expensive photography workshop in Italy in 2 weeks. This has been my dream.

But this recent 15.4 upgrade has turned my dream into a nightmare. What’s the point of spending so much money on a new MacBook Pro, that is supposed to be so sophisticated, when it now cant even do what it used to do – which is handle raw file images? I wont be able to view or edit my raw file images during the workshop now.

Please advise on whether macOS Sequoia 15.4 dropped or altered support for Sony RAW (.ARW) files—specifically those from the Sony RX100 VII—or if an update to the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility package is forthcoming. If this is a known issue, I would appreciate any temporary workarounds or recommended steps to restore RAW preview and editing capabilities within macOS.

Issue Summary:

After upgrading my MacBook Pro (M4 chip) to macOS Sequoia 15.4 on Monday 7 April 2025, I am no longer able to preview or open Sony RAW (.ARW) files from my camera (Sony RX100 VII) in Finder’s Quick Look or “Get Info” pane. Additionally, Adobe Photoshop no longer recognizes these files, even though they were working normally before the update.

I am a professional photographer and now my career is at stake.

Here are some steps I took to reproduce:

1. Open Finder and navigate to any .ARW file (example: DSC00001.ARW)

2. Press Space to invoke Quick Look → no preview appears

3. Right-click and select “Get Info” → no image metadata or thumbnail is n displayed

4. Attempt to open the same file in Adobe Photoshop 2024 (latest version) → results in an error, file not recognized or unsupported

Additional notes:

• The .ARW files in question were taken with a Sony RX100 VII, which was previously supported by macOS and Adobe Camera Raw. So what happened?

• These files were fully functional prior to upgrading to macOS Sequoia 15.4.

• I have verified that the same files still open correctly on a separate machine running macOS Ventura.

• Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw are both fully up to date (Camera Raw v16.x).

• The issue appears to be with macOS-level RAW compatibility or framework support, possibly the AppleRawCamera.bundle.

Troubleshooting I attempted:

• Verified Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw are up to date

• Attempted to open files in Preview and other apps – same issue

• Checked file associations in Finder – no change

• Attempted viewing and editing .ARW files in third-party apps – limited success

• Attempted to extract metadata with standard EXIF tools – failed or incomplete

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 9, 2025 7:20 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Daarbo

Level 1

32 points

May 6, 2025 10:57 AM in response to AstroLove

Hi AstroLove

I have the same problem, and I did some further actions:

I tried to open the file with Capture One software: same problem as in Lightroom
I contacted with support teams of Adobe, Apple and Sony, none of them can solve the problem
Sony recommended to use their own software: Imaging Edge Desktop. It is free and is the only one that works, allowing to import the arw files and work with them
Another option that works but is more complicated is converting .arw files to .dng using an online converter. It also works and allows to work with Lightroom and Capture One, but this is a slow option.

Hope this is usful for you, because I don't think neither Apple, Sony or Adobe care about this problem

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Answer 2

AstroLove Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 9, 2025 9:51 AM in response to VikingOSX

Serendipity. An Apple Regent St technician supported me today. Happened to also be a pro photographer. His raw files are now black squares in his Mac’s Finder. But. He can still upload them, unlike me, into Lightroom and edit.

He found temporary work around solution for my specific raw file problem. Download Sony’s Image Edge onto my Mac’s desktop, and connect my external hard drive.

Upload raw files into Image Edge and convert to TIFFS. Then was able to import into Lightroom — at last.

This tech guy said wait till Apple sort out this bug. But Apple usually informs companies like Sony camera etc, of these upcoming updates. So that Sony etc can also update their systems to accommodate Mac’s system upcoming new changes.

I heard that TIFF files aren’t as great as RAW initially to work with. But hey, better than nothing.

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Answer 3

Daarbo

Level 1

32 points

May 7, 2025 12:45 AM in response to nrhack

You are right! I tried with ExifTool using the following command inside the directory where I store all these unusable arw files:

exiftool -overwrite_original -SonyModelID="DSC-RX100M7" -ext arw .

It was great! Now I have all files as arw in Lightroom

Thanks nrhack!

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Answer 4

VikingOSX

Level 10

127,642 points

Apr 9, 2025 9:14 AM in response to AstroLove

The latest version of Photoshop for macOS is 26.4.9 (today). The latest Adobe Camera RAW plug-in version is 17.2 dated Feb 2025. Your older version references are out of date and should be updated for Sequoia.

ExifTool v13.27 dumps all Sony RX100 VII RAW image data just fine.

Affinity Photo v2.6.2 opens this Sony RX100 VII RAW image just fine.

My own Python/Objective-C and SwiftUI applications also dump that internal data to a scrollable window. If this RX100 VII RAW image were not supported by Apple's Camera RAW on Sequoia v15.4, that last sentence would be false.

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Answer 5

VikingOSX

Level 10

127,642 points

Apr 9, 2025 10:38 AM in response to AstroLove

I have downloaded two different DSC-RX100 VII raw (.ARW) images from separate websites and both images appear as Finder icons, in Quick Look, or open in Preview. Same operating system: macOS Sequoia v15.4 on an M4 Mac Mini Pro. Other than my iPhone 16 Pro Max, I use no other camera RAW solution and do not have the Adobe applications installed.

Ensure that in System Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates panel you have the following selected:

Since Camera RAW updates are silently pushed by Apple through that last selection and not necessarily tied to operating system updates, you should have that last item selected to stay current. This may or may not resolve your black Finder icons for RAW images and if it does, preclude the need for Image Edge or TIFF conversions.

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Answer 6

Daarbo

Level 1

32 points

May 14, 2025 4:11 AM in response to francesco.eu

Sure, you can use the same procedure. Install ExifTool and prompt the following command in a terminal window in the directory where you have the arw images:

exiftool -overwrite_original -SonyModelID="DSC-RX100M7" -ext arw .

Then, your mac will recognise these raw files in any apple original application you use

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Answer 7

AstroLove Author

Level 1

5 points

May 6, 2025 11:51 AM in response to Daarbo

Thanks for your message Daarbo

Sounds like you have a Sony RX100 VIIA too.

Yes, I did use Image Edge Desktop in the end. The only solution was to convert the .arw files into TIFFs, which are huge files.

You can't de-noise TIFFs in Lightroom. TIFFs have less editing capabilities than .arw's. Still, I guess it's a temporary workaround, for now.

And you're absolutely correct: Apple, Sony and Adobe dont give a ****.

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Answer 8

Daarbo

Level 1

32 points

May 6, 2025 12:52 PM in response to AstroLove

Anyway, converting to .arw to .dng online is better than using .tiff, as it is still a raw file

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Answer 9

nrhack

Level 1

44 points

May 6, 2025 2:42 PM in response to Daarbo

Why to make it so complicated and convert one by one to dng . You can installed exif tool select all photos change the EXIF from 7 to 7a and done. Than u can import all to Lightroom

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Answer 10

dialabrain

Level 10

137,709 points

Apr 9, 2025 7:41 AM in response to AstroLove

FWIW, there is an apparent bug in Sequoia 15.4 that seems to have lost the ability to display RAW images from cameras that were supported previously.

Can you check and see if these sample files work? I'm not on 15.4 at the moment.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII sample gallery

Feel free to send Apple feedback.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

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Answer 11

nrhack

Level 1

44 points

Apr 28, 2025 2:51 PM in response to AstroLove

The 7 is an older model and is supported, but the 7A is a newer model and currently not supported. You'll need to wait until Adobe releases an update. Unfortunately, a new version of Lightroom was released just a few days ago, and it still doesn't support the 7A. As a workaround, you can update the EXIF data in the files, which will then allow you to import and edit them in Lightroom.

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Answer 12

dialabrain

Level 10

137,709 points

Apr 9, 2025 9:56 AM in response to VikingOSX

VikingOSX wrote:

These .ARW images display as Finder icons, in Quick Look, and in Preview without issue on Sequoia v15.4.

Good to know. They displayed for me as well but since I was on 15.4+. I didn't want to assume.

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Answer 13

AstroLove Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 9, 2025 10:02 AM in response to VikingOSX

Thanks for clarifying with your information. Got a screen share of my Mac with Adobe today. And got them to check if those apps were up to date. He (wrongly, now I realise) said they were. So much for Adobe support.

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Answer 14

May 14, 2025 3:01 AM in response to Daarbo

Thanks. I know that jpeg are enough... it is just that I could centralise all files in one unique tool. This tool could be Photos. This should be able to read raw files too of my different cameras, otherwise I will continue with lightroom...

Thanks for the support f

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Answer 15

VikingOSX

Level 10

127,642 points

Apr 9, 2025 9:00 AM in response to dialabrain

These .ARW images display as Finder icons, in Quick Look, and in Preview without issue on Sequoia v15.4.

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