Need to turn a .nef file into HEIC? Citrus converts Nikon NEF to HEIC right on your Mac, offline, using Apple's own engines. Nothing is uploaded to any server, which matters for client work, private photos and contracts.
Citrus reads Nikon NEF files with the same RAW engine macOS uses in Photos and Preview. It works for cameras your version of macOS supports, and you get the developed image, not the sensor data.
HEIC is lossy, so the file gets much smaller. Use the Quality slider or set a target file size and Citrus finds the best quality under that limit.
HEIC files are small and high quality, which makes them good for saving space on a Mac or iPhone.
Resize by percent or pixels, crop, and choose whether to keep EXIF and location data, all before converting.
How to convert Nikon NEF to HEIC
Open Citrus from the menu bar (the citrus slice icon).
Drop your .nef file, or several, into the window. You can also drag a file onto the menu bar icon to open the quick wheel.
Choose HEIC as the output format and adjust options if you want, like size, quality or resolution.
Press Convert. Your new files appear next to the originals, and the originals are never changed.
About the formats
Nikon NEF: NEF is the RAW format of Nikon cameras.
HEIC: HEIC is the default photo format on iPhone and modern Macs. It keeps photos small at high quality, but many websites, Windows apps and older tools can't open it.
Frequently asked questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. Citrus runs entirely on your Mac. Files are read and written locally and never sent to a server.
Can I convert many Nikon NEF files at once?
Yes. Drop a whole batch into Citrus and convert them all to HEIC in one go. Originals are never changed.
Does Citrus need an internet connection to convert Nikon NEF to HEIC?