FastRawViewer vs Flipic Lens: which RAW tool fits?

Choose FastRawViewer if you need to judge the RAW data itself: a RAW histogram, highlight inspection, exposure checks and focus peaking. Choose Flipic Lens if you want a simpler folder viewer for paging, focus checks, ratings and a first cull. They can sit in the same workflow: FastRawViewer for exposure-critical frames, Flipic Lens for the rest of the selection.

	FastRawViewer	Flipic Lens
Price model	Paid license	Free; optional one-time Pro
Import or library	No catalog; browse folders directly	No import, no catalog; reads the folder
RAW	Decodes RAW data; RAW histogram, highlight inspection, focus peaking	Opens camera RAW; 0 zooms to 100% at the pointer
Star ratings	Ratings and labels in XMP sidecars	1 to 5 stars as standard XMP; RAW uses a same-name .xmp sidecar
Side-by-side compare	Grid and single-file view; synced two-up not listed on its site	C for two, Shift-C for four, zoom synced
Closed eyes / blur / bursts	Not listed on its official site	Yes: Cleanup Mode groups bursts, duplicates, closed eyes and blur on your Mac
Platform	macOS and Windows	macOS 13 or later
Open source	No	Yes, MIT

Where FastRawViewer is stronger

• RAW data, not an embedded preview. It renders the RAW and shows a RAW histogram, RAW statistics and highlight inspection.
• Exposure and focus tools. Shadow Boost, per-channel view, focus peaking and exposure compensation help you see what a converter can recover.
• RAW+JPEG mode. It handles RAW and JPEG pairs and can work through folders without creating a catalog.

Where Flipic Lens fits

• Simple paging. Double-click one photo and use the arrow keys through the folder, with no import and no catalog.
• Fast focus checks and comparison. Press 0 to zoom to 100% at the pointer; C and Shift-C compare two or four frames with synced zoom and pan.
• Ratings and marks. 1 to 5 stars go into standard XMP, with a same-name .xmp sidecar for proprietary RAW. P marks are Finder tags.

Cleanup Mode. Free on-device grouping of bursts, duplicates, closed eyes and blur, with you deciding what to delete.
Small and local. A 5 MB MIT-licensed Mac app that keeps photos on your Mac; Pro adds the Workbench grid and is a one-time purchase with a 7-day trial.

Using them together

Open a shoot in FastRawViewer when you need the RAW histogram or a careful exposure check. Use Flipic Lens for the broader pass: page, rate, mark and let Cleanup Mode group the obvious rejects. Both can write ratings to XMP, so pick one app for the rating pass to keep the sidecars predictable.

See the full comparison at Mac photo viewers and culling tools compared.