The CR2 file stores raw image data obtained from a digital camera sensor developed by Ca non. This is version 2 of the format. CR2 is a RAW, uncompressed image and therefore can be quite large. CR2 is a native format that stores data in binary format. The CR2 should be "developed" just like a photo negative. Users can change image parameters such as white balance or exposure. The Canon cameras that first used the CR2 format are:
- 1D Mark II,
- 350D,
The CR2 file has a header that contains data EXIF, information about the image, camera and image parameters. It also contains a compressed preview image one-fourth the size of the base photo and a small 160x120 pixel icon. A CR2 file stores an image in 12-bit or 14-bit color, and the detailed structure of the file depends on which camera it was shot with.
CR2 is based on TIFF And T eplaced CRW format in 2004. In 2018, Canon developed a new version designated CR3, which is based on CIFF and is intended to replace the CR2 format. This year, Canon's line of DSLR cameras offers the ability to save photos in RAW format - CR2. Applications that support CR2 files must also support the Canon camera from which it was shot. The designed and processed photograph can be saved in a more popular image format, e.g.
I’ll say right away that today we will talk about a very narrowly focused topic that only owners of semi-professional and professional CANON devices encounter. The essence of the problem is that the graphic file created by a CANON device with the .cr2 extension contains raw data received from the matrix, which in turn avoids loss of image quality (which is why there is no conversion to the usual jpg and jpeg modes ). Meanwhile, this is an almost ideal way to store complete information about a photo. True, such a file has a lot of disadvantages: firstly, it weighs a lot, taking up space, and secondly, not every program can open it.
Canon Digital Photo Professional
Of course, you should start with the Canon Digital Photo Professional program, which was created to work with the “native” cr2 format (and not only). It is distributed completely free of charge, and you can download it from the official CANON website by selecting your device.
Pros of the program:
- Excellent manufacturer support.
- No fee.
- Compatible with most versions of Windows XP.
- A huge number of supported CANON cameras.
- Supported formats: CR2, CRW, TIFF/TIF, JPEG, JPEG/JFIF.
- Lens support.
- A huge number of various functions that allow you to work with the image (brightness adjustment, balance adjustment, retouching, tone curve contrast, noise reduction).
- Convert images to various formats.
In short, the program is very well-known, popular and very powerful, thanks to which it allows you to perfectly process photographs.
Google Picasa
Continuing to talk about free programs, we cannot help but talk about Google Picasa, another program for viewing and processing images. You can download it on the official Google website, and it’s completely free.
Features of Google Picasa:
- The program supports many RAW formats from various manufacturers, including giants such as Canon, Kodak, Leica, Nikon, etc.
- Picasa can play video formats.
- There is a so-called folder manager that automatically scans folders and displays them in a tree view.
- Good opportunities for photo processing. Of course, a professional photographer may say that the program is unremarkable in this regard, but most beginning photographers will have plenty of options.
- It is possible to export files, burn them to disk or also send them by e-mail.
- I repeat, the program is free.
ACDSee
If for some reason free programs are not suitable for you, well, in that case you will have to pay. The first program on the list is ACDSee - it was created for working with photographs and has an expanded set of functions that will be quite enough even for professionals.
Pros of ACDSee:
- Quickly view RAW images.
- Support for AW images for digital cameras.
- Many functions and filters that allow you to correct color balance or defects, suppress noise, change sharpness, etc.
- Integrated support for DNG RAW format.
- Possibility of adding watermarks.
- There are HTML templates for users.
Alas, as mentioned above, ACDSee is a paid program, with a license costing $50-$200. Whether this license is worth purchasing is up to you to decide.
Adobe Photoshop
Actually, there’s nothing to even talk about here - this is one of the few programs that supports the vast majority of known graphic files. It’s not even worth talking about the advantages of Photoshop - there are so many of them that a whole day wouldn’t be enough to describe them. Another thing is that the cost of licensing this software is very, very high, so not everyone can afford it. Nevertheless, it is difficult for a professional photographer to do without Photoshop.
Most often, we learn about the existence of the CR2 format when we try to look at some photos on the computer, but the image viewer does not want to open them. It is also possible that they do not open after reinstalling the operating system. Let's figure out what this format is and how to open such a file.
This format was created by Canon to preserve the quality of photographs, so the files are large in size. Actually, this is its main drawback, since such photos take up a lot of space on the camera and computer. It also contains text information about the photo and the conditions in which it was taken. Thanks to this, photos can be edited effectively and without loss of quality: change brightness, contrast, white balance and other properties. It can be converted to any required image format: JPG, BMP, RAW, PSD and others.
Opening CR2 files
The choice of utilities for interacting with CR2 is quite large. All of them are divided into two large groups:
- licensed software from Canon;
- software from other manufacturers.
The first group includes the Digital Photo Professional utility, which is downloaded from the official Canon website. But many users don't like Canon's tools, so we offer you an overview of other photo editing programs.
You can open such files on devices equipped with various operating systems: Windows, Mac OS, Linux, as well as iOS and Android.
Utilities for various OS
Windows
- Adobe DNG Converter;
- FastStone Image Viewer;
- ACDSee;
- GIMP;
MacOS
- GIMP;
- Aperture;
- Apple Photos.
Linux
- gThumb;
- MATE;
- GIMP;
- Darktable.
Android
- Photoshop for Android;
- File Viewer for Android.
iOS
- Photoshop for iOS.
As you can see, the selection is impressive, although this list does not include all of them, but only the most common utilities. Let's look at some of them in more detail.
FastStone Image Viewer
Free, simple and understandable program. It consumes very little computer resources, so you can install it on low-power machines and use it without worry. The interface is intuitive and reminiscent of Windows utilities. Allows you to convert several photos at the same time.
FastStone Image Viewer window
Also free, but more powerful program with a wide range of tasks. It supports more than 400 extension options and converts them into 50 of the most popular formats. Of course, it weighs more than the previous one, but it will allow you to forget forever that some image or video cannot be opened.
A very lightweight (only 2 MB) utility that works with this photo format provided that an additional plugin is installed. It has a convenient function for taking screenshots.
If it is installed on a computer, it opens CR2 files by default. Lightweight, clear and simple free utility.
Perhaps the most famous program for working with photographs. It's paid, but it's worth it.
GIMP
Most of all, in its functionality and interface it resembles Adobe Photoshop, but is free.
The choice of program that will help you open CR2 files on your computer or smartphone will depend on what functionality you want. If you just need to view photos or post them on your social network page, choose easy and free options. And if you plan to work professionally with images, think about installing more serious utilities that have wide functionality.
CR2 format files can be opened with special programs. There are 2 types of CR2 formats, each of which is opened by different programs. To open the desired type of format, study the file descriptions and download one of the proposed programs.
How to open a CR2 file
A CR2 file can be generated in two cases:
- Graphic image produced using a Canon digital camera. The camera produces a graphical snapshot of the image, which is a raw piece of data captured from the sensor. Forming such a fragment of the image allows you to avoid loss of image quality. The CR2 file can contain both text information about the image and technical parameters of photography: conditions, brightness, contrast, exposure values, etc. The main disadvantage of this graphic format is the large amount of disk space or memory card allocated for storing the CR2 file. This format is based on the extension structure. After dubbing the CR2 file to your computer, you can vary all image parameters, including white balance, frame sharpness and color saturation, without fear of loss of quality.
- A digital 3D model obtained by modeling a living character in a specialized environment (for example, Smith Micro Poser). This software shell is similar to the 3D Max application, only its main feature is the three-dimensional design of living objects. Such a CR2 file may contain data describing facial expressions, body features and the position of human body parts.
Programs for opening CR2
The choice of software environment where opening and editing a file with the CR2 extension can be implemented depends on where the file was originally generated.
If the CR2 format is a large file containing a graphic fragment of an image obtained from a camera, you should use:
- IrfanView (Windows OS);
- The GIMP (Windows OS);
- File Viewer (Windows OS);
- Canon Digital Photo (Windows OS/Mac OS);
- Adobe Photoshop (Windows OS);
- Google Picasa (Windows OS);
- Apple Photos (Mac OS)
- MacPhun ColorStrokes (Mac OS);
- GIMP (Linux OS/Mac OS);
- gphoto2 (Linux OS);
- dcraw (Linux OS);
- Adobe Photoshop Express for iOS (iOS OS);
- File Viewer for Android (Android OS).
- Adobe Photoshop Express for Android (Android OS).
If the CR2 file is a digital 3D model of a human character, use:
These software modules are adapted to work on both the Windows and Mac OS platforms.
Convert CR2 to other formats
The issue of converting a CR2 file (learned from a Canon camera) into another data format is very pressing, because in this form the image takes up a very significant size.
The following formats are available for conversion:
- CR2 -> JPG, BMP, PNG, PSD, RAW (recommended software - Snap Converter);
- CR2 -> GIF (recommended software - FastStone Image Viewer);
- CR2 -> JPEG (recommended software - XnView);
- CR2 -> PSB (recommended software - Adobe Photoshop for Mac).
Why CR2 and what are its advantages?
The main advantage of the CR2 extension is the ability to post-process data. The camera user does not need to rush to select the optimal values for brightness, contrast, frame sharpness and color saturation of the image. All these procedures can be performed in a special graphics editor on a PC using specialized tools for image processing.
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