What is a .CR2 file?
CR2 is Canon’s older camera RAW format (Canon Raw v2), used by most Canon DSLRs. Opened in Canon Digital Photo Professional or Adobe Lightroom.
- Did you know
- Canon used CR2 from 2004 until replacing it with the newer CR3 in 2018.
- CR2 is built on the TIFF specification, giving it a familiar, tag-based internal structure that many image tools can partly parse.
- The name is short for Canon Raw version 2, the successor to Canon’s original CRW raw format.
- A CR2 typically bundles the full raw sensor data together with an embedded JPEG preview so cameras and viewers can show the shot instantly.
- Canon retired CR2 in favour of the MP4-style CR3 format, ending a run that spanned most of its DSLR era.
- What Analyser shows you
- Open camera RAW files from Sony (ARW), Canon (CR2, CR3, CRW), Nikon (NEF, NRW), Fujifilm X-Trans (RAF), Sigma Foveon (X3F), Olympus (ORF), Panasonic (RW2), Pentax (PEF), Adobe DNG and many more. Reads full EXIF and lens data, the true sensor resolution, GPS and histograms, recovers the Sony and Nikon shutter actuation count, and develops the RAW - decoding the sensor to a full-resolution image, or extracting the embedded preview when a true demosaic is not available.
- Open a .CR2 file
- Drag a .CR2 file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It opens entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.