CR2 File Format (.cr2)

A CR2 file holds raw sensor data in Canon Raw 2, a TIFF-based container that stores the sensor readout as lossless JPEG alongside embedded previews, used across Canon EOS cameras from 2004 until CR3 took over in 2018.

.cr2Image Files

CR2 at a glance#

Full name	Canon Digital Camera Raw Image Format
File extension	.cr2
Category	Image Files
Developer	Canon Inc.
First released	2004
MIME types	image/x-canon-cr2
Compression	Lossless
FileFlip support	FileFlip reads this format but does not write it

What a .cr2 file can hold#

These are the things a CR2 file either supports or does not, and they are what decides whether a conversion keeps everything or quietly drops something.

Lossless compression	Yes
Embedded metadata	Yes
Colour profiles	Yes

Strengths and limitations of CR2#

What CR2 does well

The sensor data is compressed with lossless JPEG, so the file is smaller than a plain dump of the sensor without any value being altered
The TIFF structure carries a full-size JPEG preview, which is how viewers show a CR2 instantly without decoding the raw data
Fourteen years of Canon bodies wrote the same format, so decoder support in raw software is mature and unlikely to change now
Keeps white balance and Picture Style as settings recorded next to the sensor data rather than baked into it, so they can be changed afterwards without a second copy of the file

Where CR2 falls short

Canon never published a CR2 specification, so every reader outside Canon's own software is based on reverse engineering
No Canon body released since 2018 writes CR2, so anything from the EOS R line produces CR3 instead
The sRAW and mRAW options write reduced-resolution YCbCr data into the same .CR2 extension, so not every CR2 file holds full Bayer sensor data
Bodies from the first few years of CR2 digitize at 12 bits per pixel, and only the cameras from 2007 onward record the 14 bits later Canon raw files carry

CR2 is what a Canon EOS body from the 2004 generation of the EOS-1D Mark II and EOS 20D through to 2018 writes when raw capture is switched on, so the format follows from the camera rather than being chosen.

Convert CR2 to JPEG when a photo needs to be sent, uploaded or printed, or to DNG when consolidating an archive into a format with a published specification.

How to open a .cr2 file#

A .cr2 file opens in the programs below, grouped by the platform you are on. If you would rather not install anything, FileFlip converts CR2 into a format your machine already opens, and it does it in the browser tab rather than on a server.

Platform	Programs that open it
Windows	Canon Digital Photo Professional, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop, Capture One, IrfanView
macOS	Canon Digital Photo Professional, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop, Capture One, Preview
Linux	darktable, RawTherapee, digiKam
iOS	Adobe Lightroom
Android	Adobe Lightroom
Web	FileFlip

CR2 questions people ask#

What software opens CR2 files?

Canon's own Digital Photo Professional opens CR2 files and is free to download for owners of the camera, and so do Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop, Capture One, and the open-source processors darktable, RawTherapee and digiKam. CR2 has been around since 2004, so support is about as broad as raw formats get.

Does converting CR2 to DNG lose quality?

No, converting a CR2 file to DNG moves the same sensor values into a different container rather than re-rendering the image. What can be left behind is Canon-specific metadata such as Picture Style settings that only Canon's software acts on, and Canon's Digital Photo Professional works from Canon raw files rather than DNG.

Why does my newer Canon camera not write CR2 anymore?

Canon replaced CR2 with CR3 in 2018, starting with the EOS M50, and every EOS R body since writes CR3. CR3 uses an entirely different container, so a program that reads CR2 does not automatically read CR3.

Why does Canon use CR2 instead of DNG?

Canon keeps its own raw format, as most camera makers do, so it can record camera-specific data and add features without waiting for a shared specification to catch up. Canon EOS cameras cannot be set to write DNG in-camera, so converting CR2 to DNG is always a separate step afterwards.

Converting CR2 files#

FileFlip does not write .cr2 files, so nothing on the site converts into this format. It works as a source only.

Every conversion runs inside your browser. The file is read from your disk, the work happens on your own machine, and nothing is uploaded. How FileFlip works names the engine behind each family and how to verify that for yourself.