How to open cr2 or Find solutions for working with the graphic format of Canon cameras for different OSes

Every year the world produces an increasing number of programs and applications for PCs and other platforms. Many users simply do not have time to follow the developments in the world of developers and often do not know which programs need to open this or that file format, which until then did not hear anything. In this article we will talk about how to open the CR2 - the format is not new, but still causing questions for a number of users.

Many professional photographers and amateur photographers know that CR2 is nothing more than a kind of popular RAW graphic format. It has been used in many Canon SLR cameras for a long time, but even nowadays not all users know how to open CR2. And you can do this in many ways and with several utilities for viewing and editing images. Let's take a closer look at each of the options.

Canon Raw Image File (this is the full name of the format we describe) is easiest to open with a free program called XnView. To do this, you need to download and install a suitable version of the program for your operating system on the PC, and then just start browsing the images of interest. The huge advantage of this utility is that with its help you can not only view several hundreds of graphic formats, but also convert files from one format to another. Thus, the "ill-fated" CR2 can easily be converted into any of the formats that you are accustomed to.

But sometimes it happens that the photos need not just be viewed, but also edited. And all the tools available to the user can not help to produce even the simplest manipulations with the problem called the "CR2 format". How can I open and process images in this format in this case? The quickest solution is to use the Canon Digital Photo Professional application, which includes almost all Canon cameras. This software will not only allow you to view the captured files, but also to make their complete editing.

For those users who are used to processing photos using Photoshop, you can open CR2 and this program. The main thing is that its version should not be lower than CS2. If this graphics package still refuses to open CR2, then you must additionally install a plug-in called Adobe Camera Raw of the third or fourth version. However, to prevent any problems, it is advisable to use Photoshop CS4 or newer, and ACR to install at least version 5.6. If you have these programs on your computer, you do not have to puzzle over what to open the CR2.

In addition to the methods described above, Windows users can open this format with other programs, for example, Google Picasa, ACDSee Photo Manager, IrfanView or Xara.

If the solution of this issue for users whose PCs work with the operating system Windows is relatively simple, how to work with CR2, who has another OS installed on the computer?

There are a number of quality software that will help to eliminate this problem. On Apple OS X with the format of CR2 without the problems mentioned above, Google Picasa, Photoshop and native software package from Canon will be able to work. Also this list can replenish Snap Converter and Apple iPhoto, but they lose in simplicity of work to their main competitors. But for a number of Linux-based operating systems, users will not have much choice. If you still do not know how to open CR2 on this OS, then you have only one best option - Google Picasa. To date, this universal utility on this platform is still unmatched.

And, finally, do not forget that the evolution of graphic editors and image viewers does not stand still - maybe tomorrow you will be able to open photos from the Canon camera in the program that yesterday could not cope with this task.