Canon RAW Codec

Canon RAW Codec is designed to enable support of the Canon RAW image files (CR2) under Windows operating system. This enables the user to import and view this type of files with Windows Imaging Component (WIC) supported applications.

Installing this plug-in does not require too much effort from the user as the three-step process combined with clear on-screen instructions should make the entire operation a breeze.

The codec is designed to work with certain camera models from Canon, most of them EOS (Electro-Optical System) and PowerShot products.

Among its functions there is support for XMP rating system and the files handled this codec can work with no problems with applications such as ZoomBrowser EX and Digital Photo Professional, both of them signed by Canon.

Obviously, any other programs compatible with XMP rating system (Adobe's Extensible Metadata Platform) are also compatible with Canon’s codec. The XMP rating system was developed by Adobe and allows adding metadata to the image file that can be decoded by the supporting programs.

According to the developer, the plug-in does not work with 64-bit operating systems. Also among issues known to the developer is incompatibility of the metadata with earlier versions of the codec; as such, the recommendation is to use the same version of the plug-in when sharing the RAW files.

Canon RAW Codec has not been updated in a long time and it may not be updated to support newer hardware configurations. However, despite this, support for opening and handling Canon RAW files is included in respectable graphic manipulation software on the market.