EOS 6D Mark II - Windows 10 RAW preview

[malicealice]

So recently upgraded from 70D to 6D mark II and the windows 10 raw preview in windows 10 explorer doesn't seem to be working? This camera came out July 2017 how long does it usually take for a codec to be released? I have done my fair share of of googling of the issue but there doesn't seem to be any solution other than continuing to shoot raw + jpeg

[shadowsports]

Canon's DPP will display .CR2 RAW files and convert them to .JPEG if you like. 

Since .CR2 is a proprietary RAW file format exclusive to Canon, I wouldn't expect Windows Photos or Explorer to display files in this format natively.  There are 3rd party programs that will also display RAW images, and if intalled, could allow a native windows program to display them, but I wouldn't wait to see if Microsoft is going to support .CR2 file format when so many better alternatives exist.

[malicealice]

I'm not looking to add another program when I have lightroom available to me. I just want to be able to see my images at a glance when they are in their RAW format via windows explorer as this was possible with all other camera's I have owned in the past. Windows has previously supported RAW for quite some time with their codec packs yet the 6D mark II is singled out.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=26829

Microsoft has supported many Canon cameras in recent history so what changed? Digital Rebel XT, Digital Rebel XTi, EOS 1DC, EOS 10D, EOS 20D, EOS 30D, EOS 40D, EOS 50D Digital, EOS 60D, EOS 60Da, EOS 70D, EOS 100D, EOS 300D, EOS 350D, EOS 400D, EOS 450D, EOS 500D, EOS 550D, EOS 600D, EOS 650D, EOS 700D, EOS 1000D, EOS1100D, EOS 5D, EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 5D Mark III, EOS 6D, EOS 7D Digital, EOS D30, EOS D60, EOS Digital Rebel, EOS Kiss Digital, EOS Kiss Digital N, EOS Kiss Digital X, EOS Kiss F, EOS Kiss X2, EOS Kiss X3, EOS Kiss X4, EOS Kiss X5, EOS Kiss X6i, EOS Kiss X7, EOS Kiss X7i, EOS Kiss X50, EOS M, EOS Rebel SL1, EOS Rebel T1i, EOS Rebel T2i, EOS Rebel T3, EOS Rebel T3i, EOS Rebel T4i, EOS Rebel T5i , EOS Rebel XS, EOS Rebel XSi, EOS-1D, EOS-1D X, EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II N, EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1D Mark IV, EOS-1Ds, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1Ds Mark III, PowerShot G1 X, PowerShot G2, PowerShot G3, PowerShot G5, PowerShot G6, PowerShot G9, PowerShot G10, PowerShot G11, PowerShot G12, PowerShot G15, PowerShot Pro1, PowerShot S90, PowerShot S95, PowerShot S100, PowerShot S100V, PowerShot S110, PowerShot SX1 IS, PowerShot SX50 HS

[shadowsports]

I understand what you are looking for.  That codec pack is about 4 yrs old.  Maybew MS will update it to include .CR2 at some point.  I happy to use DPP or LR, so not being able to view RAW .CR2 images in Explorer is not a big deal to me.

But we all use our machines differently.  I hope the codec pack will get updated for you.    

[greywolf45]

The 5D4 is singled out also. I bought mine last week (March 2020) and .CR2 files from that camera will not open. The .CR2 files from my 7D2 will. But that camera is 2 years old.

[Waddizzle]

Install the latest Canon DPP software. I had the same issue. I installed the software, and an update or two later. all was fine.

[wq9nsc]

If you just want a RAW preview outside of DPP or one of the other dedicated programs download irfanView to your computer.  It is a free program that provides a fast preview of pretty much any graphics file including the various flavors of Canon RAW files.  I am using it on my Win 10 machines with files from both my 1DM2 and new 1DXM2 and they work fine. I have it set as the default program for opening graphics files from file explorer.

I use irfanView often when I just need to drop the resolution or size of a file for posting on a forum with significant file restrictions.  You can easily crop, downsize, and with one of its free optional plug-ins set a file size limit.  I have been using it for years.  It doesn't replace a heavy duty photo processing program but for general use in handling graphics files it works wonderfully.

As an example this is a quick result from irfanView from opening a RAW file shot a few days ago with my 1DXM2.  irfanView has some limited post-processing ability but I didn't use any of that and just used it to do a quick crop and then converted to a jpg with a file size limit of 500K.  I started using this program years ago when DPP was a little more unwieldy and all I needed to do was a quick downsize to a small file; it isn't as versatile as a serious photo processor but for preview it still works far better than the Windows native garbage.

This image was when I decided to try out a 400 F5.6 with the 1.4X converter in 15 degree weather.  It was a very short test so I didn't wait for any interesting looking feathered friends to show.

[malicealice]

wq9nsc, I'll look into the program you mentioned. Thanks much for your explanation and info!

[wq9nsc]

malice alice (love the screen name!),

You are welcome.  irfanView works very well and I wish I could say the same for Win 10.  I had to cure another Win 10 upgrade related issue last night.  I think a group of junior high interns could create a more reliable operating system.

[TCampbell]

The RAW file is specific to the sensor... which is why every new camera model needs a different codec.   There are many general things that are common to all RAW files.  For example, they all have an embedded JPEG preview image.  

I'm not sure what the story is with Windows.  I use a mac and Apple is pretty good about regularly updating the codecs.   The last update came about 6 weeks ago.  I did some digging on the Windows side... and the most recent update I can find for Windows 10 is from.... 2014???  Can that be right?

Anyway, Canon always provides a set of utilities that you can use.  Canon's Digital Photo Professional comes with your camera (if you don't have it, you can download from the support page for your camera model and it's free) and it can browse, open, and edit any Canon RAW file.  

There are also many 3rd party options... Adobe being the most popular ... and you can either use Adobe Lightroom or Adobe Bridge to view files (the major difference is that to view files in Lightroom you have to import them... you do not have to import files to view them in Bridge).  The downside is Adobe's software isn't free... it's a $120/year annual subscription (Adobe would say it's $10/month and I'd let them get away with that if they'd be willing to sell me "1 month"... but you can't subscribe for less than a year.)  On the plus side, that subscription does include both Lightroom and Photoshop as well as a few other minor programs.