EOS 6D Mark II - Windows 10 RAW preview

[RaySiS]

Hi,

First time here; just picked up the EOS 6D Mark II, and thought I might need some expert tutelage. 

I understand with a new camera model the RAW file format changes. I use Windows 10, which will preview RAW files, but does not display the 6D Mark II files.

Presumably Windows will require an update with some sort of CODEC to display the new RAW files. I'm wondering if anyone can say how and when this might happen. Is it something Canon has to provide, or is it a Microsoft thing?

I used to shoot RAW+Jpeg simply to have a way to identify pics in Explorer. I was glad to upgrade to Win 10 and be able to shoot straight RAW.

Thanks,

Ray

[Waddizzle]

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@RaySiS wrote:

Hi,

First time here; just picked up the EOS 6D Mark II, and thought I might need some expert tutelage. 

I understand with a new camera model the RAW file format changes. I use Windows 10, which will preview RAW files, but does not display the 6D Mark II files.

Presumably Windows will require an update with some sort of CODEC to display the new RAW files. I'm wondering if anyone can say how and when this might happen. Is it something Canon has to provide, or is it a Microsoft thing?

I used to shoot RAW+Jpeg simply to have a way to identify pics in Explorer. I was glad to upgrade to Win 10 and be able to shoot straight RAW.

Thanks,

Ray

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Did you install the Canon software?

[RaySiS]

Well, that was a good thought. I hadn't really used DPP or EOS utilities previously, so I hadn't bothered installing the new editions. So I installed the package and ... still no RAW thumbnails or preview in Explorer.

[Ray-uk]

Windows 10 on it's own will not display raw files, it only shows the low resolution preview jpg image that is built into the raw file. You need to install additional software to work with the raw file.

[RaySiS]

Understood, Ray-UK. But I am not getting the preview jpg displayed in Explorer. This is what I am after simply as a means of quickly identifying and sorting images. The RAW files on my previous Canon DSLR show as thumbnails and in the preview pane, so I'm presuming there is an update required in Windows 10 to show the new RAW files.

Thanks, Stephen. I wasn't sure if this was supplied by Canon to end users or to MS .

[Stephen]

RaySis,

You're right.

Every camera that supports RAW files will have a different version of RAW. Canon's files all end in .CR2. The reason RAW files are all different is because it's RAW data from the sensor - complied into a file that your camera, and a computer can make sense of. For that reason, every single camera requires a new codec, which is a technical term for "translator" to be able to read the new RAW file. Without the codec, your computer has no idea how to translate the data so it can show you the thumbnail JPEG preview.

Now, I don't work for Microsoft, so I apologize in advance if I'm incorrect, but as I understand it, the way the RAW codecs in Windows work is that they read the CR2 files and append the database of thumbnails file that is in the folder where the RAW file resides. This file is usually hidden, but it references this file so that it can display the thumbnails every time. 

What this means is that unless you shoot RAW+JPG (at least for now), you won't see anything in Windows Explorer except for an icon that lets you know a photo is there, and you'll need to use Digital Photo Professional (DPP) or another software that has been updated with 6D Mark II RAW support to view your files efficiently. 

[Stephen]

Hello everyone!

Canon provides the tools to read the RAW files with the camera in the form of the EOS Utility. Integration with the OS is completely up to the OS provider. In this instance, Microsoft. 

In the past, Microsoft has made codecs downloadable as codec packs, or as part of Windows Updates, depending on the version of Windows you're using. Since the EOS 6D Mark II is a new camera, it's just a matter of time before Microsoft (or Apple for Mac users) rolls out RAW support to computers. 

If you need a timeline for Explorer support on RAW files, you'll want to reach out to Microsoft. 

[pthompso201]

I don't really consider this "Solved" as an existing functionality that is standard and expected for a product line is broken. Installing an application with a built-in codec is a workaround, not a solution. Nor it it the customers job to apply pressure to another company on behalf of Canon. That's what you hire relationship managers for. Relationship managers have specific skills and resources. They are more effective...and it's their job.

Bottom line...each customer paid $2k for a camera. We expect Canon to advocate on our behalf and to refrain from asking to manage their relationship and technical issues for them.

[Waddizzle]

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@pthompso201wrote:
I don't really consider this "Solved" as an existing functionality that is standard and expected for a product line is broken. Installing an application with a built-in codec is a workaround, not a solution. Nor it it the customers job to apply pressure to another company on behalf of Canon. That's what you hire relationship managers for. Relationship managers have specific skills and resources. They are more effective...and it's their job.

Bottom line...each customer paid $2k for a camera. We expect Canon to advocate on our behalf and to refrain from asking to manage their relationship and technical issues for them.

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Canon provides users with a driver, which users must install.  Computers have worked that way for decades.  

It is not incumbent on Microsoft to make the OS compatible with every third party manufacturer.  It is the responsibility of the third party manufacturers to meet the compatibility standards established by Microsoft.  If installing software to make your gear work is too much to ask, I do not know what to say.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Waddizzlewrote:

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@pthompso201wrote:
I don't really consider this "Solved" as an existing functionality that is standard and expected for a product line is broken. Installing an application with a built-in codec is a workaround, not a solution. Nor it it the customers job to apply pressure to another company on behalf of Canon. That's what you hire relationship managers for. Relationship managers have specific skills and resources. They are more effective...and it's their job.

Bottom line...each customer paid $2k for a camera. We expect Canon to advocate on our behalf and to refrain from asking to manage their relationship and technical issues for them.

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Canon provides users with a driver, which users must install.  Computers have worked that way for decades.  

It is not incumbent on Microsoft to make the OS compatible with every third party manufacturer.  It is the responsibility of the third party manufacturers to meet the compatibility standards established by Microsoft.  If installing software to make your gear work is too much to ask, I do not know what to say.

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And with DPP 4 installed and selected as the default "open with" program, the thumbnails display just fine.

FWIW. I use Irfanview as the default for .JPG files, because it lets me set the IPTC metadata. (BTW, Canon, why doesn't DPP let me do that? DPP pretends to let me at least look at the IPTC metadata, but even that doesn't work.)