Adobe Photoshop is a brilliant application used for various purposes right from editing a simple image to creating amazing movie posters. DSLR cameras have become accessible to everyone and these cameras shoot in RAW mode. One of the limitations of Adobe Photoshop is its inability to open RAW images. However, there is a workaround for that.
Canon cameras produce a CR2 RAW image file. Two different Canon cameras will have different CR2 files. To edit a CR2 file, you must have the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw plugin. Each camera model should be added to this plugin. Adobe Camera Raw supports various file formats – CR2, CRW, DNG, ERF, RAF, GPR, 3FR, FFF, DCR, KDC, MRW, MOS, NEF and so on.
Let us look at a couple of methods to open Photoshop files:
- Updating Photoshop
- Open Photoshop. Click on Help -> Updates. This will check for any updates for Photoshop and its plugins, including your Camera Raw plugin.
- If there is an update available for the Camera Raw plugin, it will be displayed in the Adobe Application Manager list. Select it and click on Update.
- If the automatic update failed, you can install the plugin manually as well. Just download your appropriate plugin from the list below:
Adobe CS4 – ACR 5.7 (https://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=4683&fileID=4375)
Adobe CS5 – ACR 6.7 (https://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/thankyou.jsp?ftpID=5603&fileID=5613)
Adobe CS6 – ACR 9.1.1 (https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-in-installer.html)
Adobe CC 2014/15 – 9.7 (https://helpx.adobe.com/camera-raw/kb/camera-raw-plug-in-installer.html)
- Open the file in Photoshop again. If the Adobe Camera Raw update was successful, the CR2 file will open in a Camera Raw window.
NOTE: If you are trying to view RAW photos using an older version of Photoshop, you may be able to view it if the photos were taken by cameras released after ACR version. Ex: If you are using Canon 5d Mark IV, you should have ACR 7.1 or later, which is absent in CS4 or CS5.
- Convert RAW to DNG format
- Group all your CR2 files and place them in one folder. The conversion will allow you to select folders.
- Download the latest version of DNG converter (http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates.html). DNG is also a RAW format with access to all the raw colors. This conversion is necessary if you are running the version of Photoshop that is too old for your camera model.
- Install your DNG converter.
- After installation, on the home screen, you can select “Select Folder” and browse for the folder containing RAW files. If there are subfolders within this folder, consisting of RAW files, check the option “Include images contained within subfolders”.
- Now select a location to save the converted files. By default, the files will be saved in the same location as the original. You can always choose a different folder if you want files to be stored somewhere else.
- Now select automatic formatting to converted file names by filling text fields.
- Click on Change Preferences. Now click on Compatibility drop-down menu to select the correct ACR file to match your version.
- Now click on Convert to begin the conversion process.
- After the conversion is complete, you can open the DNG images in the Camera Raw plugin of Adobe Photoshop.
Despite your best efforts, Photoshop documents are prone to corruption as well. If your Photoshop file is corrupted, you cannot open the file. Adobe Photoshop shows an error that end of file was encountered. You can repair photoshop unexpected end of file error using Remo Repair PSD software.
PSD files can also be corrupted if you are unable to read the data present in several layers you have created. If you ever get a photoshop error problem reading layer data, there is an easy solution available. Remo Repair PSD software repairs your PSD file and recovers all the layers separately.
The best thing about Remo Repair PSD software is that it doesn’t change the source file. It creates a new file for repair, keeping all the layers and other elements intact.