How to Open and View RAW Files in Windows

Photographers often take pictures in RAW formats instead of JPEG when using digital camera. That is quite understandable. RAW images contain more information than compressed JPEG, so why not capture CR2 or ARW photos when you have a Nikon or Canon camera and a memory card with enough space? (You can also take RAW photo with mobile phone) However, the problem is that we finally have to view or edit the RAW files on a computer, and sadly not all computers have out-of-box support for RAW file. Before you edit RAW pictures with professional tools, like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom, you definitely need to preview the images in order to know which one to start with.  

View RAW Files in Windows 10/8/7

Windows 10 users may have found that they can view some RAW images with Windows Explorer and Windows Live Photo Gallery. That’s because Microsoft introduced built-in support for RAW files in Windows 10. Actually, the company also released Microsoft Camera Codec Pack for Windows 7 and 8. The pack supports various Canon, Epson, Casio, Kodak, Sony, Nikon, Samsung and Panasonic camera models among others. 

• Microsoft Camera Codec Pack for Windows 8.1
• Microsoft Camera Codec Pack for Windows 7

Of course, even Windows 10 doesn’t support all camera models, which are constantly updating. For example, my laptop, which is running on the latest Windows 10, is able to support CR2, SR2 and ARW pictures, but refuses to show the thumbnail of a NEF photo captured with a Nikon D5500. In this case, we need to download and install specific codec.

RAW Codec for Specific Camera and Format

If you can’t open a certain kind of Raw images in Windows, you’ll need to install a RAW image codec that supports your camera model. For example, Sony RAW Driver enables you to open RAW photos captured with supported Sony cameras. The best place to look for a codec is usually the manufacturer’s website. However, you might also search for the codec required at free-codecs.com. For example, enter the keyword ‘NEF codecs’ in the site’s search box, and then you should be able to get a result titled as NEF Codec 1.31. Download and install the .exe file on your Windows, and then you should be able to view the unsupported NEF images. (A restart may be required) Alternatively, we can also try some photo viewer apps which support RAW file. 

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