CR2 to PNG Converter

Make lossless PNG copies of Canon CR2 raw photos for editors and design tools that cannot read raw, and for an archive that should still open in thirty years.

or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·

Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes

Output

Convert to

Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.

How to use this tool

1
Upload the CR2 files
Up to 20 per run, 95 MB each, which is far above the size of any CR2 a Canon DSLR wrote.
2
Keep the defaults
Camera EXIF and the color profile are kept, and the image is rotated upright. Tick Strip metadata under Advanced settings for copies you will publish.
3
Press Convert to PNG
Download the PNGs separately or as one ZIP. Files leave the server after 30 minutes.

CR2 to JPG is for showing pictures. CR2 to PNG is for working on them: a lossless, full-resolution copy that opens in every editor and never degrades however many times you save it.

CR2 to PNG for editing outside Canon software

Canon introduced CR2 with the EOS-1D Mark II in 2004 and used it in its DSLRs until CR3 took over from 2018. Built on a TIFF structure, a CR2 holds 12-bit or, from the EOS 40D and 1D Mark III in 2007, 14-bit sensor data. Canon's free Digital Photo Professional reads every CR2, but it is a raw developer, not a retouching or layout tool.

The moment a photo moves into GIMP, Affinity Photo, Canva, Figma or a print layout, raw stops being useful and the question becomes which developed format to use. JPG adds compression each time the file is saved. PNG does not, so clone work, cut-outs and text overlays stay crisp. For a quick gallery, CR2 to JPG remains the better choice.

CR2, PNG or JPG: what each copy of a Canon photo can do

	CR2 original	PNG copy	JPG copy
White balance and exposure fully re-adjustable	yes	no	no
Opens in design tools and office apps	no	yes	yes
No quality loss after repeated saves	Never re-saved	yes	no
Transparent background possible after a cut-out	no	yes	no
Typical size for a Canon DSLR frame	20 to 30 MB	30 MB and up	5 to 10 MB

CR2

Canon Raw 2

Canon Raw 2 (CR2) is the raw image format written by Canon cameras. It was used by Canon DSLRs from around 2004 until it was replaced by CR3 in 2018, and it is based on the TIFF structure. A raw file stores the sensor data before the camera applies white balance, sharpening and compression, which leaves far more room to recover highlights, shadows and colour when editing. Files are large and cannot be shared directly on websites, social networks or most phones. Lightroom, Capture One, darktable and the manufacturer's own software open them, but plain image viewers often show only a small embedded preview or nothing at all.

Compression: Lossless
Transparency: No
Animation: No
Introduced: 2004 · Canon

CR2 converter

PNG

Portable Network Graphics

PNG is a lossless raster format published in 1996 by the PNG Development Group and later standardised by the W3C and ISO. It keeps every pixel exactly, supports full alpha transparency and handles text, sharp edges and flat colours without artefacts. That precision makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, icons and interface graphics. The trade-off is size: photographs saved as PNG are often several times larger than the same photo as JPEG or WebP. All browsers, operating systems and editors open PNG files.

Compression: Lossless
Transparency: Yes
Animation: No
Introduced: 1996 · PNG Development Group

PNG converter

CR2 goes to PNG instead of JPG when the picture is heading for retouching, compositing or a long-term archive, where every later save must start from undamaged pixels.

Archiving a Canon CR2 library with PNG copies

Convert to PNG

Selects for retouching or compositing
Images going into print layouts
Pictures you want readable without raw software

Keep the CR2

Every frame you may re-edit
Shots with blown highlights to recover
Anything you might print large later

Skip the PNG

Frames only shared once
Bursts and near-duplicates
Family snapshots headed to a chat

Raw formats depend on decoders written for each camera model. CR2 is well supported today, yet its successor already shows how support can lag: older editors could not open CR3 for years. A PNG beside each important CR2 removes that dependency, because PNG has been a W3C Recommendation since 1996 and needs no camera-specific code.

Other brands follow the same logic; the ARW to PNG page covers Sony files.

CR2 to PNG questions

Is a PNG a good archive copy of a CR2?

It is a good companion, not a replacement. PNG is an ISO standard (ISO/IEC 15948) that any future software will read, so it guarantees you can see the picture. The CR2 keeps the raw sensor data for re-editing. Archive both if storage allows, the PNG for access and the CR2 as the master.

Why can't I change the white balance of the PNG afterwards like in the raw?

White balance is applied when the raw data is developed into RGB pixels. After that, the PNG holds finished colors, and shifting them is a correction on top rather than a fresh development. Make big white balance changes in Canon Digital Photo Professional or Lightroom before converting.

Which programs need a PNG instead of the CR2?

GIMP opens raw files only through the darktable or RawTherapee plug-ins, and Canva, Figma, Google Slides and Microsoft Office do not open CR2 at all. Paint.NET and most web-based editors also refuse it. A PNG works in all of them.

How big is a PNG made from an 18-megapixel CR2?

An 18 MP Canon frame, as from the EOS 7D or Rebel T5i, is 5184 × 3456 px. Its PNG is typically several times the CR2's size, often in the 30 to 50 MB range, because lossless compression keeps all the sensor noise. Use Resize output image to shrink it when full size is not needed.

Can I get both PNG and JPG from the same CR2 files?

Each run produces one output format. Convert to PNG here, then load the same CR2 files on CR2 to JPG for shareable copies. The two runs are independent, so the originals are never changed.