Microsoft adds native support for previewing RAW image files in Windows

[Jasonkoh82]

Microsoft adds native support for previewing RAW image files in Windows
Extracted from gsmarena
July 27th, 2011 byJohnny

Downloading Microsoft’s camera codec pack (16.0.0652.0621) will enable your Windows 7 or Vista OS to show RAW format pictures in Windows Explorer and Photo Gallery and it has support for about 120 DSLR cameras. This means that you’ll no longer get the “unknown file” icon when looking into an album of RAW format images.

The RAW photo format is like a digital negative of a photo made with a DSLR camera. It contains (ideally!) uncompressed data from each individual pixel of the camera’s sensor and in layman’s terms it’s a bigger, unprocessed version of the JPEG photo.

It’s not like addons such as the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack didn’t enable native RAW file support before but it’s more comfortable to have an in-built solution straight from Windows. Microsoft has even added runabout editing features through Windows. If you want to edit a RAW photo you select the option and Windows automatically creates an editable copy of your RAW file for you to manipulate. The original is safe and you have an already edited JPEG or JPEG-XR (supposedly an HD photo with as much image information as the RAW image itself) file.

You can check out this promo video the Windows Team Blog has made about the new features.



If you’re running on Windows Vista or 7 and are eager to get a taste of the new added support head on over here for the codec pack download. Windows XP is not supported, sorry!

Also some of the latest cameras are missing from the list such as the Nikon D5100, Nikon D3100, Nikon D7000 and the Canon 600D and 60D.

Source
http://blog.gsmarena.com/microsoft-a...es-in-windows/

[Curt]

You mean you couldn't view RAw in Windows?

[Jasonkoh82]

So far I haven't play around with RAW files. As far as I know, we need to use the DSLR given software to view the RAW files...

[Khun Don]

If you do not have a RAW editor/viewer on the disk that came with your camera, you can view (and edit) RAW files with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements 6 & Above (maybe a few previous versions also), (downloading a small update that covers your camera may be necessary),Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 (and probably some recent previous versions of this program-"Guava" is likely to know which) and with free RAW viewer/editors like the excellent RAW Therapee- which is available for Linux users too!

The Microsoft codec is not much use on its own beyond allowing you to download and view RAW files in Windows Explorer-something very long overdue in a world of affordable DSLR's and Super-Compacts that have a RAW setting! Microsoft even suggests you to immediately convert your RAW file to a .jpg to edit it with Window's other free programs-in other words,
Windows STILL does not have the RAW editor really necessary to really justify this codec.
No one creates a large file RAW image to immediately convert it to a smaller-and far less flexible .jpg -to work on it, Microsoft!!

[guava]

I've recently been experimenting with "FastStone Image Viewer", a free download and widely used for viewing, organizing and performing basic edits by many travel photographers. The program is light on system resources, can run successfully on Netbooks, and will even display and edit RAW files. Highly recommended if you would like to experiment with RAW.
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[TheSurgeon]

Thank you Guava for the additional information always helpful. I've been using my Sony DSLR-A100 with RAW and photoshop for quite a few years and it's been working well. I use Pinnacle software to edit video I once added in the sound of a train passing by the house as the wife and friends were playing cards at table with the effect of house shaking and furniture moving very funny lol.

[Curt]

Forget simply viewing. Once you start working with RAW, you'll learn to love it. JPGs are a compromise, based on the manufacturer's preferences. Unless you are shooting under perfect conditions, JPGs are always a tradeoff.

With RAW, not only can all facets of the image be adjusted to your own liking, all the edits are non-destructive. The original Raw file is never changed. The edits are stored in a separate "xmp" file, applied when you reopen the image. The image, with edits, can then be passed on to your favorite software for final tweaking.

For instance, I have had images that were terribly underexposed in shadow areas. In RAW, I can apply "fill" light and pull detail from what would have been lost in a direct jpg conversion. The brighter portions of the image are mostly unaffected.

The bad news is the file sizes. Working in RAW is really benefits from lots of RAM and a speedy processor!

IMHO, RAW, in and of itself, is a great reason to step up to a higher end camera.

[Jasonkoh82]

Kudos to guava and folks for your valuable contributions...I've learned a lot from here. Also I didn't know that Adobe Photoshop can read it too. Luckily I got Adobe CS3 and CS5 but 1 factor is that Adobe products will slow down your windows and eat up a lot of hard disk spaces.

Last but not least, it's good to know there's this friendly forum channels when you need help and more info. It's all thanks to someone who recommended this webbie

The bad news is the file sizes. Working in RAW is really benefits from lots of RAM and a speedy processor!

Curt, could you kindly recommend to us on what kind of specs and RAM in order for working with RAW files easily?

[Curt]

I have an older 2GHz dual core iMac, that tops out at 3 Gigs of RAM. It handles the files, but has its moments!

Most recommend at least 4 Gigs of RAM and prefer at least 8. It also runs smoother at 64 bit.

If running Photoshop, make sure you have the latest ACR updates. Older versions lack some camera support.

[Jasonkoh82]

I see. Thanks Curt