Open camera RAW files on Windows
Camera raw files (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2 and more) open in SeeAnyFile through Microsoft’s Raw Image Extension, so you can look through a shoot, keep the best shots and save JPGs.
How to open it, step by step
- Install SeeAnyFile. It is free for Windows 10 and 11 and needs no account.
- Open any raw file from the card or folder; the whole folder is in the filmstrip.
- If this PC has no raw codec, SeeAnyFile names the one to get: install “Raw Image Extension” from the Microsoft Store and start SeeAnyFile again.
- Pick keepers with Alt+P and rejects with Alt+X, filter the filmstrip to the picks, and press Ctrl+B to save them as JPGs.
What you can do with it
- Cull a shoot with stars (Shift+0–5), colour labels (Alt+1–5) and pick or reject (Alt+P, Alt+X).
- Send the rejects to the Recycle Bin in one step.
- Export ratings and labels as XMP sidecars that Lightroom, Bridge and darktable read.
- Convert the keepers to JPG, PNG or TIFF in one batch.
Good to know
- The picture is shown with the camera’s default look. To adjust the raw data itself (exposure, white balance), open “Develop RAW” — for DNG on every PC, for other raws with the Raw Image Extension.
- Raw files are only read. Every JPG is a new file, and the raw original stays exactly as the camera wrote it.
Questions
Which cameras are supported?
Those the Raw Image Extension supports: 26 raw file types from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus/OM System, Panasonic, Pentax, Leica, Hasselblad and others, plus DNG. A camera newer than the installed codec may need a codec update.
Does SeeAnyFile change my raw files?
No. Ratings and labels are kept by SeeAnyFile or written to separate XMP sidecar files when you export them; the raw files themselves are never modified.
Can I use it before Lightroom?
Yes. Cull quickly here, export the ratings as XMP sidecars, and Lightroom, Bridge or darktable pick them up when they import the folder.
Get SeeAnyFile
Free for Windows 10 and 11. No account, nothing uploaded.