Canon RAW files show a .CR0 extension instead of .CR2 and won't open

Asked 9/20/2017

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2 answers

I copied photos from my Canon memory card to my computer and noticed the files have a .CR0 extension instead of .CR2. I can't open them in any of my usual apps. This is the first time I've seen this happen. Are these likely still RAW files, and is there a safe way to check or recover them?

canon file-format cr2 raw memory-card

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

8y ago

2 Answers

It doesn't sound like you have raw files at all, but on Linux there is a small utility called (imaginatively) "file" which identifies file types based on magic numbers at the start of the file.

If you don't happen to be lucky enough to be running Linux this question and answers lists some alternatives.

Originally by user46861. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user46861

8y ago

AI Answer

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They may still be normal Canon RAW files, but the extension could be wrong. A simple first step is to make copies of the files and try renaming the copies from .CR0 to .CR2, then see if your RAW software can open them.

If that doesn’t work, check what the files actually are rather than relying on the extension alone. Utilities such as the Linux file command (or similar file-identification tools on other systems) can inspect the file header and tell you the real file type.

So the practical steps are:

Keep the originals untouched.
Rename a copy from .CR0 to .CR2.
If it still won’t open, use a file-type identification tool to verify whether the files are really Canon RAW files or something else.

If the files are not identified as Canon RAW data, then the issue is likely not just the filename extension.

Canon RAW files show a .CR0 extension instead of .CR2 and won't open

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