What are the benefits of Canon CR2 raw files compared with TIFF?
Asked 5/10/2020
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A friend gave me some photos in both TIFF and CR2 format. I currently use the TIFF files for editing and storage, then export JPEGs for my blog. What advantages does the CR2 file have over TIFF, and when would I want to keep or edit the CR2 instead?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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The CR2 format is the Canon raw sensor data as opposed to an image. It is losslessly compressed. Some newer Canon cameras support CR3 format which can be compressed in a very slightly lossy manner.
I suspect the TIFF files were created from the CR2 files. Usually, cameras cannot store the pictures as TIFF; they can store as JPEG (heavily lossily compressed) or RAW (usually losslessly and sometimes very slightly lossily compressed).
The TIFF file is one interpretation of the sensor data as an image. It has some demosaicing algorithm to convert the brightness values of the sensor behind the Bayer filter to colors of individual pixels. It has some denoising algorithm. It has some white balance settings. It has some exposure correction. It has some lens corrections. Most likely the photographer fine-tuned the settings to give the best possible image.
If you want to do the fine-tuning yourself, you need to open the CR2 files in an application such as Lightroom, Darktable, RawTherapee or Canon Digital Photo Professional. With the CR2 files, it is possible to e.g. change the white balance or exposure correction.
You may even find that over time, as computers become more powerful, they can better interpret the raw sensor data to form an image. An example of this is Digital Lens Optimizer which is now available in Canon Digital Photo Professional. You can use it for RAW files shot before the Digital Lens Optimizer was available. But for JPEGs you cannot use it.
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Originally by user81735. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user81735
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
CR2 is Canon’s raw format. It stores the camera’s original sensor data, usually with lossless compression, rather than a fully rendered image.
A TIFF is typically created from that raw data after processing decisions have already been made, such as demosaicing, white balance, noise reduction, exposure adjustments, and lens corrections. In other words, the TIFF is one interpretation of the image, while the CR2 keeps the original capture data.
The main benefit of CR2 is flexibility: if you want to re-edit the photo later, raw gives you more control over things like white balance, highlight/shadow recovery, noise handling, and the overall rendering. It also preserves the untouched source, which can be useful for archiving.
TIFF is still useful because it is high quality and widely supported, especially once an image has already been processed the way you want.
In practice: keep the CR2 if you may want to revisit the edit or preserve the original capture; use TIFF when you want a finished, high-quality image for further editing or output.
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