Camera RAW conversion
Convert CR2 to PNG
Updated Jul 2026
CR2 is the RAW format Canon cameras save, holding raw sensor data but needing specific software to open. PNG is a lossless, universal image format any browser or app can display. Converting gives you a shareable image with no extra quality loss, and doing it on your own computer keeps the camera details in the file off other people's servers.
- Extension
- .cr2
- Type
- Camera RAW
- Typically
- Canon cameras
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
- Extension
- .png
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Screenshots, logos, UI assets
- Transparency
- Supported
Convert CR2 to PNG on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
How to convert CR2 to PNG
- Open Morphjet and drag in the CR2 files from your camera, or point it at the whole folder from a shoot.
- Choose PNG as the output format.
- Convert. The PNGs are written next to your originals, and nothing leaves your machine.
CR2 vs PNG: what actually changes
| CR2 | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Opens everywhere | No, needs a RAW-capable photo editor | Yes, universal support |
| File size | Large, full uncompressed sensor data | Smaller than CR2, larger than JPG |
| Quality | Lossless, unprocessed sensor data | Lossless, but exposure and color are already baked in |
| Editing flexibility | Full range, adjust exposure and white balance after the fact | Limited, adjustments are locked in at export |
| Transparency | No | Supported by the format, though a converted photo won't use it |
| Keeps shooting metadata (EXIF) | Yes, extensive | Partial, depends on what the converter carries over |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert CR2 to PNG when you want to view or share a shot in an app that can't read RAW files, or when you need a lossless copy for design work like overlays, graphics, or compositing.
Keep the CR2 original if you plan to do real editing later, since converting to PNG locks in the exposure and white balance and throws away the wider adjustment range a RAW file gives you.
Why not just use an online converter?
CR2 files carry the shooting details Canon cameras record with every frame: exposure and white balance settings, camera model, sometimes GPS location and lens data, alongside the full sensor data itself. Uploading a RAW file to an online converter hands all of that to someone else's server. Converting on your own computer keeps the shot, and everything the camera recorded about it, on your machine.
Questions
Does converting CR2 to PNG lose quality?
PNG itself is lossless, so there's no recompression damage. But converting permanently applies whatever exposure and color settings were used at export, so the wide adjustment range the RAW file offered is gone from the PNG.
Will the PNG keep the shot's metadata?
Some of it. Camera model, exposure settings, and date usually carry over, though GPS and lens data depend on the converter. If you're sharing the file publicly, check what's still attached before you send it.
Why convert CR2 to PNG instead of JPG?
PNG stays lossless, so you're not adding compression artifacts on top of what the RAW already captured. It suits graphics, composites, or anything that might be edited again. For plain photo sharing, JPG is usually the smaller, more practical choice.
Can I convert CR2 to PNG without uploading it anywhere?
Yes. A desktop app like Morphjet reads the RAW file and writes the PNG locally, so the photo and the camera data inside it never leave your computer.
Morphjet converts CR2, PNG, and 1,800+ other formats, all on your machine. Launching this July.