Canon RAW (CR2) codec for Windows 7 x64

Question

I have a Canon DSLR, and I shoot in RAW. I have no problem viewing and editing the pictures using Picasa or Lightroom, but I would like to have the pictures thumbnails in Windows Explorer, and to be able to quickly view them in the explorer.

Do you guys know where I could get the codec (for free) ? I found a few codec packs that include it, but I feel like I should not have to pay for this.

Solution 1

If you're willing to spend $10, then you might want to try the FastPictureViewer Codec Pack. It works like an absolute charm on my Windows 7 32-bit install, and is rated to run just fine on x64 too.

This page probably doesn't help, as it offers 32-bit codecs only.

Otherwise, you can try to get around the problem by using an alternative, fast image viewer.

Solution 2

Since July last year (according to this answer on the sister site for photography), there are now CODECs available for x64 from Microsoft free of charge - these also work for Windows 8.

Comments

[Wookai]

There are codecs, but not for x64.

[Wookai]

Thanks for the links, but I really would like to have the thumbnails in windows explorer. The viewer itself is not really the issue, as I use Picasa anyway.