Something odd just started happening.

[JHew84]

Basically since I got my 20D I've been shooting in raw+L mode with no problems. I plug my camera into the computer to transfer all the pictures off and never had any issues with it (going on a year+ now? and quite a few thousand actuations later) until now.

First problem was when I tried hooking my camera up to the computer it made the device connecting noise twice very quickly (the little tone it usually makes), and then nothing (no drive brought up, no prompts like it usually does). So I finally pulled my card out and put it in my printer to transfer the pictures off of it.

Now it is pulling two files, the regular jpeg, and another with a .CR2 extension. The .CR2 files won't open in anything (even photoshop) and they have NEVER been here before... has my camera not been shooting in raw this whole time and I was just to dense to realize otherwise? or is something else wrong with my camera?

I haven't used it in maybe a month or so since I've been very busy and the p-n-c is so much more accessable, but it worked flawlessly the last time I took it out.

[Cybnew]

The .cr2 files are canon raw files. So if you have never transfered any over It is likely that you only have the jpg versions on your computer. From my experience, I have never been able to transfer raw files via cable connected to my computer/camera. I have always had to use a card reader. I don't know what operating system you are using, so it might be different for you. That being said, Photoshop WILL open cr2 files, you just may need to update adobe camera raw.

[cdifoto]

CR2 is RAW. Sounds like you've been shooting RAW this whole time for no reason, since you were only pulling off the JPEGs.

[JHew84]

Awesome... Yeah I've been pulling my pictures via a cable the whole time, I'm running XP but it sounds like we (Cybnew) are having the same problem, I just didn't realize it :lol:. It never really occured to me that RAW images wouldn't be in jpeg format, for whatever reason I had assumed it was still a jpeg with other information attached to it.

Ah well, that answers that part of it, anyone have any idea why my camera won't connect to my PC via a cable though? at first I thought these problems were connected but now it just appears this other "problem" was because I never use card readers.

Thanks for the help thus-far, at least I'm confident now there isn't something fataly wrong with my camera...

[davidcrebelxt]

You don't mention which version of Photoshop you have.

If you have CS2 or later, or Elements 3 or later, an updated ACR plugin should allow them to open your RAW files. Software that came with your camera can also (Zoombrowser or DPP.) There are also some other pay and free options. (Rawtherapee is a pretty good free one.)

It may be worth noting that even after selecting RAW file type, the camera will not record a RAW image if using any of the "Auto" modes (like the green box, or sports mode.) RAW only gets recorded in the creative modes ("P" "Av" "Tv" and "M").

To get raw images directly from camera, some have had success using Canon's EOS utility... but I think most of us use dedicated card reader, as it gets around many problems.

[LotsToLearn]

A couple of things to double check are what modes you've been shooting in. RAW is only captured in the creative zone. That may be why you haven't actually had any CR2 before if you regularly shoot in the basic zone but branched out now.

Also, double check what communication mode your camera is set to. For pc connection and image download it should be set to normal.

[JHew84]

Oh sorry, I have PSE 2.0 which is what came with my 20D, which would explain why it won't open the .CR2 files if PSE 3.0 or later is needed for that. I'm not overly concerned with that at the moment though, I'm more worried about why my camera won't connect to my computer via a cable anymore.

Also I'm usually shooting in either P or Tv mode, I think I was suffering from the same issue as Cybnew where the RAW files won't transfer if you are using a cable, which is what I have always used to pull pictures from this camera. Having it not work forced me into using my card reader (which I use mostly as a USB hub) and that's when I noticed the .CR2 files and got confused thinking it might be part of the problem...

[tim]

Get a card reader. Use DPP to open the CR2 files.

[JHew84]

I have a card reader, two actually :p. But I would still prefer it if I was able to use all of the features my camera has to offer... if for some reason the only option I have is to transfer my pictures via a cable I'd like to be able to do it.

I think I will try it out on my laptop when I get a chance, to see if it's something with my desktop, or with the camera itself...

I've been thinking about buying PSE 6.0 from work, or waiting until I can get a good deal on CS3. For the time being I'm not overly concerned with not being able to edit RAW images as it won't be anything out of the ordinary. I'm still mostly concerned with why my camera won't connect to my computer using a cable.

Thank you all for the help though, I'm far less worried at this point :p...

[tim]

Transferring images by cable is problematic, I wouldn't bother with it myself.

[Bill Roberts]

On balance I think you'll find a card reader more reliable than connecting the camera directly to the computer.

[Bobster]

and you'll save on your battery ;)

[|)\/8]

I shoot raw only (cr2). I connect my camera to my computer (running WinXP) and download the files using the EOS utility. After downloading, Zoombrowser automatically opens up showing all files (thumbnails). I can then open them in Photoshop (cs3) and make any necessary adjustments.