CRW files not all equal

[cyclone]

OK, this might be a stupid question, but why can programs read (for instance) a G3 CRW file but not a G2 CRW file? How much different could the files be? One might think that a software program could read all Canon CRW and CR2 files, regardless of the camera that took them, but no. Can anyone explain why this doesn't happen?

Just curious.

Cyclone

[PacAce]

It's not a matter of reading the files. Even a dumb copy program can read a RAW file so that it can make a copy of it. What differenciates the different RAW files is how the data within it is interpretted. That's because the data stored in the RAW file are hardware, and more specifically sensor, specific. Changes and improvements are made to sensors from one model version to another. Color profiles change, too, and that also affects how the raw data is processed. In other words, a raw converter needs to have a specific raw processing logic embedded in it for every raw data that it supports. That's the reason existing raw converters can not handle raw files from new cameras until logic for that is added to the program.

[tim]

The formats must be different, probably because Canon improved something between the two cameras. Try IrfanView with it's plugin pack, it might be able to read both.

[cyclone]

OK, the hardware/sensor aspect makes sense.

Thanks.