Problems with CR2 files and Adobe DNG Converter

First off... I am working with CS3 on Windows XP and I am trying to open CR2 RAW files from both a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon Digital Rebel XS... I know the answer to my problem should be "Upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop and Camera RAW"... But I am a graduate art student and I don't have several hundred dollars just lying around... so please help me find a work around!

Following the advice of other columns I downloaded the Adobe DNG Converter (version 6.3). But every time I try to run a conversion it says "The source folder does not contain any supported camera raw files" ... I can see the CR2 files in Windows and also in Bridge, I can even see the metadata... I just can't VIEW, OPEN, OR CONVERT!!

The Adobe DNG Converter WILL convert the CR2 files from my Canon 30D without any trouble, so why won't it work on the 5D and Rebel XS files?! (NOTE: I borrowed these cameras from friends for two projects while my 30D was out of commission. They are not my usual cameras, but now I'm stuck with files I can't work with!)

Ultimately my goal is to have a digital negative that I can archive, and also have a RAW format that I can edit using Camera RAW (version 4.6, CS3).

HELP!!

Logically, DNG 6.3 should do the job. But since it has just been released a week ago, it might be buggy. First, to rule out a corrupted download, I'd trash it and download and install again. If that doesn't help, you can get 6.2 (Mac) here:
http://www.adobe.com …ads/detail.jsp?​ftpID=4802
and previous editions for Windows here:
http://www.adobe.com …duct=106&platfo​rm=Windows

Good thought... but no luck. Same problem with DNG Converter 6.2.

Do I need to install any special drivers or codecs from Canon?

I don't know why the DNG converter won't work, but as you are working on this I would definitely install the latest upgrades to the Canon software Digital Photo Professional (DPP) so that you can get up and running quickly -- it is a nice tool for pretty quick Raw conversions and it comes with the camera and the upgrades to support the newer cameras are available on the Canon website.

Double check that only one version of the DNG converter is installed, and is installed right.
It should work.

I figured out what happened...

When I retrieved the images from the camera I used the Get Photos From Camera function in Bridge. But I used a version of Adobe's software that was not fully up to date with the cameras I was retrieving from (I didn't know that at the time). Even though it wasn't compatible with opening or reading the files, Bridge still recognized all the CR2 files as image files and copied them to my hard drive but in the process it corrupted every file. All the companion jpg files transfered fine, it only corrupted the CR2 files but it corrupted every single one of the CR2 files.

This seems like it might be an important bug for people to know about! That Adobe Bridge may recognize your camera and all the image files and attempt to copy them without any warning about compatibility, but in the process it will actually destroy every single RAW file! After original transfer I usually back up those files and then immediately clear the camera card (no future confusion on whether I've copied stuff or not); if I had done that in this case I'd be TOTALLY SCREWED!

Luckily I used friends' equipment for this and my friends hadn't yet cleared their original cards so in desperation I borrowed the cameras back and re-retrieved the images directly from the camera. This time I just did a direct file copy in Windows. Those new copies of the CR2 files are working just fine with the Adobe DNG Converter!

Problem solved!
But crisis only very narrowly avoided!

jrau wrote in post #11485824
When I retrieved the images from the camera I used the Get Photos From Camera function in Bridge. But I used a version of Adobe's software that was not fully up to date with the cameras I was retrieving from (I didn't know that at the time). Even though it wasn't compatible with opening or reading the files, Bridge still recognized all the CR2 files as image files and copied them to my hard drive but in the process it corrupted every file.

I've never heard of that and I thought the Photo Downloader in Bridge would simply copy the raw files to the designated location. Could these "corrupted" CR2 files be opened and viewed in DPP?

BTW... Have you done all the updates for Bridge CR3? There was a major update release which helped resolve most of the early version "bugs". Bridge > Help > Updates.

ChasP505 wrote in post #11485872
I've never heard of that and I thought the Photo Downloader in Bridge would simply copy the raw files to the designated location. Could these "corrupted" CR2 files be opened and viewed in DPP?

I used to think the same thing... but apparently not! Apparently Bridge does some sort of processing as it transfers the files, even if you ask it not to change anything (filename, metadata, dng conversion, etc)! I did test my corrupted files with Canon's DPP software and I could see a preview of the image (more than I got in Bridge/CameraRaw), but DPP also gave me an error if I tried to open or edit the corrupted CR2 files... it works fine with the newly re-copied images from the camera.

ChasP505 wrote in post #11485872
BTW... Have you done all the updates for Bridge CR3? There was a major update release which helped resolve most of the early version "bugs".

All my CS3 software is fully up to date.

jrau wrote in post #11488764
I used to think the same thing... but apparently not! Apparently Bridge does some sort of processing as it transfers the files, even if you ask it not to change anything (filename, metadata, dng conversion, etc)! I did test my corrupted files with Canon's DPP software and I could see a preview of the image (more than I got in Bridge/CameraRaw), but DPP also gave me an error if I tried to open or edit the corrupted CR2 files... it works fine with the newly re-copied images from the camera.

That's pretty disturbing, I have CS3 but I use the Lightroom downloader/importer rather than CS3/Bridge so I can't give direct feedback. I guess use the Canon software to do the downloading, although I never download directly from the camera myself, just use a card reader. Using a card reader simplifies the software involved, and may actually allow you to get back to using Bridge. But, of course, the Raw files from a newer camera still won't be usable by Bridge unless you convert them to DNG, and for that you'll need one of the newer converters.

In the meantime, I'd just use the Canon software to download and process the Raw files, then if you need Photoshop you can use the Transfer to Photoshop utility in Digital Photo Professional to open the image in the Photoshop editor as a tiff.

jrau wrote in post #11488764
I used to think the same thing... but apparently not! Apparently Bridge does some sort of processing as it transfers the files, even if you ask it not to change anything (filename, metadata, dng conversion, etc).

I guess I never experienced this because I always use a card reader. My work computer has the CS3 suite and I have used the Bridge CS3 Photo Downloader to download (from memory cards) countless raw files from many different cameras, with no corruption.