I know Canon released a codec just a short while back that lets Vista users or possibly XP users? (who download another bloated windows photo program) see 50D Raw thumbnails in Explorer.
Anyone know if there is indeed a simple solution for XP sp3 users to see Raw thumbnails in Explorer? The latest Arcsoft viewer doesn't work for me with or without the codec installed.
I'm not a programmer, but it would seem to me that it should be easy to write a basic plugin for this purpose? I know the camera is still relatively new but I'm quite surprised no one has a solution or workaround for this basic issue yet - or that Arcsoft hasn't upgraded their viewer to support the 50D as many find it very useful.
I used the Microsoft Raw Viewer with my 20D but it doesn't work with the 50D CR2 Raws.
Your CR2 RAWs must be from a 20D or 5D though as 50D CR2's are not supported according to the white paper and I don't think they are going to update it. Please correct me if I'm wrong about your CR2's and I'll download it again and give it another try.
Looks like they may be trying to steer everyone towards Vista or the "Windows Live Photo Gallery" program which IMO is way bloated just to see 50D Raw thumbs in XP Explorer.
There is no way to view thumbnails for 50D RAW files in Windows Explorer on Windows XP using Microsoft's software. (The RAW Viewer "PowerToy" only supports Canon cameras up to the 30D.)
The RAW codecs for Windows Vista can be installed on Windows XP, but are only used by Microsoft's Windows Live Photo Gallery software (a free download). This is a lightweight consumer product akin to iPhoto. It has some useful features, but it is not really intended for enthusiasts; there are only limited things one can do with RAW images.
If you have Photoshop, I recommend using Adobe Bridge. Or, you can check out either Breeze Browser or Photo Mechanic, both great image browsers that run well on Windows XP.
Looks like we will have to wait till Arcsoft updates it's RAW viewer then
I have no shortage of programs that will deal with/open/view 50D RAWs .... Sometimes its just so much easier/faster to find the one I'm looking for by just quickly using Explorer. It's more of a big convenience than necessity.
