Host a CR2 file and share it as a link
Put a Canon raw photo online at its own address — for handing originals to a retoucher or a client.
Drop your CR2 file here
Any other file works too — up to 25.0 MB, or 100.0 MB for a whole site
Free to use. Your CR2 file is live at your-name.99helpers.site in about ten seconds.
What is a .cr2 file?
CR2 is Canon's raw format, used across EOS DSLRs and early mirrorless bodies from roughly 2004 to 2018. Newer Canon cameras write CR3 instead, which compresses better but needed a while before every editor supported it.
What people use CR2 files for
- Unprocessed photos from a Canon DSLR
- Originals delivered to a retoucher
- Wedding and event shoots handed to an editor
- Archives from Canon bodies of that era
What opens a CR2 file
- Lightroom, Camera Raw, Capture One and Photoshop
- Canon Digital Photo Professional, free from Canon
- darktable and RawTherapee
- No browser displays CR2
How to host a CR2 file
- 1
Drop your CR2 file in
Drag it onto the box at the top of this page, or click to choose it. Files up to 25 MB are supported, and nothing is uploaded until you publish.
- 2
Pick an address
Type a name and we'll tell you straight away whether it's free. That becomes the link: canon-original.99helpers.site
- 3
Publish and share
Create a free account — that step exists so the file is yours to update, replace or delete — and the link is live within seconds.
The same three steps work for any file — see how file hosting works on 99helpers.com.
What happens when someone opens the link
The file downloads and opens in a raw editor. CR2 is old enough that essentially every editor supports it, which is one advantage it has over the newer CR3.
Why host a CR2 file instead of emailing it?
A wedding or commercial shoot produces gigabytes of CR2 files, and clients who paid for originals expect to receive them. Individual files at permanent links beat transfer services that expire after a week.
Worth knowing before you publish
- CR2 files from full-frame bodies typically run 25–35 MB, so many exceed the per-file limit — converting to DNG usually brings them under.
- Host a JPEG alongside so the client can see the shot without a raw editor.
- Canon's Digital Photo Professional is free and reads CR2 perfectly, which is useful to mention to clients.
CR2 hosting questions
- What's the difference between CR2 and CR3?
- CR3 is Canon's newer format, introduced in 2018, with better compression and support for newer sensor features. CR2 is older and more universally supported by editing software.
- What opens a CR2 file for free?
- Canon's own Digital Photo Professional, plus darktable and RawTherapee. All three read CR2 without a subscription.
- My CR2 is too large to upload — what can I do?
- Convert to DNG with Adobe's free converter, which typically cuts 15–20% and keeps everything editable. That usually brings a full-frame CR2 under the 25 MB limit.
Put your CR2 file online now
It takes about ten seconds, and you only make an account once the file is ready to go live.
Hosting guides for related formats
CR2 is one of over 211 formats you can host — see free file hosting for any file type for the full list, or read the hosting guides for other file types.