Camera RAW conversion
Convert CR2 to PSD
Updated Jul 2026
CR2 is the raw format Canon cameras write straight off the sensor, and PSD is Photoshop's native working file. To convert, open the CR2 in a converter, let it process the raw data, and save the result as a PSD ready for layered editing. Doing this on your own computer keeps the original raw file, and the shooting data inside it, off other people's servers.
- Extension
- .cr2
- Type
- Camera RAW
- Typically
- Canon cameras
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
- Extension
- .psd
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Photoshop files
- Transparency
- Supported
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
Convert CR2 to PSD on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
How to convert CR2 to PSD
- Open Morphjet and drag in the CR2 files you want to convert, or a whole folder from a shoot at once.
- Choose PSD as the output format.
- Convert. The PSD files are written next to your originals, and nothing leaves your machine.
CR2 vs PSD: what actually changes
| CR2 | PSD | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Compact for how much data it holds, thanks to raw's built-in compression | Larger, since PSD stores full pixel data instead of compressed sensor data |
| Quality | Lossless, holds the sensor data before any processing decisions are made | Lossless, but exposure and white balance are now baked into the pixels |
| Non-destructive editing | Yes, adjust exposure, white balance, and color with no loss | No, those raw decisions are permanent once flattened into the file |
| Compatibility | Needs Canon software or a raw-capable editor | Opens directly in Photoshop and most other image editors |
| Transparency | No | Yes, if you add layers or a mask |
| Keeps camera data (EXIF) | Yes, full shooting details | Yes, carries over unless you strip it |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert CR2 to PSD when you want to bring a Canon raw photo into Photoshop for retouching, layering, or compositing, and you want a working file that any Photoshop-based workflow can open right away.
Keep the CR2 if you might want to redo the exposure or white balance later, because once it's a PSD those raw processing decisions are locked in.
Why not just use an online converter?
A CR2 file carries the camera settings for that shot, the capture time, and sometimes GPS location if your camera records it. An online converter would receive all of that along with the raw image data itself, which for a raw file is a lot to hand over. Converting on your own computer means the photo and everything attached to it stay on your machine.
Questions
Does converting CR2 to PSD lose quality?
No pixel data is discarded in the conversion itself, but the raw processing decisions, exposure, white balance, color, get baked into the PSD. From that point those specific choices aren't reversible the way they are with the original raw.
Will the PSD keep the photo's camera data and EXIF?
Yes. The shooting details from the CR2 carry over to the PSD unless the metadata is deliberately stripped.
Photoshop can already open CR2 files directly, so why convert first?
It can, through its own raw handling, but that means opening and processing each file by hand. Converting a batch to PSD upfront gives you ready-to-edit files for a whole folder at once.
Can I convert a whole folder of CR2 files at once?
Yes, drop the folder in and Morphjet processes every CR2 inside it into its own PSD.
Can I convert CR2 to PSD without uploading my photos?
Yes. Morphjet processes the raw file and writes the PSD on your own computer, so nothing travels over the internet.
Morphjet converts CR2, PSD, and 1,800+ other formats, all on your machine. Launching this July.