{"id":"image-x-canon-cr3","mimeType":"image/x-canon-cr3","name":"Canon RAW 3","shortName":"canon-cr3","category":"Photography \u0026 Camera RAW","extensions":[".cr3"],"description":"Canon RAW Version 3 (CR3) is a proprietary raw image format introduced by Canon in 2018 alongside the EOS M50. Moving away from the TIFF-based structure of its predecessor (CR2), CR3 is built upon the ISO Base Media File Format (ISOBMFF). It supports traditional uncompressed (lossless) raw data as well as a highly efficient compressed raw format (C-RAW), which significantly reduces file sizes with minimal impact on image quality.","seo":{"title":"image/x-canon-cr3 MIME Type: canon-cr3 Specs \u0026 Magic Bytes","description":"Complete developer reference for image/x-canon-cr3 (.cr3): magic bytes, HTTP headers, browser support, developer code snippets, and technical specifications.","faqs":[{"question":"What is the magic byte for image/x-canon-cr3?","answer":"Because CR3 is based on the ISOBMFF standard (like MP4), it begins with a box size followed by the 'ftyp' atom. A typical CR3 file starts with the hex sequence 00 00 00 18 66 74 79 70 63 72 78 20, which translates to the ASCII string '....ftypcrx '."},{"question":"Is image/x-canon-cr3 natively supported in web browsers?","answer":"No. CR3 is a proprietary raw camera format containing unprocessed sensor data. It must be processed and converted to a standard format like JPEG, PNG, or WebP to be viewed in a web browser."},{"question":"What is the difference between CR2 and CR3?","answer":"CR2 is based on the TIFF file structure, while CR3 is based on the modern ISO Base Media File Format. Additionally, CR3 introduces C-RAW, a lossy compression option that reduces file sizes by roughly 40% while maintaining the flexibility of raw editing."}]},"index":{"compression":["Lossless","Lossy (C-RAW)"],"browserSupport":{"score":1,"label":"None"},"commonUses":["Professional Digital Photography","Non-destructive Image Editing","High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging"]},"technical":{"magicBytes":{"hex":"00 00 00 18 66 74 79 70 63 72 78 20","ascii":"\\x00\\x00\\x00\\x18ftypcrx "},"container":"ISOBMFF (ISO/IEC 14496-12)","compressionAlgorithm":["Canon Proprietary Lossless","Canon Proprietary Lossy (C-RAW)"],"colorDepth":["14-bit (Per Channel)"],"transparency":false,"animation":false,"metadata":{"exif":true,"xmp":true,"iccProfile":true},"alphaChannel":false,"progressiveLoading":false,"hdrSupport":true},"history":{"developer":"Canon Inc.","released":"2018","specification":"Proprietary (Reverse-engineered by LibRaw/ExifTool communities)"},"browserSupport":{"chrome":false,"chromeVersion":"None","firefox":false,"firefoxVersion":"None","safari":false,"safariVersion":"None","edge":false,"edgeVersion":"None","internetExplorer":false},"softwareSupport":[{"name":"Adobe Lightroom Classic / CC","logo":""},{"name":"Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP)","logo":""},{"name":"Capture One","logo":""},{"name":"RawTherapee","logo":""}],"conversion":{"convertTo":["jpeg","png","tiff","dng"],"convertFrom":[]},"developer":{"httpHeaders":[{"header":"Content-Type","value":"image/x-canon-cr3"}],"htmlAccept":"image/x-canon-cr3, .cr3","fileDetection":["Check for the ISOBMFF 'ftyp' box starting at byte 4","Verify that the major brand identifier at byte 8 is 'crx ' (Hex: 63 72 78 20)"]},"prosCons":{"pros":["Maintains 14-bit uncompressed sensor data, offering massive flexibility for recovering shadows and highlights in post-production","The new C-RAW format offers roughly 40% smaller file sizes than uncompressed raw with virtually indistinguishable quality loss","Utilizes the modern and extensible ISOBMFF container, moving away from archaic TIFF limitations"],"cons":["Being a proprietary format, it requires frequent software updates to third-party editing tools (like Lightroom or Capture One) every time a new camera model is released","Completely unsupported in web browsers and standard operating system image viewers without specialized raw codecs","Larger file sizes than in-camera JPEGs, requiring more storage space and processing power"]},"specifications":{"url":"https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/1083","rfc":"","mimeAliases":["image/cr3","image/x-cr3"]},"developerSnippets":{"python":"import magic\nprint(magic.from_file('photo.cr3', mime=True)) # Outputs 'image/x-canon-cr3' or 'video/mp4' due to ISOBMFF structure","nodejs":"const FileType = require('file-type');\nconst type = await FileType.fromFile('photo.cr3');\nconsole.log(type.mime); // image/x-canon-cr3","go":"import \"net/http\"\n\nmimeType := http.DetectContentType(fileBytes)\nfmt.Println(mimeType) // Note: Standard net/http may default to video/mp4 due to the ftyp header","php":"$mime = mime_content_type('photo.cr3');\necho $mime; // image/x-canon-cr3 (requires updated magic file)"},"relatedFormats":["canon-cr2","canon-crw","dng","nikon-nef","sony-arw","heic"]}