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Image MIME Reference
Canon-CR2

Canon Raw Version 2

image/x-canon-cr2
VS

Macromedia FreeHand Document

image/x-freehand
FreeHand

A complete technical comparison of Canon Raw Version 2 and Macromedia FreeHand Document — covering compression, feature support, browser compatibility, magic bytes, and when to choose each format.

Equal browser support

Feature Support

Feature Canon-CR2 FreeHand
Transparency (Alpha) ✕ No Yes
Animation Support ✕ No Yes
Progressive Loading ✕ No ✕ No
HDR Support Yes ✕ No
EXIF Metadata Yes ✕ No
ICC Color Profile Yes Yes
Canon Raw Version 2
image/x-canon-cr2
Extension
.cr2
Container TIFF
Compression Lossless JPEG (ITU-T81)
Algorithm
Lossless JPEG (ITU-T81)
Color Depth 12-bit (Per Channel), 14-bit (Per Channel)
Developed by Canon Inc.
Released 2004
Magic Bytes
49 49 2A 00 10 00 00 00 43 52 02 00
Full Canon-CR2 reference →
Macromedia FreeHand Document
image/x-freehand
Extension
.fh.fh4.fh5.fh7.fh8.fh9.fh10.fh11.ft11
Container Proprietary Binary (Aldus Graphic Document)
Compression Uncompressed / Deflate (in later versions)
Algorithm
NoneDeflate (Optional in later versions)
Color Depth Vector Data (RGB/CMYK)
Developed by Altsys / Aldus / Macromedia
Released 1988
Magic Bytes
41 47 44 31 to 41 47 44 34
Full FreeHand reference →

Browser Support Comparison

Browser Canon-CR2 FreeHand
Chrome Chrome
✕ ✕
Firefox Firefox
✕ ✕
Safari Safari
✕ ✕
Edge Edge
✕ ✕
IE IE (Legacy)
✕ ✕
Canon-CR2

Canon-CR2 Strengths

  • Retains maximum sensor data, allowing extreme recovery of highlights and shadows that would be permanently lost in a JPEG
  • White balance and color profiling are not 'baked in', meaning they can be completely altered in post-production without degrading the image
  • Lossless compression ensures perfect pixel accuracy while reducing file size compared to fully uncompressed formats
Limitations
  • Proprietary format means it requires constant updates to raw processing engines (like Adobe Camera Raw) every time Canon releases a new camera model
  • Produces very large file sizes (often 20MB to 40MB per image depending on sensor resolution)
  • Cannot be directly embedded into web pages or used in standard HTML/CSS contexts
FreeHand

FreeHand Strengths

  • Historically one of the most powerful and intuitive vector editors on the market, praised for multi-page support long before Adobe Illustrator implemented it
  • Files are generally compact and self-contained
Limitations
  • Completely abandoned proprietary format; Adobe actively blocked native import in modern versions of Illustrator
  • No support in modern web browsers; must be converted to SVG
  • Versioning fragmentation means parsers must account for wildly different binary structures depending on the specific .fhX extension used

When to choose which format

Canon-CR2
Use Canon-CR2 when…
  • Professional Digital Photography
  • Non-destructive Image Post-Processing
  • High Dynamic Range (HDR) Imaging Archival
FreeHand
Use FreeHand when…
  • Legacy Graphic Design Portfolios
  • Historical Desktop Publishing Archival
  • Old Corporate Logo Vectors

More comparisons

Canon-CR2 vs ACES → FreeHand vs ACES → Canon-CR2 vs APNG → FreeHand vs APNG → Canon-CR2 vs AVCI → FreeHand vs AVCI → Canon-CR2 vs AVCS → FreeHand vs AVCS → Canon-CR2 vs AVIF → FreeHand vs AVIF → All comparisons →
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