CR3 files will not open

[big d]

I use photoshop element 2019 and it will not open my Canon CR3 files from a R6 model. Any solutions?

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

Your Canon R6 requires Adobe Camera Raw 12.4.  Elements 2019 does not support that version.  There is a possible workaround that you can find here.  However, I suspect that it will not work with Elements 2019.  I have tried the workaround using ACR 13, but that will not work in Elements 2021.  Because there have been major changes in the ACR since Elements 2019, I doubt whether ACR 12.4 will work with Elements 2019.  (It does work with Elements 2021.) Please report back if it works for you.

Otherwise, the standard solution is to use the free Adobe DNG converter which will batch convert your raw files to the DNG format which will work in Elements 2019.

[big d]

Thanks for the info.
I guess there is no sense to upgrade to Photoshop Elements 2021 then. If I can’t open my files.
Dennis
Sent from Mail for Windows 10

[Greg_S.]

Sorry if I was unclear.  ACR 12.4 does work with Elements 2021, using the workaround I posted.  You can check it out for yourself by downloading the free trial of 2021.  If you decide to go this route, make sure you download ACR 12.4 and not any later version (currently 13.0).

[acoleman121]

Hi Greg

I am trying to follow the istructions on the workaround on my Imac and i cannot find all of it.

• On macOS: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-ins/CC/File Formats

I can get to the Adobe but cannot see the rest /Plug-ins/CC/File Formats

I am running Cloud CC and have the latest version of CRAW installed v 13.3

I also have PS Elements installed which i do like to use from time to time and would like to get the current CRAW 

working in elements so i can work on my CR.3files from the Canon R6. Obviously Elements will not open the CR.3 files 

I am on MAc OS Big Sur 11.4

Any help in finding how or where i can copy the files from will be very helpful

Regards Adrian

[Jeff Arola]

Click on your desktop, click Go then click Go to Folder and paste

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-Ins/CC/File Formats

in the dialog and press Go.

[Greg_S.]

@acoleman121, I know next-to-nothing about Macs.  The only suggestion I can make is to search your computer for a file called Camera Raw.8bi.  That is the name of the ACR plug-in.  If you find more than one, presumably the one with the latest date will be the ACR 13.3 from your CC installation. The other one will be the Elements plug-in (if you only have one version of Elements installed).  Copy and paste the newest version to the Elements folder.  BUT before doing so, rename the current Elements file by adding a tilde prefix (~Camera Raw.8bi). 

[Greg_S. · Accepted solution]

And just to update this older discussion, you can use the discussed workaround to install Camera Raw 13.3 into Elements 2020 and Elements 2021.  At least, you can on Windows.

[Parkersspace]

I have photoshop elements 2020, I downloaded the current camera raw, 14 and it still will not read my cr3 files.  Is there anythign else I can do to have photoshop elements read these out of the camera?

[Greg_S.]

@Parkersspace, simply downloading the latest Camera Raw plug-in (currently 14.0) does nothing for any version of Elements.  You have to follow the instructions found here.

In any event, Camera Raw 14.0 will not work with Elements 2020.  However, Camera Raw 13.4 does work with Elements.  So, unless you have a very new camera that was released in the past few days, you should be able to open your .cr3 files in Elements 2020, using the linked workaround.

[Parkersspace]

Yea I did do that lol, i installed it also, followed all the directions.  When 14 didn't work I use downloaded 13.1 as they was no option on the link to get 13.4 from the link above "

If you still haven't been able to successfully update the Camera Raw plug-in for currently supported versions of Adobe applications, use the Camera Raw 14.0 installer below.

For older Adobe applications, substitute with the Camera Raw 10.5 installer below."  So If you scroll down the page Camera Raw plug-in installer (adobe.com) it has 14 then it drops to 13.1.  Maybe someone can find me a link to 13.4 I want to be able to view the files from the canon R or the Canon RP i haven't decided which i'm going to get but I am ordering in the next week and I was checking the reviews and downloading the photos at DP review in Raw so I could compare them to my DSLR photos and make sure the mirrorless would give the same quality (it looks lovely, i used Microsoft photos to view them) and certainly will give me good enough quality to conintue contributing to Shutterstock and Getty.  But it's crazy that Elements won't just read them when the camera has been around longer than my 2020 version of Elements and apparently 2021 is not reading them readily either.

[Parkersspace]

OH Greg, thanks I did not copy it to the correct folder.  I redid the version 14, it does work with Version 14.  I reinstalled and recopied and realized I had not copied it to the correct folder the first time ( i have everything installed on E but the common folder is still in my C drive ), got it now.

[Greg_S.]

@Parkersspace, are you saying that ACR 14.0 opens in Elements 2020, now that you have put the plug-in in the right directory?

[Parkersspace]

Yes it is working now that I have put it in the correct directory.  Thank you, I did recently install a new drive and move my items to it on my pc ).  

[Greg_S.]

Thanks @Parkersspace for confirming that Camera Raw 14 does in fact work with Elements 2020.  I have now also installed it in that version.  I needed to delete all prior versions of Camera Raw that had been installed in the Plug-ins/File Formats folder even though the earlier ones had been renamed, and even after I renamed the File Formats folder.

[Lou15B9]

I can report that using the Adobe instructions mentioned in these posts I downloaded and installed Camera Raw version 12.4 on my Windows 11 PC and can open .CR3 files from my Canon EOS R6 in Elements 2019.