The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer is a free "PowerToy" for Microsoft Windows XP that provides the ability to view, organize, and print photos captured in RAW image formats from supported digital cameras.

Overview
Often likened to a 'digital negative,' a RAW image is the native image format for a growing number of quality digital cameras. Because of the camera-specific nature of RAW files, they are not supported natively within Microsoft Windows. As a result, photographers shooting RAW have not been able to take advantage of the built-in features provided in Windows XP for viewing, organizing, and printing RAW photos--until now.

After installing the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer Powertoy for Windows XP you will be able to view, organize, and print photos captured in RAW image formats from supported Canon and Nikon digital cameras.

This software offers the following benefits to digital photographers:

* High image quality. This software uses the camera vendors' own processing libraries to provide the highest possible image fidelity for RAW images.
* Superior color fidelity. Windows Image Color Management (ICM) is used to render images in the correct color space as determined by the photographer when the image was captured.
* Familiar user experience. This software builds on the familiar Windows user experience and requires little or no learning curve.
* Performance tuned for rapid previews. The software uses background processing and other techniques to ensure a good preview experience even for large images.

System Requirements

* Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows XP Home Edition , Windows XP Professional N, Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Service Pack 2 or later is required. This program is not recommended for use on any other version of Windows.

A computer system with at least 256 Mb of RAM and a Pentium III or better CPU is required. For best performance, 512 Mb of RAM and a Pentium 4 or better CPU is recommended.

Version 1.1 of the Microsoft .NET Framework is required. This software will be automatically installed when running Setup if it is not already present on your system. Other versions of the .NET Framework may be safely installed on your system without affecting the use of this software.