Sony RAW Codec 2.0

Sony RAW Codec made ARW, SR2 and SRF files behave like ordinary pictures in Windows Explorer, showing thumbnails and previews without opening anything.

It was last updated in March 2009, and Sony stopped distributing it in 2020.

It still works for the cameras it was written for, and for anything newer than about 2010 you want one of the alternatives below instead.

What It Was For

The codec plugged into Windows Imaging Component, which is how Explorer draws thumbnails.

Once installed, RAW files from the supported cameras appeared as pictures rather than as blank icons, and could be previewed without a photo application.

Sony wrote it for these bodies:

• Cyber-shot - DSC-R1, DSC-F828 and DSC-V3.
• Alpha DSLR - DSLR-A100, A200, A300, A350, A700 and A900.
• Some early NEX and SLT bodies - not officially listed, but readers have reported it working, including on an NEX-6.

If your camera is newer than that, this file will not help. Every A7, A9, A1, ZV and FX body Sony has released since sits outside what the codec understands, and installing it will not produce a single thumbnail.

Why You Probably Want Something Else

On current Windows, the supported way to get RAW thumbnails back is Microsoft's Raw Image Extension, which covers ARW alongside most other camera RAW formats and is updated as new bodies appear. It does the same job as this codec did, for cameras that still exist.

Once it is installed, Microsoft Photos and Explorer handle RAW without anything else, and the same extension covers what the old Windows Photo Gallery used to do.

If you would rather not depend on a system codec at all, three free viewers read ARW themselves. FastStone Image Viewer is the most complete, with a built-in editor and batch tools.

XnView handles a wider spread of formats than anything else on the list, and IrfanView is the one to install on a slow machine.

The rest of the field is in our Image Viewers section, which is also where this page belongs.

If You Still Need This Version

There is a reasonable case for it. If you are running an old Alpha body on an old Windows machine, this is the codec that was written for exactly that combination, and it is small, free and does one thing.

Install it, then restart Explorer or the machine, and thumbnails appear on their own. There is nothing to configure, no interface and no settings, which is both its charm and the reason it was never updated.

One caution worth stating: a codec this old has not had a security review in seventeen years, and it sits inside the process that draws your file thumbnails. On a machine you use for anything else, the modern extension is the better choice on those grounds alone.

Where Sony RAW Stands Now

Sony's stills RAW has moved on, and so has the software around it - format support now arrives through Microsoft's Store extensions rather than through manufacturer codecs, which is also how HEIF Image Extensions handle the HEIC files modern cameras and phones produce.

Sony's cinema side is a separate world with its own tool: Sony RAW Viewer handles the X-OCN and cinema RAW that VENICE and BURANO record, which no stills codec touches.

Newer Sony RAW has also become harder to open on Windows rather than easier, and our piece on what happened to Sony RAW on Windows covers why.

If you are not certain what a file is before you go hunting for software, our Codec Finder narrows it down from the extension, and Understanding RAW Formats explains why every manufacturer ended up with its own.

Quick questions

Download Sony RAW Codec 2.0 if you still need it for an older camera, or tell us what you used it for if you have history with it - which camera and which Windows version is the part worth knowing.