Microsoft Camera Codec Pack (think “1.97 bazillion custom camera codec’s, one download”) + Windows Photo Gallery gets RAW (support)

Microsoft Downloads - Microsoft Camera Codec Pack (16.0.0652.0621)

“The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack enables the viewing of a variety of device-specific file formats. Note: Clicking Download means you agree to the Microsoft service agreement and privacy statement. Additional details below.

Version: 0652.0621
Date Published: 7/26/2011

Language: Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English

MicrosoftCodecPack_amd64.msi, 8.0 MB
MicrosoftCodecPack_x86.msi, 4.0 MB

…

• The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack enables the viewing of a variety of device-specific file formats in Window Live Photo Gallery as well as other software that is based in Windows Imaging Codecs (WIC).
• Installing this package will allow supported RAW camera files to be viewable in Windows Explorer.
• This package is available in both the x86 and x64 versions .
• The Microsoft Camera Codec Pack provides support for the following device formats:
  • Canon: EOS 1000D (EOS Kiss F in Japan and the EOS Rebel XS in North America), EOS 10D, EOS 1D Mk2, EOS 1D Mk3, EOS 1D Mk4, EOS 1D Mk2 N, EOS 1Ds Mk2, EOS 1Ds Mk3, EOS 20D, EOS 300D (the Kiss Digital in Japan and the Digital Rebel in North America) , EOS 30D, EOS 350D (the Canon EOS Kiss Digital N in Japan and EOS Digital Rebel XT in North America), EOS 400D (the Kiss Digital X in Japan and the Digital Rebel XTi in North America), EOS 40D, EOS 450D (EOS Kiss X2 in Japan and the EOS Rebel XSi in North America), EOS 500D (EOS Kiss X3 in Japan and the EOS Rebel T1i in North America), EOS 550D (EOS Kiss X4 in Japan, and as the EOS Rebel T2i in North America), EOS 50D, EOS 5D, EOS 5D Mk2, EOS 7D, EOS D30, EOS D60, G2, G3, G5, G6, G9, G10, G11, Pro1, S90
  • Nikon: D100, D1H, D200, D2H, D2Hs, D2X, D2Xs, D3, D3s, D300, D3000, D300s, D3X, D40, D40x, D50, D5000, D60, D70, D700, D70s, D80, D90, P6000
  • Sony: A100, A200, A230, A300, A330, A350, A380, A700, A850, A900, DSC-R1
  • Olympus: C7070, C8080, E1, E10, E20, E3, E30, E300, E330, E400, E410, E420, E450, E500, E510, E520, E620, EP1
  • Pentax (PEF formats only): K100D, K100D Super, K10D, K110D, K200D, K20D, K7, K-x, *ist D, *ist DL, *ist DS
  • Leica: Digilux 3, D-LUX4, M8, M9
  • Minolta: DiMage A1, DiMage A2, Maxxum 7D (Dynax 7D in Europe, α-7 Digital in Japan)
  • Epson: RD1
  • Panasonic: G1, GH1, GF1, LX3

…”

Besides the scope of supported formats (wow) I find it cool/interesting that they used an third party library, LibTif. I mean that’s smart, and anyone else would, but its not something you would expect from Microsoft.

“…

Third Party Legal Notices
This product contains software licensed under terms which require Microsoft to display the following notice(s):

• For LibTif only:

…”

Also check out, Photo Gallery now supports raw format

“…

We know from customer feedback that dealing with raw images on Windows hasn’t always been easy. While there is software that works well to convert raw files to JPEG, we have some good news for consumers looking for a built-in Windows solution. Today we’re happy to announce that Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011 now supports raw format images. Just download the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack for Windows 7 and Windows Vista to be able to view raw photo files from more than 120 DSLR cameras in Photo Gallery, as well as in Windows Explorer.

Viewing is only part of the story. Photo Gallery will also support editing copies of your raw images. Because raw files are like digital negatives, they’re protected originals, not to be altered or harmed. We know your originals are precious, so if you want to alter a raw image, Photo Gallery makes a copy of the raw original and converts it to either JPEG or the far superior JPEG-XR (or HD Photo) format. With JPEG-XR, all of the quality of the raw original is there so you can fine-tune different editing effects. You can fix red-eye, remove blemishes, or make detailed image adjustments with confidence knowing your original raw file is safe. When you use your raw files to construct an amazing panoramic stitch or Photo Fuse, a new file is generated and you get an even higher quality result than before.

With the new codec pack, Windows will now support viewing and editing a wide range of photo file formats including raw, JPEG, PNG, TIFF and more. …”