Merge CR2 to PDF

How to Merge CR2 Photos to PDF Online

1. Upload Your CR2 Files: Drag and drop, or click "+ Add Files" to select multiple Canon RAW (.cr2) photos. Batch is supported — pick a whole shoot, a contact-sheet selection, or a portfolio set.
2. Order Pages and Pick Combine Mode: Drag thumbnails to set page order. Under Combine Mode, choose Single PDF (one bound document) or Individual PDFs (one PDF per CR2, useful when you want per-frame deliverables).
3. Set Page Layout (Optional): Pick Portrait or Landscape, set Paper Size (A4 default; Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Ledger, Executive, A3, ARCH A/B, ISO B4/B5, or Same as image size). Choose Image Placement (Cover fills the page edge-to-edge; Contained fits within margins). Set Image Alignment (Top, Center, Bottom) and Margin (No margin, Narrow 0.5", Moderate 0.75x1", Normal 1", Large 2x1").
4. Tune Compression and Merge: Under Image Compression, set Quality Percentage (1-100, default 75) and Compression Type (Screen smallest, Ebook, Default, Prepress, Printer highest). Under Image Transparency, leave Unchanged or Remove. Click Merge — files process in your browser session, no sign-up, no watermark.

Why Merge CR2 to PDF?

CR2 (Canon Raw version 2) is the TIFF-based RAW container Canon used from 2004 through 2018, starting with the EOS-1D Mark II and 20D and continuing through every DIGIC 4-8 DSLR — the 5D series, 6D, 7D, 70D/80D/90D, and the entire Rebel/Kiss line. Outside Canon's Digital Photo Professional, Adobe Camera Raw, or Lightroom, a CR2 won't open in Preview, Windows Photos (without the Microsoft Raw Image Extension), Gmail previews, or most messaging apps. Bundling them as a PDF turns an opaque proprietary archive into a single document anyone with a free PDF reader can review.

• Client proofs without a Lightroom export step — Merge a wedding or portrait selection straight from card to a watermarked-ish proof PDF without a Lightroom catalog detour. Pair with Contained placement and Normal 1" margin so the layout looks like a printed contact sheet.
• Studio contact sheets — Use Landscape + Tabloid + Contained to fit 4-6 frames per spread (when paired with image-stacking presets in your editor first); CR2 files render at full 5184x3456 (5D Mark III, Rebel T6i) or 6720x4480 (5D Mark IV) without the JPEG round-trip.
• Print portfolios — Cover placement + Prepress compression preserves embedded color profiles and produces a 300 DPI-equivalent file ready for a print broker. Letter and A4 are the common deliverables; ARCH A/B for architectural photographers.
• Long-term archives — A merged PDF survives format obsolescence better than a folder of CR2s that may not open in 2040 — PDF/A is the ISO-standardized archival flavor of PDF specifically designed for this. Canon stopped updating Digital Photo Professional for several older DSLR bodies between 2017-2020.
• Email and messaging delivery — A 30 MB CR2 won't attach to Gmail's 25 MB cap or Outlook's 20 MB cap. A merged PDF at Ebook quality is typically 0.5-2 MB per image, so a 12-photo proof sits comfortably under the 25 MB Gmail attachment limit.
• Insurance and legal documentation — Property, accident, or evidence photos shot in CR2 need a tamper-evident, page-numbered deliverable. PDF gives you that; a folder of RAWs does not.

CR2 vs CR3 — Format Comparison

Compression Type Quick Guide

If you need the reverse direction or a different output, see CR2 to JPG, CR2 to PNG, CR2 to TIFF, or merge other RAW formats with merge CR3 to PDF, merge DNG to PDF, and merge NEF to PDF.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I just email the CR2 files instead of converting?

CR2 is Canon-proprietary and most recipients don't have software that opens it. Gmail, Outlook, iCloud Mail, and the macOS/iOS Mail apps preview JPEG and PDF inline but show CR2 as an opaque attachment. CR2 files are also large (25-40 MB each on full-frame bodies), so a 10-photo selection blows past the 25 MB Gmail attachment cap before Gmail forces a Drive link. A merged PDF at Ebook quality is typically under 2 MB per page.

Will the PDF preserve the full quality of my CR2 files?

CR2 files store 12 or 14-bit linear sensor data — PDF page content is rendered to 8-bit per channel, so a tiny amount of dynamic range is collapsed during the render (this is what your editor does anyway when exporting JPEG). For a deliverable proof or print-ready PDF, choose Prepress or Printer compression with Quality 90-100 to keep visible detail. For the absolute archival original, keep the CR2 alongside the PDF — the PDF is a viewing copy, not a substitute for the negative.

Should I shoot CR3 instead of CR2 going forward?

If your camera supports both (some 2018-era bodies do), CR3 is the modern choice — files are 10-30% smaller in standard RAW and 30-50% smaller in C-RAW, with no quality loss in lossless mode. Adobe Lightroom added CR3 support in version 7.4 (June 2018). CR2 is still fully supported in every major RAW processor, so there's no urgency to migrate old archives — just merge them to PDF for delivery and keep the originals.

My CR2 files were shot at different orientations — will the PDF rotate them correctly?

Yes. The merge engine reads the CR2's EXIF orientation tag (the same tag Lightroom and DPP use for auto-rotate) and renders each page right-side up. If you set Page Layout to Portrait but a CR2 was shot landscape, Contained placement will letterbox it; Cover will crop. Mix-orientation shoots usually look best with Contained + Center alignment.

What's the largest CR2 file size or count I can merge?

Each CR2 is rendered in your browser session, so the limit is your device's available memory. Modern desktops handle 50-100 frames at full resolution; mobile devices may struggle past ~20 frames. If you hit a slowdown, split into two batches and combine the resulting PDFs with merge PDF.

Can I add a cover page or text annotations to the merged PDF?

Not in the merge step itself — the merge only stacks rendered images. For a cover page or captions, prepend a separately created title page and use merge PDF to combine. For a fully designed portfolio (titles, layouts, two-up spreads), build the layout in InDesign or Affinity Publisher and place the rendered CR2-to-PDF output as image pages.

What's the difference between Cover and Contained image placement?

Cover fills the entire page edge-to-edge and crops anything that doesn't fit the page aspect ratio — best for photo-book style presentation. Contained scales the full image to fit within the page's margin box, letterboxing if aspect ratios don't match — best for client proofs where you must show the full frame including any planned crop area.

Why is the output PDF noticeably larger or smaller than I expected?

Three knobs drive size: Compression Type (Screen and Ebook embed downsampled JPEG; Prepress and Printer keep near-original detail), Quality Percentage (75 default; drop to 60 for proofs, raise to 95 for print), and Paper Size (Tabloid/Ledger doubles area vs. Letter, so renderings get bigger). For a 10-frame proof under 5 MB, try Ebook + Quality 70 + Letter. For a print-ready master, use Printer + Quality 95 + Tabloid.

Are my CR2 files uploaded to a server?

No. xconvert processes your files in the browser session — your CR2s never leave your machine for the merge step. That matters for sensitive shoots (real estate before-listing, legal evidence, embargoed editorial) where a third-party upload would breach a release or NDA.