Microsoft Camera Codec Pack is a free set of codecs for RAW files that introduces support for this format in the Windows Vista and 7 shell, as well as in Windows Live Photo Gallery. The RAW format is used to record images while maintaining the maximum amount of information from the camera sensor, usually offered by SLR cameras. The data is not filtered or stratified.

Usually more bits are used for individual channels, e.g. 12-14 instead of standard 8, which gives more dynamics. For this reason RAW is sometimes referred to as a digital negative, from which target graphic files, e.g.

JPEG, are obtained. Different camera manufacturers use their own varieties of RAW format. Microsoft Camera Codec Pack supports RAW files from more than 120 digital camera models.

After installation, the package gives you the ability to view RAW files created by modern digital cameras through Windows Explorer, Windows Live Photo Gallery applications and many other Windows Imaging (WIC) encoder-decoder-based applications. With Windows Live Photo Gallery, you can load RAW files, edit the image, and save to JPEG, JPEG-XR or HD Photo formats. The Explorer supports RAW thumbnails.