What is CCD_RAW mode?
CCD_RAW mode is Canon’s own uncompressed image format. In simple terms the light reaching the CCD is converted to 10bit digital data signals for each pixel and then stored without performing any colour processing. When the CCD_RAW data file is read by the Canon TWAIN driver or plug-in module the colour processing is performed before the data is passed to the calling application. What this means is that the image in the application has never been compressed, so saving it as a TIFF file will preserve the best quality. Unfortunately CCD_RAW mode is specific to each camera model as the CCD size and pixel count changes, so a PowerShot 600 driver cannot be used to open a CCD_RAW file from a PowerShot A5, though most Canon drivers are backwards compatible. PowerShot 600, PowerShot A5, PowerShot Pro70, PowerShot A5 Zoom and PowerShot A50 have CCD_RAW mode.
