QuickLook Thumbnail generation problems with Canon CR3 RAW images (Sequoia)

This is an issue seen in Sequoia 15.1 ...

Cameras like the Canon EOS R5 support many image file formats. I've been using the CR3 format for several years without problem with macOS (I think that support was introduced in Big Sur or Monterey).

I recently upgraded to Sequoia 15.1 from Sonoma 14.7.1 and almost immediately experienced issues with QuickLook thumbnail generation. The root cause is a mishandling of a particular camera configuration which affects the metadata (the Color Space in this case) contained in the associated CR3 RAW file. The problem is triggered by the use of the HDR PQ (Perceptual Quantization) option.

CR3 HDR PQ file causes the image thumbnail generating process to consume excessive CPU (in my case, 4 Performance cores running at 100% occupancy as per the Activity Monitor). This, in turn, can negatively impact other non-related macOS services.

Note that other file formats that use HDR PQ such as HEIC seem to work as expected in this regard. macOS supports HEIC HDR images created by iOS devices (these devices use HDR HLG rather than HDR PQ).

I have contacted Apple Support to advise them of this issue. If confirmed, I would hope that a subsequent Sequoia maintenance update will address the issue. In this meantime, you may want to disable the HDR PQ option on your Canon camera for CR3 files or switch from the CR3 to the HIF (Canon's name for HEIF files) file format.

- Pie Lover