(Camera Related) Software issue?

PhotosbyKW

OK, so I love the 5D MKII, but I have a whole series of RAW images that I can't read, and so am forced to shoot .jpegs. This is not a problem, as they are fantastic, but I like having the RAW option, and this is rather disappointing.

Apparently, the only program compatable with it and that will work with 64-bit Vista is PS4. I really had not planned to run right out and spend $600.00 on another Adobe product right now, but that may be an issue. Does anybody know if Camera Raw can be updated to work with both pieces of equipment? Adobe's site was a little confusing to me on this. Also, before I forget, Vista won't work with the DPP disk either, so that is not even an option either.

Ideas or opinions?

Thanks in advance.

KAW.

Art Scott

Could always use the free DNG converter and convert the raw to dng and save space at the same time.

PhotosbyKW

Art Scott wrote:

Could always use the free DNG converter and convert the raw to dng and save space at the same time.

Thanks for the input, Art.

OK, so how does that work? I have never used a DNG converter so I'm all ears!

KAW.

Richard

PhotosbyKW wrote:

OK, so I love the 5D MKII, but I have a whole series of RAW images that I can't read, and so am forced to shoot .jpegs. This is not a problem, as they are fantastic, but I like having the RAW option, and this is rather disappointing.

Apparently, the only program compatable with it and that will work with 64-bit Vista is PS4. I really had not planned to run right out and spend $600.00 on another Adobe product right now, but that may be an issue. Does anybody know if Camera Raw can be updated to work with both pieces of equipment? Adobe's site was a little confusing to me on this. Also, before I forget, Vista won't work with the DPP disk either, so that is not even an option either.

Ideas or opinions?

Thanks in advance.

KAW.

I'm surprised that DPP doesn't work with 64 bit Vista. Have you checked with Canon support?

As for Adobe, you need to be on the latest versions of CS(ACR) and LR for native MkII support. You can download a free program from Adobe to convert the MkII RAW files to DNG, which will work with older Adobe products. These are Adobe issues, not Vista or 64-bit ones.

ivar

The DNG converter works, I can tell you from experience. As far as I know, the RAW converter that comes with previous versions can not be 'updated'. LR2 will also read the 5dII files

Dan7312

Hmmm, I installed DPP on Vista 64 and it works fine. Do you have the lastest version? I have DPP 3.7.2.0.

PhotosbyKW wrote:

Vista won't work with the DPP disk either, so that is not even an option either.

KAW.

PhotosbyKW

Sorry, earlier I meant to type "CS4".

Lack of caffiene, I reckon.

FWIW- I have a "lemon" copy of Vista, and it has been plagued with a lot of problems from day one. Most every program that either me or the techs have attempted to install, has had issues. DPP will Install, load, and open, but will just freeze when trying to get it to run. I'm pretty sure that this is just another instance of the OS not playing well with other programs.

I do plan on eventually picking up CS4, but hope to wait till mid next year as I've already spent a lot more cash that I'd planned on over the last few months.

OK, as an update: I installed the DNG converter and it seems to be working without any issues. I will look for tips and pointers for using it, but for now, I am pretty pleased. Thanks everybody.

KAW.

craig_d

PhotosbyKW wrote:

FWIW- I have a "lemon" copy of Vista, and it has been plagued with a lot of problems from day one. Most every program that either me or the techs have attempted to install, has had issues.

I think that's pretty much normal for 64-bit Vista. I tried using it at one point and it would crash just accessing file servers on the network. 32-bit Vista works much better. 64-bit Windows 7 is also good.

Scott_Quier

craig_d wrote:

I think that's pretty much normal for 64-bit Vista. I tried using it at one point and it would crash just accessing file servers on the network. 32-bit Vista works much better. 64-bit Windows 7 is also good.

- not to sound too much like a phanboy, but Win7 rocks. I've been running 64-bit for the since the end of March '09 (yes, leaked versions, but it's all cool). The only issues I've had was the lack of a driver for the integrated web-cam on my laptop - big loss that!

Get yourself an upgrade copy of Win7 Home Premium (that's what I run anyway, see this page for what I think is the best comparison of the features found in the various available versions). The O/S is sold as a two disk set, one disk is 32-bit, one is 64-bit. Both are activated with a single product key which can be used to activate only one copy at a time. Not sure if your computer will support Win7? If it will run Vista, it will play very nicely with Windows 7 - MSFT has done a lot of work to correct in Win7 the resource piggishness found in Vista.

PhotosbyKW

Thanks Scott. I saw that Office Depot had a pretty good deal on Windows 7 upgade the other day.

Does that erase any current files, programs, or gamma settings, or is that not really a problem.

Also, (remember I'm not a computer guy) how do you know if you lost a driver setting in the process? Does it tell you somewhere, or do you just proceed as normal until you stumble across something that does not work anymore? I update it and defrag it about twice a week.

Yes, it should handle "7" pretty easilly. Machine is a new HP. laptop with 17" screen, and I have plenty of memory, as I store most everything on the external drive.

Thanks.

KAW.

Scott_Quier

PhotosbyKW wrote:

Thanks Scott. I saw that Office Depot had a pretty good deal on Windows 7 upgade the other day.

Does that erase any current files, programs, or gamma settings, or is that not really a problem.

Also, (remember I'm not a computer guy) how do you know if you lost a driver setting in the process? Does it tell you somewhere, or do you just proceed as normal until you stumble across something that does not work anymore? I update it and defrag it about twice a week.

Yes, it should handle "7" pretty easilly. Machine is a new HP. laptop with 17" screen, and I have plenty of memory, as I store most everything on the external drive.

Thanks.

KAW.

When you boot up from the Win7 disk (the only way to use the upgrade disk), you will eventually be presented with a screen that offer you two choices:

1. Upgrade Install - This route "replaces" all the Vista O/S code and drivers and other stuff with the Win7 version. Different people have different levels of success going this route and there really doesn't seem to be much of a pattern.
   • The upside of this option is that the process is supposed to leave all your programs, associated data, and user data intact.
   • The downside is that it also tends to leave a lot of leftover "stuff" from the Vista install that may or may not (usually not) be needed when running Win7.
   • The upgrade process can take anywhere from about 45 mintues to as much as 3 hours - depending on what else you have installed, etc.
2. Custom Install - this option will result in you needing to re-install all your programs. Most people who go this route (like me) simply back up all their user data on the installation drive/partition and, during the install process, re-format that drive/partition.
   • The upside of this option is that you get a clean O/S without a lot of orphan code or hangers-on. Usually makes for a bit more snap in the speed of the machine.
   • The downside is that you need to backup all user data and then, after the O/S install, copy all that data back into place. Then you have to re-install all your applications. This can take a bit of time. If you go this route, be sure to also deactivate your CS4 before you start the install.

My preference is to do the custom (clean) install. As I've done this many times over the years, I've developed a procedure (depending on the computer this takes anywhere from 1 hour to as much as 3 hours):

• Backup data
• Backup user config information, such as browser favorites, etc
• Make a list of all the programs that are installed on the machine. A good place to for this information is the start menu and the "Add/Remove Programs" facility.
• Oh, and don't forget to backup all things related to the e-mail!
• Now, double check all the above, make sure I've not missed anything.
• Restart the computer and, during the powerup, insert the install media. Boot from that disk and go through the process:
  • Enter initialization data as requested - your name, etc
  • Select the "Custom Install"
  • Since I have a disk dedicated to the O/S .... delete all partitions. Create and format the install partitions.
  • Proceed through the install process. They've done a good job with this for Win7. Defer activation until later - you have 30 days to activate before the O/S starts acting goofy. DO NOT enter the product key until you are ready to activate the O/S.
  • After the machine has re-booted the two or three times it does during the install and has stabalized run the Windows Update process a couple of times .... until it says there are no more updates to be had.
  • Since I run from behind a router that does a decent (not great, just decent) hardware firewall, I don't worry about anti-virus until this point. MSFT has released an AV of their own - Microsoft Security Essentials - that appears to be as good as most on the market and better than some .... And it's free (at least for now). Download it and install it. Run the engine update process. Run the AV data update process. Now, run the Windows Update process again.
  • OK, now go out to the manufacturer web-site for your unique hardware, such as video card, sound card, motherboard, etc. Download and install the drivers you find on these web-sites. There is a better than even chance that Win7 will have suitable drivers for your network interface card (NIC) and video - enough to get the real thing .... but if you have a really new NIC, you might want to have downloaded the drivers for that before you start the install process or have another computer from which you can access the internet.
• Now it's time to install your applications and run the update process, if any, for each of them.
• If any of these applications you just installed are MSFT, then it might be a good idea to run the Windows Update process again.

When I slick and re-install a computer, it usually takes me about 6 hours to get it where I want it. Of course, you don't have to sit in front of the computer for that entire time. The computer can work without you baby-sitting it but you do have to come back to it once in a while to answer prompts and to start the next step in the process.

HTH and I sure hope I didn't scare you off. And, while it might sound scary, the clean install really is the best way to go. It avoids so many problems if one is careful in the preparation and planning stage.

ziggy53

I might mention that in addition to Scott's most excellent post, I often just purchase a new HD and do a fresh install on that new drive. This approach gives me access to the old system if I need it and preserves everything the way that it was.

Scott_Quier

ziggy53 wrote:

I might mention that in addition to Scott's most excellent post, I often just purchase a new HD and do a fresh install on that new drive. This approach gives me access to the old system if I need it and preserves everything the way that it was.

Very good idea. And, if one goes this route and they already have a "data" drive, there's no need to get a huge drive. One can get a good, reliable 80GB HDD (7200rpm, SATA) for well under $60 and 80GB is much more than is needed to install Win7 and just about as many applications as one could hope to have.