New to DSLR, some starting up questions!!

Hogie

Hi all!

I just purchased my first DSLR camera (canon rebel T2i). I don't really know much about photography yet, and I am running into a few problems already. The software that the camera came with had DPP and canon EOS utility but I can't seem to open JPEG or RAW photos with the EOS utility picture editor. It gives me the message that "the image cannot be processed". DPP doesn't seem to allow for much editing, and can't open all my photos anyways. Where do I edit my photos then if not in the EOS utility!

Help please!!

ziggy53

What operating system/computer platform are you on? (Mac/Win/?) Which version specifically?

Hogie

ziggy53 wrote: »

What operating system/computer platform are you on? (Mac/Win/?) Which version specifically?

Thanks for replying, I'm on Windows Vista.

Hogie

Thanks for the help! I downloaded google picasa, the JPEG upload but not the RAW. I think it is because they are C2 format or something. I've downloaded the updates from canon's site but it didn't seem to do anything. I can't understand why they allow you to take RAW C2 format photos if the software can't support them.

ziggy53

I moved this thread to the Finishing School since it is mostly about software issues.

For a Windows Vista machine, if you want freeware, I generally suggest:

Picasa, for simple, personal work, where only light editing is required and the image is generally correctly exposed and the dynamic range is not too extreme. Picasa is also a good basic image management tool, but not a full DAM (Digital Asset Management).

RawTherapee, for more advanced RAW and JPG editing although it does not have layers or masking capabilities. Ut does have very high quality RAW conversion and WB correction, as well as very high quality sharpening and noise reduction.

The GIMP, is fairly complete as an image editor, although it lacks 16 bit processing and only really supports sRGB. It does do layers and masking. The user interface is unlike anything else, but there are a number of tutorials available.

FastStone is an image viewer that also views RAW files including files for very recent cameras. I don't recommend it for editing but for basic sorting and "light table" use it works very nicely. I use it enough that I donated to the author so that it can encourage further developmnent.

For not too much money, Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) is very nice and has a somewhat similar interface to full Photoshop, but it lacks some of the advanced editing of full Photoshop. Corel PaintShop Photo Pro (PSP) is an alternative that IMO is a lot more advanced than PSE.

For full-blown image editing Photoshop is the standard and it gives a tremendous amount of capabilities, but it has a steep learning curve and it's pretty expensive.

http://picasa.google.com/

http://rawtherapee.com/?mitem=3 (I recommend the "latest stable but outdated version")

http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDownload.htm

ziggy53

Hogie wrote: »

Thanks for the help! I downloaded google picasa, the JPEG upload but not the RAW. I think it is because they are C2 format or something. I've downloaded the updates from canon's site but it didn't seem to do anything. I can't understand why they allow you to take RAW C2 format photos if the software can't support them.

RAW files need to be converted before they can be edited. Picasa and FastStone can view and convert RAW files but they are limited to 8 bit files for saving. RawTherapee can convert and save to 16 bit TIF files.

Canon's DPP can also save to 16 bit TIFs for that matter.

To do serious conversion and editing in 16 bit you probably need at least the Corel PSP I mentioned above, which also gives you layers, masks and a fairly decent color engine too.

ziggy53

I keep forgetting to mention Adobe Lightroom. Many folks use Lightroom for organization, conversion and basic image editing.

pathfinder

If the DPPro is up to date, it should open your Raw files. I think you need to verify that your DPP is the current version.

Check on Canon's website, to see if you need a newer version and then download the update.

TheCheesehead

Make sure you right click on the pic, select open with, then select DPP, and check the use this program box (something like that)

TheSuede

Now I'm confused...

The EOS utility is NOT a picture editing program!
It's a utility tool to help you batch transfer raw/jpg files from your camera into managed folders and so on on your computer. It is also a very simple tethering tool, i.e it allows you to control your camera via the USB cable. This is useful for shooting product shoots or landscape in a very controlled manner. It does not "edit" pictures in any way.

pathfinder

For editing images the OP will need to use Digital Photo Pro that came with his camera, or obtain a formal editing program like Photoshop CS5, Photoshop Elements, or Aperture 3, or Lightroom 3, among others.

zoomer

Go get yourself a Photoshop Elements program. Not that complicated to use and not a lot of money, it will do everything you need. I am still using Elements 4.
Shoot in Jpeg until you get the hang of it. Forget Raw exists unless you find you really need it later (you won't).
Once you have everything figured out, if you are not happy with your Jpegs (you will be) then think about learning to use Raw.
Keep it simple so you can have some fun with it.
Keep it about enjoying your camera and taking pictures.

Don't get discouraged. Once you get your Elements program you will be off and running.

amoncur

Try LR, Too
Depending on how involved you plan to be with photography, you should consider learning Lightroom. It's a powerful program, and much cheaper than Photoshop (in fact, if you're a student, I think it's less than $100). It gives you a plethora of global (and some local) editing capabilities, and a great interface for "batch" editing large numbers of photos at the same time. Very cool software.