Bundled Software Usage

[Aquaforester]

Curious about something. I recently purchased a 60D from B&H and it came with the usual bundled software that is still sitting in the box.

-EOS Digital Solutions Disk
-Red Giant/B&H Bundle

Do most of you use these products? To this point I've been loading up my pictures and organizing them with Microsoft Office Picture Manager and doing some basic editing with Adobe Elements.

Thanks for any comments about usage or other products you would recommend.

 

[clanthar]

You Digital Solutions disk has a copy of DPP on it. Excellent software -- I use it a lot. Your camera has the capacity to save RAW files which DPP is designed to process.

Joe

 

[enzodm]

I also use DPP, and sometimes also the software for controlling the camera from computer (camera tethering).

 

[Aquaforester]

Thanks, I'll definitely be installing that one. Do you guys use the bundle to also view and organize your pics on the computer as well. I assume they are probably better than MS Office picture mgr.

 

[Big Mike]

I don't regularly use the Canon software....and I would think that most don't either.

I upload the my photos via a card reader. I move/organize the files via windows explorer & Lightroom.
I use Lightroom / Photoshop to process the RAW files and edit the photos.

Canon DPP is indeed a good program for processing RAW files, but I find it cumbersome. Lightroom is overall, a much better software program. I used EOS utility to connect to the camera, enter in the copyright information and set the custom menu etc. But that's it.

 

[Futurelight]

I don't use any of the budled software as it typically doesn't do the required job. it is FAR better to attain the professional software so you KNOW that you can achieve the picture you want.

I currently use the adobe master collection and am happy to have spent so much on it.

 

[Aquaforester]

Thanks for the add'l response. It's all helpful to this newbie, really appreciate it and great forum to get response on what probably seems like trivial stuff. In that spirit, I have another what's probably trivial but important question to me. Let's say you take a high res pic and it's around 5000x3000 (~6mp) and you save it to your computer, but depending on usage you might need a lower res pic to share, etc. How do you usually organize your pics. Do you keep low res side-by-side with your high res in a directory. Do you off load many of your photos to an external. Again I know it sounds trivial, but I'm just trying to get organized in a way that makes the most sense.

 

[Big Mike]

5000x3000 is 15 mega pixels.

I put my RAW files into a folder based on job and/or date. When I need to give/send JPEGs somewhere, I create them and save them in a sub folder. For example, for uploading to the internet, I create a set of jpeg files that have been resized and compressed. I put them in a folder named 'web'. When I need to send files to the lab for printing, I create a set of jpeg files that have been cropped and optimized for printing and save them in a fold named.....print.

I'd suggest you check out....The DAM Book.

 

[enzodm]

I don't regularly use the Canon software....and I would think that most don't either.

I upload the my photos via a card reader. I move/organize the files via windows explorer & Lightroom.
I use Lightroom / Photoshop to process the RAW files and edit the photos.

Canon DPP is indeed a good program for processing RAW files, but I find it cumbersome. Lightroom is overall, a much better software program. I used EOS utility to connect to the camera, enter in the copyright information and set the custom menu etc. But that's it.

I agree that Lightroom is much better (I mostly use it for the pictures I want to last), however if the comparison is against the current software used by OP, DPP is at least a first good step. And free.

 

[MLeeK]

I don't use the canon software at all. Depending on which version of Elements you are using it will read and allow you to edit your raw images in Adobe camera raw which is better than the Canon software. If your version of elements is older and cannot be updated you can download the DNG converter to allow you to still work in raw, but it converts it to an Adobe raw format instead of the canon CR2.

 

[Derrel]

I think you ought to load the Canon DPP software, and shoot some images in RAW + JPEG mode, using the Medium-sized, fine compression JPEG setting. Set the in-camera sharpening setting to a relatively high level, which makes it much easier to spot focus errors or issues when reviewing the images. Just move the bad files to either the trash, or to folder. Remove the bad RAW files as well, and then you'll end up with a folder of the better images, in RAW mode. Then, start learning to use the various "looks" that the Canon DPP software has...there are multiple canned "looks", or styles of image developing...I think it would behoove you to see a range of what is possible early on, so you can forge an understanding of just how malleable the RAW files are from your camera. I am suggesting this because a few years back, I did some experiments with Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop, Nikon Capture 4.1, Canon DPP, and the Japanese SW called SilkyPIX 3.xx. I did raw conversions using various settings with ALL of the applicable software on one whole day's worth of shooting in the summer. For one week I worked on Canon .CR2 files, the next week I used Nikon .NEF files., sending the same,identical RAW files through multiple RAW converters, often adjusting various parameters and doing a re-batch.

**IT WAS ASTOUNDING** to see how each, different raw file converter impacted the images. NONE stood out as "best". Not Adobe, Not Canon, not Nikon, not SilkyPIX. Those experiments led me to believe that many people are sacrificing quality and nuance for the sheer SPEED of Lightroom. I do not believe that any one single software application can possibly be the best for the tens of thousands of types of situations a person will encounter. There is NO WAY IN HADES that one,single converter can be optimal for all images. Impossible.

 

[Dao]

If you want tether shooting, you can do it with the Canon software that shipped with the camera.
If you what to do some quick batch processing (i.e. resize all photos to certain size), you can do it with the Canon software.
If you shoot with the supported Canon lens, the Canon software has feature to remove lens defects automatically such as CA or distortion. (works with my 85mm f/1.8 lens)

 

[Aquaforester]

5000x3000 is 15 mega pixels....

LOL, I meant MB

 

[clanthar]

**IT WAS ASTOUNDING** to see how each, different raw file converter impacted the images. NONE stood out as "best". Not Adobe, Not Canon, not Nikon, not SilkyPIX. Those experiments led me to believe that many people are sacrificing quality and nuance for the sheer SPEED of Lightroom. I do not believe that any one single software application can possibly be the best for the tens of thousands of types of situations a person will encounter. There is NO WAY IN HADES that one,single converter can be optimal for all images. Impossible.

I have done the same experiment with a larger collection of RAW converters and come to the exact same conclusion. As a result I have four different RAW file converters installed on my system and I use all four of them. I frequently start with ACR/LR and if it does the job fine. When ACR/LR does a cr*ppy job (often enough) I take the photo to DPP or C1. DPP gives me independent access to the photo's Luminance and R,G,B curves -- ACR/LR does not and that can make the difference right there.

ACR/LR and DPP both provide correction for CA; ACR/LR can do an adequate job but DPP does a much better job all the time. So if I get a photo with some tricky CA I go straight for DPP.

And I could go on... the point is, and I'll quote Derrell again, "There is NO WAY IN HADES that one, single converter can be optimal for all images."

Joe

 

[Aquaforester]

Thank you all for that additional info and all the details looks like I have my work cut out for me as well as alot of fun ahead.