compatibility problem/photoshop 11.0.2 and 5d mark III raw files

[stezzz]

Hi, as in the title. I am a mac user and I borrowed some Raw files from a 5d mark III to test compatibility with my old cs4 studio. I tried opening them and the format is not recognized. I downloaded the latest adobe raw update (AdobeCameraRaw-6.7-mul-AdobeUpdate.dmg) but when I try installing it an error message pops up saying "this update is not applicable to you"..... well then, how am I supposed to read the latest raw format?? Why do they keep changing them anyway?
Thanks!

 

[KmH]

Elements 11 doesn't support ACR 6 . You need the most current ACR 7 update. For the 5D MK III - ACR 7.1 - Camera Raw plug-in | Supported cameras

CS 4 Camera Raw uses ACR 5 and won't be able to open 5D MK III files.

There is no one Raw file format standard, like the is for JPEG and TIFF. There are currently over 100 Raw file formats.

Canon, Nikon, and other camera makers use proprietary Raw file formats. Each new model has a unique raw file format.
Camera makers do not share their proprietary Raw file format info with Adobe. Consequently, Adobe has to reverse engineer each one.

It would be a poor business practice for Adobe to go back and also re-engineer ACR versions it no longer supports for a recently launched camera.

 

[Dao]

If you have the Canon camera software (shipped with the camera), you can use the Digital Photo Professional (DPP) from Canon to import the RAW file to Photoshop.

From within the DPP, you can choose to edit the photo in Photoshop.

 

[stezzz]

hI there.... Well, that's a bummer. Nothing I can do about it though.... I haven't the original cd as I am only testing the raw files from a friend's camera.... I'm planning to buy the camera in a short while anyway... I tried that DPP before but I kind of hate it... I guess it's a matter of habit using ACR though. Oh well, new camera new program, I get it. I'm getting the impression that raw files are the Monsanto seeds of digital photography...
Thanks for your help!!