Software....

[Canuck]

Hi all,
I was wondering which software you run, cost and thoughts on it. I realise I may have a ton of answers, but I am looking to get soemthing a ton better than the cheezy Canon software. I know there is C1, PS, and a lot of others that support the 10D RAW format.

Thanks in advance for all inputs!

[ilya]

Since you have the 10D, you can upgrade Elements to CS for $300. Might as well enter the mainstream at the start, rather then spending money here and there on unintegrated solutions and afterwards getting to PS in any case. Just my opinion.

[Belmondo]

I know there are people (like Bob Gross) who have other personal preferences for other less widely-used image editing software like Paint Shop Pro, etc.. Typically their strongest argument for not switching to PS is that they've been using the other one for years, and don't feel like taking on the steep learning curve involved in changing at this late date. Understandable, I suppose.

That is just about the only argument that really holds water, and I'm not convinced it's completely valid. Photoshop is the de facto standard for photo/image editing just about everywhere. Nearly every article you read that deals with the subject, and almost every book available on the subject is based on Photoshop conventions and procedures.

Now that PS8 (CS) has full support for RAW file conversion, it's almost a moot subject, and C1LE, as good as it is, really isn't necessary for most people.

This is not to say that there aren't other good packages available. I just think that swimming upstream should be an undertaking best left to the Salmon.

[robertwgross]

Tom, I climbed onto the Corel PhotoPaint bandwagon years ago, and it works fine for me. Plus, basically, I'm cheap.

---Bob Gross---

[iwatkins]

I'm using BreezeSystems DownloaderPro for image download and storage and then Adobe Photoshop CS for RAW processing work. The whole thing integrates nicely and I no longer need any Canon software on the system. :)

I still have a copy of JASC PaintShop Pro on the machine as I've used this since version 3 and I'm still very familiar with it. I only started using Photoshop at version 7 and I'm still finding my way around now. I would say I'm using Photoshop now maybe 95% of the time but do use PaintShop for quick work.

Cheers

Ian

[PaulB]

ilya wrote:
Since you have the 10D, you can upgrade Elements to CS for $300. Might as well enter the mainstream at the start, rather then spending money here and there on unintegrated solutions and afterwards getting to PS in any case. Just my opinion.

Sorry ilya, but as Canuck is over here in the UK he cannot do the Elements to PShop CS cheap upgrade as Adobe don't offer that on their UK site - as far as I know.

So Canuck can you stretch to the full price of CS? If you have, or can acquire and earlier version of Photoshop then you can get the upgrade to CS - Amazon at £140 was the cheapest when I got mine.
Really is worth it if you need the power and are prepared to learn it - the learning curve is very steep in the initial stages but perseverance pays off in the end.

All the best.

[rockyc2]

I use Paint Shop Pro everyday. I just don't like the software that came with my Camera. I downloaded a FREE Raw Converter, so that is all I need. You can go and get your Free Download for the Canon Raw Converter here at. http://cweb.canon.jp/drv-upd/digitalcamera/rim202.html The download Window will open up for you to download it.
Rocky

[Jesper]

I use Capture One DSLR LE to convert my RAW files and do exposure, colour and sharpness adjustments. I use Photoshop Elements 2.0 that came with my 10D for cropping and printing. I don't use PS Elements much for corrections etc. because I'm doing that with C1.

I also have Picture Window Pro from Digital Light & Colour: http://www.dl-c.com which I use for features that PS Elements doesn't have, such as 16-bit editing and changing colour spaces.

I've tried Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8.0, and it's a nice and very user friendly piece of software, but IMO it lacks some indispensable features - most notably colour management. It only understands images in sRGB.

[Belmondo]

robertwgross wrote:
Tom, I climbed onto the Corel PhotoPaint bandwagon years ago, and it works fine for me. Plus, basically, I'm cheap.

---Bob Gross---

I prefer the term 'thrifty.' I'd probably still be using MacPaint 1.0 excepet it only supported B&W. A side benefit was that the whole program (along with the Mac OS) would fit on a 400K floppie. AHHHHH, those were the days.

This is an interesting question, though, lest we PS users be tempted to think we're the only ones out there. I suspect we are far and away the single largest group, however.

[ilya]

PaulB wrote:
ilya wrote:
Since you have the 10D, you can upgrade Elements to CS for $300. Might as well enter the mainstream at the start, rather then spending money here and there on unintegrated solutions and afterwards getting to PS in any case. Just my opinion.

Sorry ilya, but as Canuck is over here in the UK he cannot do the Elements to PShop CS cheap upgrade as Adobe don't offer that on their UK site - as far as I know.

So Canuck can you stretch to the full price of CS? If you have, or can acquire and earlier version of Photoshop then you can get the upgrade to CS - Amazon at £140 was the cheapest when I got mine.
Really is worth it if you need the power and are prepared to learn it - the learning curve is very steep in the initial stages but perseverance pays off in the end.

All the best.

Man, Americans get all the breaks.

Canuck - no harm in trying (I think) the American way. See if you can get past the upgrade screen which asks for your SN# (that's before you give them your CC#). Opt for the download, and it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure if you'll get the "Americanized" version as a result, you'll just have to learn to spell "color" properly.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Also,. he's in England,. but He's a US Service man,.. no?

[CyberDyneSystems]

Come to think of it,.. C1 LE and Adobe Elements is not a bad combo either.. at $99.00 for C1 LE and Elements free with the Camera...

[Canuck]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
Also,. he's in England,. but He's a US Service man,.. no?

CDS,
Yes I am, US Armed Forces Europe. I call this the best of both worlds! I should be able to easily get my hands on any US software I like. The end of the day I am American. Uncle Sam was nice enough to give me a trip over here and I do thank him.

[PaulB]

Welcome to the UK. hope you got posted somewhere nice.
I thought that the light levels had gone down lately - or is that winter kicking in?

[Canuck]

PaulB wrote:
Welcome to the UK. hope you got posted somewhere nice.
I thought that the light levels had gone down lately - or is that winter kicking in?

Paul,
Thanks! I've been here a while already and really like it! I'm not looking forward to returning to the US. I'm in East Anglia. I would have liked to go to the Cotswolds, or just not the Fenland. I've seen a good chunk of Southern England from Bristol to Dover on the southern coast including Canterbury and Deal. I have kinda forgotten about the centre, like above the Isle of Wight. I have yet to see the Cornish Coast, and Devon. I've seen South coast of Wales from where it meets England to past Tenby/Saundersfoot peninsula, including the Gower. Is that St David? I can't remember. I've also seen bits of Shropshire, and lots around Warwick area. Then there is also Birmingham area that is also covered. In East Anglia, there is Norwich, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk that has been done. I have to get to Cromer and Great Yarmouth yet but that will be sorted in the nicer weather. There is a lot more, but that's the condensed version.

Is that winter I feel coming? It was a really mild summer, a record of sorts from what I heard. It will be nice to have a proper winter. Darkness is upon us, some days I wonder if the sun even comes up, especially those all day rain and super thick days of cloud that England is known for. LOL! Fog is another interesting bit, especially here in Fenland. I can't speak for the rest of England, but it seems to me that you haven't seen fog till you have seen it over here. I'm really gonna miss it here, I can see this already.

[Canuck]

ilya wrote:
PaulB wrote:
ilya wrote:
Since you have the 10D, you can upgrade Elements to CS for $300. Might as well enter the mainstream at the start, rather then spending money here and there on unintegrated solutions and afterwards getting to PS in any case. Just my opinion.

Sorry ilya, but as Canuck is over here in the UK he cannot do the Elements to PShop CS cheap upgrade as Adobe don't offer that on their UK site - as far as I know.

So Canuck can you stretch to the full price of CS? If you have, or can acquire and earlier version of Photoshop then you can get the upgrade to CS - Amazon at £140 was the cheapest when I got mine.
Really is worth it if you need the power and are prepared to learn it - the learning curve is very steep in the initial stages but perseverance pays off in the end.

All the best.

Man, Americans get all the breaks.

Canuck - no harm in trying (I think) the American way. See if you can get past the upgrade screen which asks for your SN# (that's before you give them your CC#). Opt for the download, and it shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure if you'll get the "Americanized" version as a result, you'll just have to learn to spell "color" properly.



Hmm...
£140 is cheaper ($245 @ $1.75/GPB) than $300. You do the math! Idunno. I'm going to go see what I can procure over here. The C1LE might be a good starter as it is only $99 to start and seems to be a real good compliment to Elements 2.0. Then again, if I could do everything in one program that would be beneficial. I'm really not bothered about the version, be it British, or American as it is in English and only spelling will be the only difference. I will have to see about procuring a previous copy of PS to go get the upgrade. Now for the fun, finding someone to procure it from!

As for us Americans getting the breaks, I really don't want to launch a war and will decline comment, other than that I'm convinced that the VAT vanishes into thin air. Believe me the US has enough problems as is and we (US and UK) share some of the same problems. What I feel isn't material for this forum, this is about photography; not beefs (problems) with the respective governments.

[PaulB]

Canuck,
I'm pleased you like the bits of the country you have seen so far. Pity you haven't had chance to get up to Yorkshire: Gods' own country. If you do get the chance to head North let me know - we could perhaps meet up and share some 10D tales!

How do you find the Sigma 120-300/2.8? I handled an early one briefly but couldn't see it as replacing my 300/2.8L.

[samdring]

PaulB wrote:
Pity you haven't had chance to get up to Yorkshire: Gods' own country. >

Eee lad thar's talkin art thee bum!
Note my signature and yearn

[Canuck]

PaulB wrote:
Canuck,
I'm pleased you like the bits of the country you have seen so far. Pity you haven't had chance to get up to Yorkshire: Gods' own country. If you do get the chance to head North let me know - we could perhaps meet up and share some 10D tales!

How do you find the Sigma 120-300/2.8? I handled an early one briefly but couldn't see it as replacing my 300/2.8L.

PaulB,
Interesting you should say you're up there. I'll be making a run up that way to Hull area the middle of this month! I'm also looking to do York Minster whilst up there. So if you're interested in getting in contact with me, please pass a way to reach you and I shall. I am really looking fwd to going up there!

Re: the Sigma 120-300 F2.8 EX lens...
It was the first pro lens I have ever handled, and I am absloutely stunned by the sharpness it has. It is probably much like your L glass lens, in that it is far from lightweight. This beast is 5.75 lbs by itself. I absloutely love it! It cost me $1900, in Aug, 03 from B&H in NYC. I really enjoy shooting with that lens it to no end! The moon pic and Tenby Wales pics were shot with it. Topic #17977, the first shots with it were taken in Tenby, Wales. The following weekend I did the moon pic from an open field North of Cambridge. I believe both pics were taken JPEG mode. I know the moon one was. I have even got pics of the only (now redundant) mach 2 commercial airliner, Concorde with it. I will have to put the Aer Lingis pic I took up on this forum one of these days. It was taken in RAW, converted to JPEG at 2+ MB for e-mailing and has been getting rave reviews from those who have seen it. It is also available in TIFF at almost 37MB. It is almost surreal what you can get these days with the right kit. It looks exactly if you were standing there at the instant I took the pic. That's truly wild.

[iwatkins]

Canuck,
You over at Lakenheath/Mildenhall ? If so, that is my old stamping ground as I used to work in that region for a few years. :)

PaulB
Me and the missus have a weeks holiday booked in Littlebeck (North York Moors) in June next year. I've already told her the whole holiday will consist of travelling from one photo op. to the next :). Luckily Falling Foss (http://graphics.worldweb.com/PhotoImages/JohnPotter/FallingFossWaterfall.jpg) is only a short distance from where we are staying (converted mill).

Any tips for other stuff to see (and shoot) in that area ?

Cheers

Ian

[Canuck]

iwatkins wrote:
Canuck,
You over at Lakenheath/Mildenhall ? If so, that is my old stamping ground as I used to work in that region for a few years. :)

Cheers

Ian

Yes I am, Mildenhall. Have you been on either RAF Mildenhall, or RAF Lakenheath? What did you do over this neck of the flat woods? I think you can definitely understand why I'm not struck on the fens as opposed to the rest of England. Cambridgeshire seems to bt the most flat that I have seen. That may be outdone by Lincolnshire, Idunno, never been there. At least in Norfolk and Suffolk, as you move closer to the coast it looks much more interesting. I guess I thought and was obviously wrong that of England was anything other than the fens. This was upon finding out I was coming over here. If you did a search on general stuff on England, it would likely take you anywhere but here in the fens. I really like it here, please make no mistake here!

[mrwickham]

Small World - I was at RAF Lakenheath, while my father worked at RAF Mildenhall. We later moved to RAF Woodbridge.

It's amazing and sad to see what has happened to the bases and the communities once the Americans left. I took lots of video and photos of RAF Woodbridge that produced tears in my father's eyes.

If you are in the area check out the town of Woodbridge great photos of the river Deben, the only working Tide Mill, and even the little train station. Another photo location is Framlingham Castle. This is a must for the Ole' England medieval look - especially with the fog.

Lurking too long, needed to add something to the conversation. BTW - thanks for all the great ideas in the past from everyone. You have help me make some great decisions (expensive, but great)

Back on the topic - Photoshop CS, Breesebrowser, Downloader, Dreamweaver and Fireworks - that covers everything one would need.

[Canuck]

mrwickham wrote:
Small World - I was at RAF Lakenheath, while my father worked at RAF Mildenhall. We later moved to RAF Woodbridge.

It's amazing and sad to see what has happened to the bases and the communities once the Americans left. I took lots of video and photos of RAF Woodbridge that produced tears in my father's eyes.

If you are in the area check out the town of Woodbridge great photos of the river Deben, the only working Tide Mill, and even the little train station. Another photo location is Framlingham Castle. This is a must for the Ole' England medieval look - especially with the fog.

Lurking too long, needed to add something to the conversation. BTW - thanks for all the great ideas in the past from everyone. You have help me make some great decisions (expensive, but great)

Back on the topic - Photoshop CS, Breesebrowser, Downloader, Dreamweaver and Fireworks - that covers everything one would need.

That it is...I've been to Framlingham and Orford Castles and for free, sort of (English Heritage is cool)! I will have to look into seeing Woodbridge, and River Deben et all. You gave me an interesting idea, I might have to go back out there to the castles for a photoshoot in the fog. It would make for some interesting pics, especially if it is the low lying kind on the river there. Who says you need a really clear, sunshining day to get good pics? Rubbish! I have some pics I took of Ely Cathedral that you'd almost swear that were taken after 1190 that were taken last month. All things considered, it was taken with a digital camera and such things didn't come into play, especially considering it looks mich like it may have, some 800-900 years ago. England is cool like that in many ways! I have dove head first into the history of over here, from the beginnings thru till the end of the Tudor days. This really has nothing to do with photography but it is good fun being here.

[iwatkins]

Canuck wrote:
Yes I am, Mildenhall. Have you been on either RAF Mildenhall, or RAF Lakenheath? What did you do over this neck of the flat woods? I think you can definitely understand why I'm not struck on the fens as opposed to the rest of England.

Hi Canuck,

Been on both. I used to work as a meteorological observer for the Met Office (UK version of your National Weather Service). I worked for a few years at RAF Honington and then later at RAF Wattisham (Suffolk) for four years.

While at Wattisham I was "attached" to RAF Lakenheath for two months. Basically as a skills transfer role. I went there and learnt all their weather secrets. And then afterwards their guys came to us and we taught them ours. Mainly for their benefit as fog and low cloud off the North Sea is much different from the kind of weather their meteorologists and their customers (pilots) there were used to in the USA. They were flying F15s and F111 at Lakenheath at the time. The PX had some great bargains, but as a non USA Forces type I wasn't eligable to shop there. :(

Is there still a guy on the main gate that salutes you as you drive in and out ? Made me smile everyday :)

I hear you on the Fens though. Not the most exciting part of the country. However, come Spring, you can do some great landscape shots of the "desolate" type.

But do get down to the Suffolk coast, some of the best parts of East Anglia to be found there. Couple of great bird reserves, nice sea side villages (north of Ipswich) and I see you have already found Framlingham. Orford Ness is a great place to spend a day with the camera.

Ah the memories..... :)

Cheers

Ian

[Canuck]

iwatkins wrote:
Canuck wrote:
Yes I am, Mildenhall. Have you been on either RAF Mildenhall, or RAF Lakenheath? What did you do over this neck of the flat woods? I think you can definitely understand why I'm not struck on the fens as opposed to the rest of England.

Hi Canuck,

Been on both. I used to work as a meteorological observer for the Met Office (UK version of your National Weather Service). I worked for a few years at RAF Honington and then later at RAF Wattisham (Suffolk) for four years.

While at Wattisham I was "attached" to RAF Lakenheath for two months. Basically as a skills transfer role. I went there and learnt all their weather secrets. And then afterwards their guys came to us and we taught them ours. Mainly for their benefit as fog and low cloud off the North Sea is much different from the kind of weather their meteorologists and their customers (pilots) there were used to in the USA. They were flying F15s and F111 at Lakenheath at the time. The PX had some great bargains, but as a non USA Forces type I wasn't eligable to shop there. :(

Is there still a guy on the main gate that salutes you as you drive in and out ? Made me smile everyday :)

I hear you on the Fens though. Not the most exciting part of the country. However, come Spring, you can do some great landscape shots of the "desolate" type.

But do get down to the Suffolk coast, some of the best parts of East Anglia to be found there. Couple of great bird reserves, nice sea side villages (north of Ipswich) and I see you have already found Framlingham. Orford Ness is a great place to spend a day with the camera.

Ah the memories..... :)

Cheers

Ian


Ian,
It's a small world indeed. I was over in Orford Ness the day I went with one of my British friends to Framlingham/Orford Castles. That was some time ago, like better than a year. He was stationed at RAF Marham at the time, and I was at RAF Mildenhall and still am. I'm going to wait for the weather to improve before I venture out hat that way again. Hopefully by then I'll have the Canon 24-70mm F2.8 L lens. I'm looking to use that one for the first time somewhere other than Wales and England. The 120-300 Sigma first saw action in Wales; the 16-35 Canon in Ely, Cambs, England. It would be interesting if someone asked, later on, if you know what I mean.

Yes I'm very familliar with the Fen Fog as I call it and this bit I've seen only here which I call tunnel fog. It hangs about 6 ft off the ground and thick as pea soup and looks as if you're going thru a tunnel. I recon you know what I'm talking about. Only in England...or should I say the Fens? I've never seen fog like we get here. It is something to be reconed with!

Someone to salute you on the gate of RAFL? That's odd, we only salute officers. I'm enlisted and never got saluted, other than in jest. That's another story altogether.

Wow, flying F-111s, that was a few years ago (lol). I don't know the history of the 48th FW, but I recon it was in the early 90s or before. BTW, are you still in this general area (Norflok/Suffok/Cambs)?

[iwatkins]

Canuck wrote:
Wow, flying F-111s, that was a few years ago (lol). I don't know the history of the 48th FW, but I recon it was in the early 90s or before. BTW, are you still in this general area (Norflok/Suffok/Cambs)?

Hi Canuck,

I know exactly what you mean about tunnel fog :)

F111s, yeah, I was in the region between 1988 and 1995. The F111s left before I did.

No, I'm over in Worcestershire now near the Herefordshire border. Have hills over here. :)

Cheers

Ian

[PaulB]

Canuck,
If you would like a tour guide for York send me a message via the forum mail.

All the best.

[Canuck]

PaulB wrote:
Canuck,
If you would like a tour guide for York send me a message via the forum mail.

All the best.

Most definitely, I'd be interested hopefully you have an e-mail awaiting!