Is Canon bundled ZoomBrowser any good?

[digimonkey]

I use BreezeBrowser to rename my photos, and Windows Explorer folder system to organize them. Ive tried different software in the past, but never was happy with them.

I dont like to install bundled software because its bloated most of the time, and doesnt work very well. Im curious if anyone here uses ZoomBrowser and likes it? Does it install a bunch of bloat onto your system, or is it faily small?

[bndaidbob]

i only use it for the photo stich aspect of the program and to down load movies I've shot from my S2IS. it works ok for those .

[dhbailey]

It's hard to determine how much is bloat and how much is essential software. Much of the "bloat" issue depends on how many aspects of the program you want to use. If you only want to use it to rename your photos and folders, there would be no need to switch from BreezeBrowser.

If you want to use ZoomBrowser for its other capabilities, then only you can determine if it's good for what you want to do.

With the ease of installing and removing software these days, my advice to you is to install it and see if it does what you want. If so, keep it. If not, remove it.

I measure bloat for subesquent versions of programs I use by how much A)larger and B)slower the subsequent version is when compared to how much improvement and additional features it adds.

Just because a program is large on the hard-disk doesn't mean it's bloated, if all that code is useful to obtain the results you want. And just because a program has a fairly small footprint on your hard-disk doesn't mean it's any more efficient or capable.

[sjprg]

It does a very good job and quite a few people actually prefer it. It is also necessary to have it in conjuction with the file utility in order to tether the camera to the laptop and also to edit the camera's internal settings with the FU. Don't lose your disk! you may need it someday.

[Wilt]

It does a very good job and quite a few people actually prefer it. It is also necessary to have it in conjuction with the file utility in order to tether the camera to the laptop and also to edit the camera's internal settings with the FU. Don't lose your disk! you may need it someday.

Actually you do NOT have to use the camera on a cable to use Zoombrowser bring in images with its file utility! While I have Rawshooter Premium as my RAW convertor, and I use Paintshop Pro X for many of its features (like redeye removal, noise removal, horizon straightening, etc.) I still use Zoombrowser for quickly setting up slideshows on my PC and doing initial viewing of images uploaded from the CF card.

[Jon]

It does a very good job and quite a few people actually prefer it. It is also necessary to have it in conjuction with the file utility in order to tether the camera to the laptop and also to edit the camera's internal settings with the FU. Don't lose your disk! you may need it someday.

Actually you do NOT have to use the camera on a cable to use Zoombrowser bring in images with its file utility! While I have Rawshooter Premium as my RAW convertor, and I use Paintshop Pro X for many of its features (like redeye removal, noise removal, horizon straightening, etc.) I still use Zoombrowser for quickly setting up slideshows on my PC and doing initial viewing of images uploaded from the CF card.What's being referred to is the Remote Capture function, not downloading. Neither BB, RSP nor PSP will do this. However you can buy another program to do that if you don't want to use the one that came with the camera.

[brantfordbandit]

i use to do side by side comparisons when bracket shooting, it comes in really handy.

[Transit]

I really didn't like its cluttered interface with toolbars that can't be turned off.
I have found FastStone image viewer to be excellent for full screen viewing. One click zooming is excellent with no crappy little navigation window opening like ZB.
Shooting info and toolbars that work with mouse hover on screen margin are great.

www.FastStone.org

Pete

[KSpector]

I just got an A540 and played around with ZoomBrowser. I like some features, but I cannot figure out how to change the size of the printed picture when sending it to my printer.

Anyone offer some help???

[Wilt]

I just got an A540 and played around with ZoomBrowser. I like some features, but I cannot figure out how to change the size of the printed picture when sending it to my printer.

Anyone offer some help???

What version ZoomBrowser? Printing different size prints within ZoomBrowser is pretty simple, with no thoughts about PPI or DPI or anything other thant the print size you want!

ZoomBrowser 5.2 workflow:
Print, Layout print; Open layout print;
choose button for Fixed Photo Size Print;
choose paper size and orientation;
choose photo size desired.

[KSpector]

I just upgraded from their website to version 5.7.

I was even on the phone with Canon tech support and he could not figure it out. Can you help?

[Wilt]

Version 5.7 is just like the version 5.2 I wrote about!

[Crimson2]

I really didn't like its cluttered interface with toolbars that can't be turned off.
I have found FastStone image viewer to be excellent for full screen viewing. One click zooming is excellent with no crappy little navigation window opening like ZB.
Shooting info and toolbars that work with mouse hover on screen margin are great.

www.FastStone.org (http://www.FastStone.org)

Pete


Thanks for the link to FastStone. I've downloaded it and wow, am I impressed!!!!!!!

[cosworth]

Simply put my zoombroswer shows my pictures teh sharpest on my WUXGA display. If I'd rate it on how much zoombrowser has helped me sell, I'd have paid well over $100 for it.

[283CID]

I like my version 5.6.0.27 very much. It is a great improvement over what came with the G-Series camera. 'Don't see what there is to Not Like ...

[tblount70]

I'm the weak and lazy digicam user. My camera's purpose is to let me take many, many pictures with as little effort as possible. Point and shoot only with almost no monkeying around with camera settings.

Having said that, I do like Zoom Browser. It's a fairly simple all-in-one tool. I use the download, browse, print, edit, and export features. It's well supported and continues to be upgraded - I've had mine since 2002 and I've installed three updates over the years with noticeable improvements.

The bad? It's a little slow because I've got 5000 pics in thirty or forty subdirectories. I don't like the fact that the prints are very large file sizes. I wish it had a smoother redeye correction feature, but then again I'm running 4.6 and obviously it's time for an update.

tblount70

[283CID]

Know the feeling. Our Image Library is a little over 13 GB, and 13000 jpgs. The versions that came later... such as my wife's S2 and my S3 use a Non-DataBase type of ZB. A little hard to describe, but essentially, our G-1 ZB [and likely yours, from the year you talk about] was a program INTO WHICH

[283CID]

Hmmm... I see that 'post' didn't complete. Makes little sense, eh? The guts of the matter is that the S series ZB is a program that browses the whole computer... It has no data base. We *do* use a folder called Main Library, just for convenience, but could just as easily browse and apply 'ZoomBrowser' stuff to JPGs in... My Documents. So, there is no 'lag time' when opening the program. When I use my G-1... [and I do]... I use the card reader on the front of my computer to unload the memory...into the Main Library. {The G-1 has a nifty little 'remote' that permits me to set the camera on a tripod..say around the Christmas Tree area, and using the remote, I can take as many pictures as I like, from 'sitting there'. Unfortunately the "S" doesn't do that. The "S" will allow me to have up to 30 seconds to 'get in the picture'... and will then shoot up to 10 JPGs. Not a bad feature, but NOT as good as the G-1}

[Jon]

For the record, Canon doesn't make different versions of ZB for the different cameras. All Canon cameras are upward compatible (assuming the correct drivers) with any version of Zoom Browser later than the one that shipped with them, and all Canon cameras introduced at approximately the same time will include the same version of software. Remote Capture with the current version of Zoom Browser allows you to set an interval of up to 60 min. This can be used to simulate a longer delay than the 30 sec. max for Timer mode.

[283CID]

Well... far be it for me to sound like an authority, BUT...Our G-1's came with 'a' version of Z/B...with the Beloved PINTHEA database. A newer version was 'downloadable'...and we tried it; not for us. My daughter has a A80 with yet a different version. Then my wife has her S2 whose version number and operation is different from my S3.

Now... if that isn't different versions of Z/B.............????

[Jon]

They're differnt versions, but they're not specific to 'a' camera. The A70, A75 and A80, and any S or SD models released at that time, all had the same version of ZB. The S2 and S3 also released at different times, so had dfferent versions bundled with them. But none were exclusively for one camera. You can use any of your cameras with the version bundled with the newest camera, the S3, or you can go to Canon's support site and download version 5.7, which ships with the A630, A640, A710, G7,SD90, . . .

[283CID]

Likely so...once the files are in the computer. The Camera/Computer cord is very different ... the G model and the S models. I sure do like this S3 version, though. Between that and PE2... I can't imagine what a guy could NOT do.... [PE2 comes as free-ware with a lot of things.... a Canon scanner and an Epson scanner in this house]

[Jon]

The cord's practically irrelevant. ZB will behave the same with a card reader or a camera. My D60 uses a Canon-proprietary USB cable, but they've since come to their senses and now use standard mini-5 USB connectors across the board (with additional standard FireWire for the 1D series). The D60 works just as well with the current version of ZB as any of my other Canons. The only thing I actually lost with the newer versions is support for older JPEG formats (and I do mean "old").

[283CID]

Irrelevant? We find the cords to be very handy. Both computers have the camera cords semi-permanently installed. For my wife, the cord and associated UI permit her to automatically download, just by plugging in. With my S3 it is the same, plus emptying the memory when done. AND much less wear and tear on those tiny SD socket pins inside the hole.

Again, I wouldn't argue with anyone's satisfactory routine......

[Jon]

Irrelevant to the version of Zoom Browser. The same cord will work with any version of ZB. It's strictly a hardware issue; they're all USB but some use one connector and others use another at the camera end. But wear and tear on card contacts isn't a significant issue; if you have very big files, or if you fill a large card, downloading from a card reader will be significantly faster, as well as reducing the risk of snagging the cable and sending the camera flying, or risking the batteries running flat while you're connected to the computer, which has been known to corrupt the card.

[283CID]

I guess it's a matter of Different Strokes, etc... I had a career in Electronics and when I see the tiny little contacts on memory 'cards'... and think of shoving in and out the many-tiny-pin connectors... I get nervous! I *have* dressed our cables in such a manner that snaggable loops are not an issue. 'Was there life before cable ties?'

[Jon]

Having been sliding PC Cards and CF cards out of computers, cameras, and whatnot for the past (mumble) years as a computer person without damage, I'm a little more confident than you are about the quality of design of your typical removable media and corresponding slots. My concerns about SD cards are more that they're too small to handle comfortably, especially if conditions require gloves.

[283CID]

Good shot, Jon... I like a man with solder flux under his fingernails! 'Tune for maximum smoke'... AND... thanks for putting up with me!