Warning - Zoombrowser EX 4.0x

[Dali]

As you may have noticed, you can download the zoombrowser 4.02 from http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/home.html

Do not do this.

I did and I just have to say it --- zoombrowser 4.02 sucks massively!

I get the feeling canon don't want you to see your pictures. It is not much space left for the pictures when all the WHITE is drawn on the sceen. Big bold frames around the photos, great space around the folders, Big juicy toolbarS...

So, when you finally find the photo you were looking for, you double click it and after a couple of seconds... it pops up in 20% zoom!!. To be able to get any details you will have to 1. try to get a hold of the lower left corner 2. resize the window 3. go to the drop down list and choose scale to fit.

And this you have to do for every photo...

In addtion to these "not so ergonomic issues" white background and mouse arm click-o-rama, It is s l o w.

The only reason for an upgrade is if you have experienced several painful database crashes with your zoombrowser 3.x.y in the past month.

If this is the only sw that can be used with the G3, I think any other camera will be better...

[pvdiamon]

I did a search on this board and found little about upgrading Zoombrowser. This warning is frightening. Does anyone else have experience with the upgrade before I make a decision on this? Thanks.

[marcel wouters]

Hello,
If you have a S45/G3 you need tu upgrade to 4.02 and in addition update to the latest library and FVU patch.
I upgrade and it's fully functional.
If you don't like the zoomb interface and you just want to go thru the image, i.e. no camera download or album print etc just use the FVU you will get a nice preview!

[rothers]

I agree fully, Zoombrowser 4 is disgusting. Having previously used v3 with a IXUS v1 I was appalled to see how bad v4 was when forced to upgrade for my IXUS v3.

It's so bad I don't use it anymore. I download the images using twain and then view with Canon's FileViewer Utility (off the supplied CD) which is much better.

[logger]

Are you guys sure that a g3 needs zb 4 has anyone tryed the earlier versions????
Thanks

[logger]

I found out that zoombrowser 2.4 works good with the pics from the g3 just use a card reader and you'll be fine.I have the g1 and I love zb 2.4 I really hate what they did to it.

[stevewmkan]

Does anyone have Zoom Browser 4.1?
I got this from S400 box. It has program error when I try to open the icon. My PC platform is Windows 2000 with installed service packs 1 & 2.

[PacAce]

stevewmkan wrote:
Does anyone have Zoom Browser 4.1?
I got this from S400 box. It has program error when I try to open the icon. My PC platform is Windows 2000 with installed service packs 1 & 2.
I'm using ZoomBrowser 4.1. It came with my 10D. I'm using it under both Windows 2000 Pro and Windows XP Pro and it's working like a champ. The RAW conversion with FileUtility for multiple files is a bit slow but other than that I don't have any complaints. But I have never had a previous version to compare with (other than the 4.0.1 version that came with the G3 which I really never got to use that much) so I can't say if its any better or worse than previous versions.

To perfectly honest, I don't use ZoomBrowser much at all. I just copy my CF card to my PC and use FileUtility to convert my RAW files to TIFF and then go straight into PhotoShop.

[stevewmkan]

PacAce,

Do you know how to download movie clip without ZoomBrowzer?

[PacAce]

stevewmkan wrote:
PacAce,

Do you know how to download movie clip without ZoomBrowzer?

stevewkan,

You can copy movie clips (avi files) directly from your compact flash card to your PC hard drive without going through ZoomBrowser by using a card reader attached via a USB or a firewire port.

For how cheap the card readers are, I highly recommend getting one. Copying files this way is a lot faster than trying to download it from the camera and could save one from ending up in the mental asylum after spending endless nights trying to figure out why the PC doesn't want to recognize one's camera anymore. :)

[Peter_Bennett]

I have posted this answer previously , in answer to a similar question.

" Well seems the same old story with troublesome Canon Software...... I use a G2 and a friend of mine is using an A20...we both upgraded to ZB4..... after a while the "same old" error messages reappeared.

Well I am using Windows 98 and my friend Windows XP.
We both deleted the Canon Browser and in installed Downloader v1.4 and Exifer Browser.
The only thing is that to convert RAW files, one must do this manually....but this is little price to pay for peace of mind in finding some Canon compatible software that is trouble free.

you can do a search for both these software proucts ....try Copernic or similar search programs.

Best of luck

Peter Bennett. "

[rkhndjr]

I have to agree. I had great luck with ZB 3.2 until it started crashing, became very unstable. But, vers. 4 is BAD. Try Picasa. It's free and does a good job for me. I've tried a dozen brower/viewers lately trying to get by without spending money, but it looks like that may not be possible. Right now, besides Picasa, I'm using Irfanview which I like, and it's free, also.

[jonnyquest]

I checked out Picasa's site, but it is not free. It's $29.95. Where did you get it free???

[stevewmkan]

You would pick trial version but it will expire after 15 days.

[alanrclarke]

I totally agree!

I didn't think 3.2 was great, but 4.0 is unbelieveably awful! How can a company like Canon produce software as bad as this!? Have software developers learned nothing in the last 20 years!?

The UI violates almost every rule of good design.

Of all companies, you would have thought that one whose whole business is based on imaging would have some knowledge of how the mind, the eye and the brain interact to process information.

This feels like the sort of result you get when you outsource development to a low wage country and jus mail then a functional spec (been there, done that). I wonder if that's what they did?

*** JUST DON'T INSTALL IT ***

[jlyons]

Same here!!

Had 3.2 from my G2, worked good, looked pretty good.
loaded 4.1 from my 10d...yuk!!!
reinstalled 3.2, but the camera interface does not recognize the 10d, that's dissapointing.
I figured as long as the twain interface was installed 3.2 should work for both cameras...nope.


JL

[Vman]

hey,

Does anyone know how I can download either the whole Zoombrowser EX program or a demo?
thanks,
Matt

[Sluvshison]

I am new to this so I hope I am doing it right. Well first of all after having to reformat my hard drive and reinstalling all of my software 2 times. I finally discovered the software that was causing my computer to crash. Alas Zoom Browser ex v4xxx. On my third attempt to recover my computer I just did a system install without formatting my hard drive. So the zoom browser folder is still on my computer but I know it will not work. So I dare not open it. Every time I would try to install it I would get this error at boot up. A required Dll file
C:\Windows\system\shlwapi.dll was not found. You must reinstall windows. My question is would it be safe for me to delete the canon folder without causing me to crash again? I have read a little on this forum and have found alternatives. Also how can I just install the twain driver for the camera? Or do I even have to if I am using alternatives.

[kb244]

Isnt there a Zoombrowser EX 5.* update on the canon support sites , for 4->5?