Import to Netbook without PP S/W Onboard

Preface: think, "vacation away from home system and PP software."

I plan to use a netbook in the field to do my RAW/JPG imports from CF. The netbook will be a blank Win7 with no post-processing software loaded on it. I'll do the import to the local drive and then make backup copies to external USB drives using old fashioned drag/drop copying.

What sort of "import" software should I use? I would like something that is capable of renumbering and renaming with a prefix/suffix (if desired), perhaps be able to create different subdirectories per day (such as how LR can do it), etc. Basically, I'd like to get software that can do something like what LR does but without having to load and activate another copy of LR on the netbook. I don't mind paying for something if the price is reasonable (i.e. less than a fully functional LR).

I remember that Nikon ships something like this with my old D40x. Is there something that can do basic renaming and organization out there?

Someone recommended Picasa but I'm not sure if that's OK or not.

Picasa can do it & I'm pretty sure Faststone Image Viewer can too & both are free.

Image Ingester or Downloader Pro.

If you also want a quick viewer, get Photo Mechanic.

my vote goes to Downloader Pro as well.
Ive been using it for a few years now and use it to import all my photos (and videos as well).
Its been one of the most useful apps ive ever had.
I took my netbook to Florida in Feb and although i used Picasa3 to do quick edits and uploads i used Downloader Pro to get all the RAW shots on to the netbook. It will create folders on the fly if it needs them, and name and date the files as it copies them.
when i got back to the UK it was just a matter of copying the folders across to my PC.

EDIT: I also have Faststone installed and its very quick at opening the RAW files for viewing. Only reason i had Picasa was for the uploading side of it.

I think downloader pro looks pretty good. It does one thing and it appears to do that one thing well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

If you have a decent screen resolution netbook, just use DPP+the rest of the canon software. It'll do exactly what you want it to.

basroil wrote in post #8966136
If you have a decent screen resolution netbook, just use DPP+the rest of the canon software. It'll do exactly what you want it to.

While you are right about having a decent resoluteness a lot of Netbooks dont and DPP wont install on them (without a hack) and you end up having to scroll around the screen. Not ideal.

How soon and how long are you going? The Lightroom 3 beta is free until March 2010. Then you get what you want and pay nothing.

dave_bass5 wrote in post #8966184
While you are right about having a decent resoluteness a lot of Netbooks dont and DPP wont install on them (without a hack) and you end up having to scroll around the screen. Not ideal.

Most netbooks noadays have a high enough resolution option, or you can choose a higher resolution version when you buy (dell and hp mini both have a 1366x768 screen option, the hp mini 311 only comes with it too (and ION graphics to boot))

basroil wrote in post #8966608
Most netbooks noadays have a high enough resolution option, or you can choose a higher resolution version when you buy (dell and hp mini both have a 1366x768 screen option, the hp mini 311 only comes with it too (and ION graphics to boot))

Mine doesnt

dave_bass5 wrote in post #8966653
Mine doesnt

But OP didn't specify if he did explicitly. Hell, from the sound of things, he hasn't actually bought a netbook yet anyway. If you're willing to spend money on software, why not spend it on a better screen first?

I use just the the canon memory card utility on my EEEPC with a WD usb drive. It works fine and will do what you need. I didnt install all the rest of the software that came with the camera.

SF

basroil wrote in post #8966675
But OP didn't specify if he did explicitly. Hell, from the sound of things, he hasn't actually bought a netbook yet anyway. If you're willing to spend money on software, why not spend it on a better screen first?

LOl, nope he didnt but i pointed out that you cant load DPP on all netbooks. And mine is one of them. You said most are capable these days but i only know 5 people with netbooks and none of them can run DPP.
Its was just something the OP needs to be aware off.

And the OP was asking about software to import and rename his shots, not to PP them.
For that, LR3b, downloader pro and a good few others will do the trick. Why spend more on getting a bigger Netbook just to run free software?

Plug in CF into a reader. Use Windows Explorer to open CF, open folder with RAW files. Windows Copy, Paste. Hard!

I have LR. I'm not interested in all of the heavyweight baggage it has. It's a netbook, after all. I want something lightweight that can import and organize while I'm away from my main system. Also, LR has a very heavy database that must stay in sync and does not seem to tolerate missing files very well, but that's the topic of another conversation.

Snowshooters wrote in post #8966330
How soon and how long are you going? The Lightroom 3 beta is free until March 2010. Then you get what you want and pay nothing.