20d software - what do i need?

i just bought a used 20d, and it didn't come with any software. i checked

canon's website, and there are several downloads, and i don't know which ones i

need. there are images on my cf card, but when i connect the camera to my

computer, it's saying there are no images on my camera. i don't know if this

has anything to do with the fact that i shot raw. i know this is a newbie

question, but if someone can help, i'd really appreciate it. i am so in the

dark!

If you want to use Canon's editing software, you can, otherwise you can do much better (in my opinion) with PhotoShop, Paint Shop Pro, or other software that handles RAW. If you plan on connecting the camera to the computer, I believe you need to install a few files for the computer to full recognize it. But a better solution to get images off the CF's is a card reader. It's faster than the camera hookup, etc and will save you tons of time.

 

How many images are on the card? And what happens when you try to see them on the computer? Is the card recognized?

thanks bob, that's what i need to know - what files do i need to have for my computer to recognize it. because right now, it is showing that the camera is connected, but says that it has no images. i don't care about the canon editing software, because i have cs2. it has 105 images on it. i do plan to get a card reader, but for now, i'm just starting out, so i just wanted to play around a bit. but it's hard to play when i can't get my images onto my computer! :(

Hi Greta, I have a 20D and never use the Canon software. I do think it's good advice to buy a card reader. This will also free up your camera as you copy your images and if you ever need to apply a firmware update you'll need a card reader for that too. I think Wal-Mart has them for around $25-$30 if you're in the states. I suspect you'll be able to see -and make copies of - your photos just fine with one. Good luck!

okay, ya'll convinced me, i'm going to walmart for a card reader tomorrow. thanks!

However you might wanta insert your name as camera owner into the EXIF data. For that you

need Canon Camera Window or EOS Utility. Also Remote Capture is nice for studio shoots.

 

If you install any Canon camera software on your computer any of the downloads will install

or update. It need not be off the 20D disk.

From what I understand, the Canon download stuff is all upgrade software. As Puppy Face said, you'll have to have some regular Canon software previously installed for them to work.

 

I don't think you have to install any of it for the computer to recognize the camera though. Windows Explorer (or that Finder thingy if Mac) should be able to find the files and move/copy them directly via the USB cable. But I believe CS2 won't recognize 20D RAW files as image files unless you download the RAW updates from Adobe. I might be wrong on this though, as I don't use CS2.

There are mixed views about the Canon software. Many people, myself included, make use of it. Although using a card reader is certainly the quickest and easiest way to transfer files from the CF card to the PC, it has already been pointed out that you might wish to set your name in the camera (or, at least, remove any legacy identification) and that software will also support control of the camera from the PC - admittedly, a fairly specialist application. I use ZoomBrowser for the sole purpose of entering material into the comment field (irritatingly not supported in Digital Photo Professional), and some people like its raw converter, which apparently matches what the camera itself does. I like DPP for many reasons, and again there is a fan-club for the DPP raw converter, but DPP is not yet flexible enough to do everything I want for printing, for which I use PhotoShop Elements 5.

 

The software packages that you can download from the Canon site are not updaters in the sense of patches, rather they are full programs that do a check before installing to see that you already have some Canon software. The security is very lightweight and can apparently be bypassed easily - I'm not sure why Canon bother with it at all - and the easiest starting point is probably to lay your hands on a copy of ZoomBrowser, which comes with Canon printers as well as cameras, and build from there. Don't bother with EOS Viewer, by the way - ZB and DPP and the Utility cover everything you might want to do with it, and EVU is no longer supported.

All you really need is Adobe Photoshop Elements version 3 or newer. This will allow you to manipulate any 20d image including RAW. It's available for under $100. Version 5 is their latest. I'd try Amazon.com for version 3 - you can probably find a legal version for about $40. Updates are then free from Adobe web site once you have a legit version on your computer. As a previous poster said, the Canon web site offers free uploads also on all its software but you must have started with a valid version of a Canon software (Digital Photo Professional, Zoombrowser, etc.).