Photoshop Question and Sensor cleaning 5D

[ed_sherman]

Hi guys,

Just back from my 'sabbatical' thru Asia. Read Bruce Fraser's "Camera Raw" book- excellent and kicking

myself for all the 'missed opportunities" and not shooting RAW sooner. Great tip to read! Oh well, you

got to learn sometime.

Bruce's book is from 2005 and basically he suggests using the combination of Camera Raw, Bridge and

then Photoshop for the 'hero shots'.

Looks like it costs $600 for Photoshop CS2 in the few places I looked. Any suggestions on if there are

better deals out there, like educational discounts (got 5 kids!) etc.

One thing Bruce does not address for novices like me are if you have Apple Mac's and use iPhoto for all

the jpeg stuff (I have nearly 10,000 photos) what is the most eloquent/ easy way to migrate my library

to the Adobe Camera Raw/ Bridge, photoshop route. Can my jpeg stuff be there as well? Thankfully I

took my Powerbook laptop with me and the 75gb hard disc is almost full! I am considering purchasing

the new MacPro and try to set this up right. Any suggestions on where to look for Apple/ Adobe

suggestions and hardware configuration much appreciated. Bruce's book is nearly 18 months dated and

a lot has changed I suspect. If anyone knows his email I would gladly send him a message. I know this

is a forum for EOS but since I am learning that editing is where 'the real fun' starts and suggestions on

similar forums/ info greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Ed

 

PS Since I swapped lens an awful lot these past 7 weeks (thru China, Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia) I was

wondering about suggestions on cleaning the sensor. I have something I think only on the lens screen

(black dot) however I cannot see it on photos (thankfully) as I shot some white walls expecting to see

the offending black dot but it was not there. I purchased from B+H their recommended sensor cleaner

(battery operated) but have never used it and also read that cleaning sensor on 5D is probably best left

to Canon professionals. Naturally there is no service center here in Geneva, Switzerland. Would you

recommend NOT trying to clean sensor generally by novices?

 

In Japan someone with a 5D also Japanese asked me to take some photos of him and I really liked his

focusing screen with the grid. Any drawbacks in swapping for this type of focusing screen. Sure would

help me with alignment issues.

 

PPS Lowepro Computrekker AW feedback. It is VERY VERY hot to wear in climates where I was (100F)

and I was dying carrying this around (30lbs plus ) since the back does not breath. Is this one of the

reasons pro's use Billingham over the shoulder bags so their back is not permanently drenched? Of

course then no place for the laptop. Otherwise just squeeked thru London Heathrow today as the bag is

too big for British Airways given the terror threats, however my laptop and camera's all are in perfect

order.

[ahockley]

Regarding sensor cleaning, I'm a big fan of the Copper Hill method. I wrote about it on my blog here: <a href="http://www.dogcaught.com/2005/11/14/eos-300d-cleaning-my-sensor/">http://www.dogcaught.com/2005/11/14/eos-300d-cleaning-my-sensor/</a>

[trevytrev]

I am pretty sure that if you had a prior version of Photoshop you can upgrade for less than the full amount. I had photoshop elements and was able to just recently upgrade to CS2 for $300 to the full version but that deal was only going on for certain photoshop version owners and only until August 31st. As for the sensor cleaning I second the Copperhill method. I have only used the brush method with great results but I did purchase the wet method so I have it when the time comes where the brush will not get the sensor clean. Good Luck! Trevy!

[wilvoeka]

Adobe Educational versions are avalable for about $299.00, but Adobe requires a copy of a Student ID card be provided when purchased.( I think it must be from an acredited college to be accepted}

 

Now one knows for sure, but alot of people believe that when PS CS3 comes out in the fall ACR and Bridge will be replaced with Lightroom, which you can download for free at Adobe.com

 

Basicly Lightroom is the combination of 3 programs Adobe Camera Raw, RawShooter(Since adobe has purchased pixmantic the maker of RawShooter) and Bridge.

 

Lightroom is great, it allows you to do all your processing in one place. Batch rename and process, Raw processing, ranking basicly everything the 3 seperate program could do are now in one.

 

Also. Since you are going to be working with Raw and 12MP files I would recommend you get the NEW Mac Pro workstation unless you just dont have the space for a workstation.

 

Be aware though that if you buy any of the intel macs None of the Adobe products will run on them without the use of an emulator until CS3 is released.

[alexandru_petrescu]

Sensor cleaning, cleaning the sensor, clean sensor, sensor clean:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00HZHW

[jim_simon3]

You don't have to migrate the files to Bridge. Bridge doesn't require that the files be in a certain folder. When you open bridge you just select the folder with your pictures (jpegs, tiffs, Raw etc.) Then the folder is displayed and you can futz with them all you want while leaving them in that folder.

 

I think that the problem with the educational discount is trying to upgrade in later years. You should investigate that angle before getting the educational version under a student's name. Also despite the lure of the PS CSII it might be perfectly all you need to get Elements or wait for Lightroom. I understand that Elements III has ACR.

[wilvoeka]

Student versions are full complete products that can be updated as any other. But must be done under the same name.

[damian_tinsley]

PS CS2 - you could try eBay...

 

You could get lucky, or lose your $15...

 

I'm NOT recommending anything however - it's just an idea

[wilvoeka]

Software on eBay, Bad idea. Besides bootlegs, Adobes licensing EUA that you must accept when you install the products prohibits resale once the product has been installed.

 

So if the deal is cheap(below $200) it is most likely Pirated or Used both of which may not authenticate.

[KenPapai]

You get some bad answers above. There is NO TALK of CS3 coming out the Fall. People make stuff up. The best bet is April 2007 for a full new version -- PS ver. 10 -- which will be "PS CS3".

 

Shooting a white wall won't reveal dust on your sensor unless you stop down the lens, chose f/11 or smaller or f/22 if you want to see ALL the dust spots. IMO the best cleaning device is the highly regarded Visible Dust Brush but it sounds like you couldn't afford it if you're so worried about PS's high price.

[wilvoeka]

I meant to say SPRING, but I was also thinking of Lightroom which is suppose to be a full release POSSIBLY in the fall.

[michael_mays]

Just bought a MacBook from apple refurbished site. Installed Photoshop works fine no

emulator that i know of and it is and Intel Mac. Paid 1099.00 running at 2ghz with 512 ram

I did think that the 13 inch screen might be to small but i mostly use it for in field work

downloading cards and discarding the pics that i don't want. 60 Gig hard dirve which is

plenty... i don't store anything on it i write dvd's and it fast. i have purchased 2gig of ram but

have not yet installed it....I belive this was a good choice for field work...

Good Luck

 

Mike

[wilvoeka]

The new OS X for the Intel Macs has Rosetta which is an emulator to run programs from the previous version of OS X. If you are working with files smaller than 30mb you probably wont notice any differance.

 

I currently dont own a Mac so I cant say how much of a performance differance there is. But alot of professional photographers and graphics professionals have said that there is a differance with larger files.