Digital Camera EOS 300D software

2006-05-18T02:00:00.000-07:00

Software

Canon provides both PC and Mac users with a comprehensive selection of image processing and viewing software. These are pretty much the same programs that we have seen with most Canon digital cameras over the past couple of years. Also included is a copy of Photoshop Elements , a $99 value and a good place for newcomers to image processing to start. But...

As good as Canon's camera's, lenses and digital technology generally are ( and regular readers know that I'm a long time Canon user ), Canon's RAW conversion software continues to be dreadful. It's created by the same mentality as designed Kodak's DCS Photodesk application, another RAW converter that has no regard for the user's time.

What's this all about? It has to do with RAW files. If you're new to this let me explain. Digital camera's generally can produce both JPG files and RAW files. JPG files are by definition compressed, and lossy . Lossy means that every time the file is saved or resaved it looses information. Also, a JPG file from a camera has been pre-processed. Parameters like White Balance, colour balance and sharpening have all been applied. If you shoot JPGs this means that you have to set the camera's White Balance when shooting or let the camera select it in "Auto" mode. You're then stuck with whatever the camera set.

If you let the camera shoot RAW, the file you end up with is exactly what the imaging chip recorded, with no in-camera processing. RAW means raw. Everything from linear conversion, Bayer interpolation, White Balance, colour balance and more is done afterward on your computer using RAW conversion software. Also, though the files are compressed they are losslessly compressed, and therefore no information is lost when the files are saved and reloaded.

Why not work exclusively in RAW you say? Because it takes extra time and work. You have to make decisions and need to adjust the files to the way that you want them to look. Some users prefer to be able to simply shoot and print. If that's you, fine, shoot JPGs and enjoy. But serious photographers will want to work in RAW mode and that's where Canon lets its users down.

The strength of digital image processing is that it's WSIWYG — What you see is what you get . If your monitor is properly profiled and calibrated, and so is your printer, ( much more on this is found elsewhere on this site ), then what you see on the screen should be essentially identical to what comes out of your printer. When working in Photoshop , for example, if you change an image's colours, brightness or contrast the changes happen instantly. Get it too look the way you want it to on-screen and Bob's your Uncle .

But with Canon's RAW conversion software the smallest change that you make to any of the required settings means that the computer has to recalculate the entire image to show you what it will look like. This means that making the critical image adjustments needed to prepare an image for RAW conversion can take far longer than it should. For the hobbyist with just a few files to process and with time to burn, no big deal — maybe. But for someone with a lot of images to process, or anyone trying to do exacting work, this can be exasperating to say the least.

Is there a solution? Yes, there is, but it isn't available from Canon.

In my opinion the best RAW image processing software available for any camera is Phase One's Capture One . Phase One is a hardware and software company with years of digital image processing experience because they are the manufacturer of some of the industry's most advanced (and expensive) medium format digital camera backs.

When Canon introduced its industry leading 1Ds in the Fall of 2002 Phase One introduced Capture One DSLR , a version of their image processing software that for the first time supported a camera or digital back other than their own. I tested it early on and was knocked out by its speed, features and functionality. It now supports not only the 1Ds but also the Canon 1D, 10D, D60, D30 , and Nikon D1x , D100, and will soon support the Canon 300D and Fuji S2 . The Mac version supports the Canon 1Ds and 1D, with 10D , 300D and D1x support on the way.

The only concern that I had was that the price was $499. Even so, I consider it a must have for anyone using one or more of these cameras, and its popularity with professional photographers has shown that others agree with my assessment.

In early 2003 Phase One introduced Capture One LE , a version that supports the Canon D30, D60 , 10D and Nikon D100 , with 300D support coming soon. At $99 its price is more appropriate for owners of these cameras.

Now, with Canon's introduction of the 300D Rebel we have Capture One Rebel — Phase One's version of their famous software designed specifically to support the Rebel (and only the Rebel) . In keeping with the aggressive pricing of the camera itself this software will have an introductory price of just $49. I have been working with a Beta version of this software and can tell you that it has essentially all of the functionality of its more expensive predecessors.

What is it that sets Capture One (C1) apart, and why should every Rebel owner download a test copy for evaluation? The answer lies in the concept of workflow . This is common digital image processing jargon that simply means the steps that we take when working with an image and the order in which we make them.

With C1 the efficient workflow begins with pointing the program to a directory containing some Rebel RAW files. The first thing that one sees is that a window with thumbnails appears almost instantly. Once these have loaded the program spends a few seconds per image processing them so that you can work efficiently. This all takes place in the background, and you can choose any thumbnail and click on it to start work right away.

You are then presented with a large detailed image that you can enlarge to 100% magnification instantly. You can also apply a full range of image processing controls and also instantly see what these changes will accomplish. When you're done you can process this image or a group of images and immediately turn your attention to adjusting others while the program does the RAW conversion in the background. If you like you can also work in batch mode on a number of images that require the same or even different processing parameters.

C1 Rebel will become available in late October and when it does I will have a more complete review and complete workflow suggestions.

(For those who are interested — what Capture One does, invisibly to you, is produce a high-res work file that's small enough to work on instantly, yet big enough to show you everything you need to know. When you apply a change to the image the program doesn't need to process a huge file, just the work file. When you are finished and want to move the file to Photoshop for further processing Capture One takes the charges that you made and applies them to the large file. What Canon's RAW processing software does is to apply charges to the full file every time, making it slow and inefficient.)

Other Image Processing Options

There is currently a plug-in for Photoshop called Camera RAW . It does a very fine job with most digital camera files, but does not currently support the Digital Rebel . The next generation of Photoshop (not Elements) will have Camera RAW capability built in and it's fair to assume that support for the Rebel will be included.

One of the long time RAW conversion programs for Canon cameras, Breezebrowser , already supports the Rebel . It is priced at $45.

While I'm on my soapbox, here's a word of unsolicited advise for Canon. Photographers have been telling you for years that your RAW conversion software is below par. Yet, you persist on having your customers go to other vendors to have their RAW processing software needs properly met. It's time that your programers in Japan recognize that they simply are not producing world-class software. With products like Capture One and Camera RAW we see how it should be done. Either match their capabilities (and preferably exceed them) or acquire a product that can do a proper job. Canon camera purchasers shouldn't have to buy extra cost third-party solutions to be able to work efficiently with your cameras.

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