Canon Updates DPP

[Mike Farley]

Raw conversion software supplied with cameras does not get a good press, deservedly so. Adobe had not yet released an update when I got my Olympus OMD E-M10, so I installed the Olympus Viewer software instead. I won't be doing that again.*

The honourable exception has always been Canon's DPP, which is a bit clunky but does a good job. Until now, other than adding support for new cameras, it has not changed much in recent years. That looks set to change and Canon has just announced a major upgrade which will be available from 26 June. There is also an update to EOS Utility coming out at the same time.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/06/16 ... =title_0_1

* Actually, that is not quite true. The Olympus Viewer software also installs a utility to update the camera's firmware and this cannot be added independently. When I have repaired my PC, I will put Olympus Viewer back, but will then immediately remove it.

[Paul Heester]

Thanks for posting this. I use DPP quite alot and have grown to like it over the years, although its somewhat clunky in its operation. Hopefully this update will improve things.

[davidc]

I wonder if they will allow you to download & use DPP & EOS Utility without having a prior version installed now? I seriously struggled to find a way to get these working after I'd lost the CDs that came with my 550D.

[Mike Farley]

I wonder if they will allow you to download & use DPP & EOS Utility without having a prior version installed now? I seriously struggled to find a way to get these working after I'd lost the CDs that came with my 550D.

Here you go, published on the useful and informative Northlight Images website a while back.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/arti ... tware.html

[davidc]

Yes that looks familiar with what I needed to do to get it to work. Then a few weeks later I got the 6D and a new disk

[Mike Farley]

Yes that looks familiar with what I needed to do to get it to work. Then a few weeks later I got the 6D and a new disk

One of the questions I will need to make over the next day or so is whether to reinstate DPP as I re-establish my PC. Being able to find a disk could be the deciding factor.

[Mike Farley]

DPP4 is now out, a bit earlier than originally anticipated. The main drawback is that there is only support for a limited range of cameras - EOS-1D X, EOS-1D C, EOS 5D Mark III and EOS 6D. Quite frankly, this is an odd decision by Canon. The users most likely to benefit from the new software are at the consumer end of the market, especially those who start out shooting JPEG only and want to experiment with Raw without necessarily making a commitment to a software purchase. Being able to say that an advanced Raw converter is in the box could have been a selling point for Canon, I would have thought. As it is, most people who buy the high end cameras which are supported probably already have their own favourite Raw converter and know how to get the look that they want.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/arti ... .html#dpp4

Some further comments on the Northlight Images rumours page. (Note for those who follow this link at a later date, the relevant entry is on 18 June 2014.)

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/came ... mours.html

[Mike Farley]

As an addendum to my previous post, one of the beneficial things about Canon has been the support it has given to its older cameras. The 7D was given a major firmware upgrade a couple of years ago and DPP has been updated regularly free of charge. Possibly Canon thinks that restricting DPP4 to its high end models will make me want to go out and buy one, whereas the message I am receiving is that Canon no longer cares about its existing customers.

Thom Hogan has written regularly about the strange marketing strategies of the Japanese manufacturers, Nikon in particular. As it presently stands, DPP4 looks like misplaced effort. Producing cameras which people want is the way to sell. Keith Cooper at Northlight Images would like a true successor to his seven year old 1Ds Mk III, a need which is not satisfied by the 1Dx. I would have bought a 5D Mk II had it been a better proposition when it was launched. By the time that the 5D Mk III came out, which is more like what the 5D Mk II should have been in my opinion, I had lost interest in acquiring a large full frame DSLR.

[davidc]

Does updating to DPP4 actually remove support for older cameras or just focus improvements on the newer ones?

edit: I see it actually has removed it, comedy

I think the solution here is to not upgrade it you don't have a modern camera and watch with popcorn while canon finds a way to explain this one! To me it smells like IT cockup.

[Mike Farley]

Does updating to DPP4 actually remove support for older cameras or just focus improvements on the newer ones?

edit: I see it actually has removed it, comedy

I think the solution here is to not upgrade it you don't have a modern camera and watch with popcorn while canon finds a way to explain this one! To me it smells like IT cockup.

The link to the Canon Australia website which Northlight Images referenced still seems to be there - http://support-au.canon.com.au/contents ... 72802.html.

Certainly older cameras not being compatible with DPP4 takes nothing away from them, but it does send out a confused message. As you say, the fun lies in seeing what Canon will do to wriggle out of this one. One of its options could be to try and do nothing, which has happened in the past, until the clamour from the Internet means that it has to act.