How do I edit RAW files from my EOS 5D Mark II in Adobe Photoshop CS 3?

EOS magazine: Adobe’s Photoshop CS3 doesn’t recognise the RAW (.CR2) files from the EOS 5D Mark II or 500D. The reason for this is that the latest releases of Adobe’s RAW file converter Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) only work with Photoshop CS4. This leaves you with three options:

1. Convert the RAW files from your EOS 5D Mark II using Digital Photo Professional into a TIFF file (16 bit is best) and edit it in Photoshop CS3.

2. Download Adobe’s Digital Negative (DNG) converter and use it to convert the .CR2 RAW file into Adobe’s Digital Negative (.dng) format, which can then be edited in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

3. Upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS4.

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I own an EOS 5D and I’m wondering whether I should upgrade to the EOS 5D Mark II? What do you think?

EOS magazine: The EOS 5D Mark II is an excellent camera, but then again so is the EOS 5D. We suspect the question that you should ask yourself is do you really need the extra features of the EOS 5D Mark II, such as the 21.1 megapixel sensor, the integrated sensor cleaning system, the high definition (HD) video, the enhanced LCD screen and so on? The EOS 5D Mark II is an expensive camera – maybe you’d be better off spending the money on some new lenses, a faster computer or  a trip to an exotic and photogenic location to take photos? (Or even keep it in the bank!) 

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Is Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software a better RAW converter than Adobe Camera RAW? Which do you recommend?

EOS magazine: Digital Photo Professional (DPP) comes free with Canon EOS cameras and is therefore much cheaper than buying Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom or Photoshop Elements. It’s a very capable RAW processor and we’re very happy with the images that we’ve processed with it. However, Adobe Camera RAW has a LOT more features than DPP, including much greater control over brightness and contrast and sophisticated tools for extracting shadow detail and interpolating images. Adobe Camera RAW is a much better product than DPP, but then again, it should be as it costs more. DPP isn’t designed to match the features of Adobe Camera RAW and it shouldn’t be expected to.

The bottom line? DPP is an excellent RAW processor and you’ll be very happy with the results. Adobe Camera RAW does a lot more but costs more. Perhaps someone out there has tested DPP against other RAW conversion programs and can tell us what they think?

As with many things, the answer lies with you. Test out a few RAW converter programs (you can download trial versions from the manufacturers’ websites) to see which one meets your budget and needs best.

You may be asking if DPP is better than other RAW converters because it’s made by Canon, who would naturally understand their own digital files extremely well. The answer to this is no, there’s no obvious quality advantage to be gained by using DPP.

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How often should I clean the sensor of my Canon EOS 350D?

EOS magazine: The Canon EOS 350D was the last model released by Canon without the integral cleaning system. Any dust that falls on the sensor has to be cleaned manually. Use the correct equipment and technique and the chances of scratching the sensor are very low. As to how often the camera’s sensor NEEDS cleaning – that’s up to you. How much dust gets on your sensor depends on a lot of things. Do you shoot in a dusty environment? Or change lenses a lot? When we change our cameras’ lenses we turn the camera off (the electrical currents running through the mirror and sensor can attract dust) and hold the body with the lens mount facing downwards to minimise the amount of dust that can enter. Another thing to watch out for are air blowers – they may not be as clean as you think inside. One squirt from a dirty blower will put dust onto your sensor rather than remove it!

There’s an easy way to see how much dust is on your sensor. Take a photo with your camera pointing at a blue sky, making sure the entire frame is filled by the sky and that you’re shooting at f22. Open the file in Photoshop and go to Image > Adjustments > Auto levels. You will now be able to see the dust on your sensor. The question is, can you see the dust on your regular photos? If you take a lot of photos with blue skies, for instance, you’ll probably see the dust quite clearly. But if your photos are very busy with lots of texture, you might not notice the dust at all. And if you can see dust in your photos, are you happy to clone it out with Photoshop (or whatever imaging software you use) or would you rather that it just wasn’t there? How important are the photos that you’re planning to take? Are they snapshots or are you planning to make large prints or send them to a magazine? All these things should be considered. 

In short, we’d say that your camera’s sensor needs cleaning when the dust spots that are visible in your photos become a nuisance and you’re spending a lot of time editing them out of your images.

We’re planning an article on sensor cleaning in an upcoming issue. We’ll give clear instructions on the best way to clean your camera’s sensor.

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I have a 450D with the 17-85mm IS USM kit lens. I’m thinking of buying a new telephoto lens and I’d like to know if the L series lenses are worth the extra money?

EOS magazine: Canon L series (the ‘L’ stands for Luxury) lenses are the best lenses that Canon make. A good telephoto lens for your camera would be a 70-200mm zoom and Canon make four L series lenses of that focal length: the 70-200mm f4 L USM, the 70-200mm f4 L IS USM, the 70-200 f2.8L USM and the 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM. What do all those letters stand for? USM = Ultrasonic Motor. Canon lenses fitted with an ultrasonic motor have a very quiet, virtually silent autofocus mechanism. IS = Image Stabilization. Lenses with Image Stabilization can generally be hand held at shutter speeds three to five stops lower than a lens without IS. This is very useful when handholding the camera in low light. 

Image stabilization pushes the price of the lens up and the answer to whether it’s worth the extra money depends on what type of shooting you do. If you’re shooting handheld portraits in low light a lot, then perhaps IS is for you. If landscapes are your thing, and you put the camera on a tripod to shoot when light levels get low, then you don’t need IS. 

The maximum aperture is another important factor. The f2.8 lenses give an extra stop of speed and a softer background when shooting wide open. They also cost (and weigh) substantially more, which is why Canon manufacture both f4 and f2.8 models, so that photographers who don’t need the f2.8 lens don’t have to pay out for features that they don’t require.

As for whether buying an L series lens itself is worth the extra money, in our opinion the answer is a definite yes. The lenses are strongly constructed, the autofocus is virtually instant and silent, and image quality, as one would expect, extremely high. It’s hard to describe how good an L series lens feels in the hand, and there’s a big danger that once you’ve used one, you’ll never want to buy a lesser quality lens again!

As ever, the final answer depends on your budget and needs. An L series lens won’t automatically improve your photography. It WILL give you a much better tool for taking photos. As someone once pointed out, quality is remembered long after price is forgotten.

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Why does the EOS 500D only have a 20 frame per second (fps) shooting speed in full High Definition (HD) mode (when the EOS 5D Mark II has 30fps)?

EOS magazine: We asked Canon this question and they replied that the reason for the 20 fps rate in the high definition movie recording mode of the EOS 500D is because of the sensor. Canon designs its sensors from scratch for the model in which they’ll be used. A sensor capable of recording at 30fps in 1080p would be much more expensive – and the 500D would no longer be a consumer model. We should point out that the 500D records at 30 fps at a resolution of 720p, which is the resolution used in high definition television broadcasting.

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