Canon 5D mkii and CS2

[philmac2]

Hi, everyone
I've recently purchased a 5D and feel like a daddy!
However, my initial excitement has waned somewhat with the grim realisation that I can't open the damn files in Photoshop CS2...........grrrrr! Wish I'd known previously!
Have had a play on the software that comes with the bundled 5D and must say I'm not too impressed - or, am I being hasty? Much prefer the feel of Photoshop.
What to do?
Is there a plug-in/upgrade to remedy my dilemma?
Do i need to go to CS4?
Any other alternatives out there?
Or, am I going to have to go back to bed for a very long time and imagine none of this happened??

Any advice, emails, pms would be gratefully received as I cant stay in bed for ever, ot with a one year old and a three year old to look after!

Yours with hope
Regards
phil

[Forseti]

Is there a plug-in/upgrade to remedy my dilemma? Sadly no, the last Camera Raw plug-in for CS2 did not include your camera. Obvious really as one came out much later than the other.

Have had a play on the software that comes with the bundled 5D and must say I'm not too impressed - or, am I being hasty? Um, I presume you are referring to DPP? Some people actually like it and prefer DPP's RAW rendering to that of Adobe's Camera Raw. I know what you mean though, one gets used to a certain way of working over a period of time and it's hard to change. You can of course achieve the same effect in ACR as DPP produces straight out of the bag so to speak, but it does take a bit of effort.

Do i need to go to CS4? If you're used to working with Photoshop then in the long term it might be worth while but no, it's not absolutely essential as concerns your current problem. It will of course be cheaper in the longer term to upgrade from CS2 to CS4 before CS5 is released as at this time the reduced cost of upgrades will no longer apply. Normal reduced price upgrades only go back 2 versions.

Any other alternatives out there? Yes, download the free DNG converter (now version 5.5), convert your camera's RAW files to the DNG format, which is Adobe's own RAW format, and these will now open in CS2. Within the standalone converter there is the option of embedding the original RAW files should you not wish to permanently lose your original RAW files but of course this will make the DNG file much larger.

DNG converter available from these pages>

Windows: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa...atform=Windows

Mac: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa...form=Macintosh

[philmac2]

Thanks, Forseti
A thoughtful and appreciated response (I do hope I'm not covering old ground here!)
I've had a look at the download page on adobe, clear as mud to me!! I find the technical side of things a grim necessity.
Apologies for my ignorance but at what stage would one convert the files to DNGs and how?
Is it possible to upgrade from CS2 to CS4 - this might be an easier and more seamless transition and ease work-flow for a dunderhead like me.

[Forseti]

You download the relevant DNG converter and install it as for any other programme e.g. by double clicking on it. It doesn't always extract to the desktop (which is where you really want it) and if this is the case, locate where it is, right-click on it and create a short cut on the desktop. Then whenever you want to run it just double-click on the icon and follow the menus, top to bottom. It's really very simple and a certainly a lot easier to perform than to explain. Stage one of the DNG converter is to locate where the RAW files are and away you go. So download the RAW files from your card, place them into a folder of your choice and start the process of conversion.

Here's the link for the CS2 to CS4 upgrade (assuming your in the UK of course) https://store5.adobe.com/cfusion/sto...ions/Photoshop

Unfortunate that your children are only 1 and 3 because there are also cheaper educational versions available that are fully functional. At that age though you can't claim (or fool) Adobe into thinking that your children are in full time education.

[austenb]

i had the same problem my self and have done what forseti has mentioned it does work although it did take me ages to work it out