Compatibility Problems with the Canon 5D Mark II

 

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I’ve been waiting a long time for the Canon 5D Mark II. A couple of years ago I decided to wait for an upgrade from the first camera in the 5D series reasoning that as they were taking a long time to produce one, they would eventually produce something special. When the Mark II was at last announced in September 2008 and I read the specs, I was glad I’d waited. It was released in November but I waited again hoping for the price to drop. Finally, I ordered the camera from Misco on the 24th of January and it arrived last Friday after having been on order for 6 weeks.

My initial delight quickly faded when I discovered that the RAW files could only be processed using the inadequate Digital Photo Professional software that comes with the camera and that I would need to upgrade to Lightroom 2 and/or Photoshop CS4 as Lightroom 1 did not recognise the CR2 files. Having spent a small fortune on equipment, materials, software, entry fees etc. recently, it was disappointing to be faced with yet more financial outlay. Instead of going out with my new toy, it sat rather dejectedly on the shelf while I wondered what to do. 

I tried a few things until I found a solution. I downloaded Adobe’s DNG converter which is free. I imported the RAW files by copying them from the flash card to my computer. Then I converted the copied files to DNG which I usually do anyway but within Lightroom. I found I could then import the DNG files into Lightroom I and into Photoshop CS3. It’s a bit more awkward that importing straight from the flashcard but hey…it works!

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