Software question from noobie!

PoleStar

Sorry bout all the questions, hopefully one day I will be the one answering the questions!

Anyways nobody has told me to shut up yet so here goes!

I have a 400d which I just got and obviosuly it comes with the canon software for downloading, and organising.

Just wondering what most people here do. Do you guys download from camera with just the microsfot windows software and then edit in your third party software, photoshop etc, or is it best to use the camera software to download and catalogue. Or should I totally go independent and get a 3rd party software for catalogue purposes.

From what I can gather, the 3 steps seem to be (from camera to print)
1. Download from camera.
2. Catalogue/organise.
3. Process.

I just donwloaded GIMP so hopefully will jump headfirst into that!
Just wondering what you experienced guys do for steps 1 and 2.
3. PRocess.

5uspect

I'm using the Canon software to download and PS to process.
The canon software has its own organisation thingy where I just have to add a new folder name each time I save new shots.

Sometimes I use a card reader too.

Picassa may be a good place for cataloging, I'm happy to just keep my folders reasonably well organised with a clean up now and again with regular backups.

watsgone

I second Picasa,
Easy to use, fast and above all free

elven

I use a card reader with adobe device manager thingy, saves me having to go into all those folders and pull out the files...

Then it's into bridge to sort and rate (should be tagging too at this point) and pick out the ones I want to process.

Processing in photoshop CS3. Trying out lightroom again, but it's a bit too heavy handed for me, and I struggle having to apply changes to an entir image instead of being able to paint it in with a mask. There may be a good ocmpromise using both, if you have a big job with a load of shots to process, and try to keep the processingc onsistent too...

Calina

running Vista:

1) I use Windows to download from the camera and 2) I use Photoshop Elements or ACDSee to process. Me no likey Picasa at all. Or, in fact Lightroom (Oh I wanted to but frankly no, not nice).

sheesh

use the canon software to get it out of the camera also have a card reader. use the gimp or photoshop for processing.

when processing usually start off with levels hue and saturation and leave any sharpening to the end when i have saved it to the size I want it in.

Borderfox

Photoshop for everything..

Karoma

1. Download from camera - Canon util's usually.
2. Catalogue/organise - Bridge or Canon util's (If I can be arsed. I usually just import them directly in a folder with the date of subject and print a contact sheet for...)
3. Burn a copy- Nero. Before I touch any of the photographs, and saving incremental backups (Photoshop)
4. Process - if it's a minor RAW tweak - often the Canon editor, but the bulk of stuff is done with Photoshop.
(It all depends on how much I want to do, really and which applications I want to jump between (And which computer I am using.)

sineadw

Card reader, Bridge and Photoshop Never touch the canon stuff - it kept crashing on me. I finally got around to uninstalling it the other day.

Fajitas!

Card reader, Lightroom, Photoshop.

End up with 3 copies - The Raw, Tiff file with original raw conversion & modifications, and the high res Jpeg.

If lower res's are needed, Photoshop again.