ZoomBrowser EX isn't working on Win10. Doesn't see the camera when connected via USB. Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

I have a PowerShot Pro90 IS from 2002.  It's 21 years old, fully functional, and still taking excellent images.  Thanks Canon!  Providing great products for decades.

Unfortunately, the software that came with the camera, ZoomBrowser EX (V. 2.6.0.11), works great on our old XP based computer.  That's right,,,I have an XP laptop up and running and this old software runs just fine on it.

I'd like to get an app (or a fix) that allows me to transfer images to my Windows 10 system directly from the camera.

Currently, I have to remove the data card and read it with my USB card reader accessory.  👎

I prefer NOT to take my card in and out of the camera every few shots for inspecting images.  Something about data connections and dust makes me nervous.  Moving images through a USB cable is a better (safer?) way to go.

I see that Canon has another app called ImageBrowser EX and I'm wondering if that software is compatible with Windows 10.

If so, how can I obtain a copy of ImageBrowser EX, and if it's not Win10 compatible, what are my options for transferring images from my camera via USB cable?

Thanks for any suggestions offered. 😀

Columbine flower - unprocessedColumbine flower - unprocessed JPEG

[Waddizzle]

I doubt that a Win10 [driver] for the camera exists.  Replacement batteries and memory cards are probably as rare as unicorns.  The camera was retired years ago.  It is now a part of the official Canon Camera Museum.

https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/dcc464.html 

I think it is time give serious consideration to a camera upgrade.

[Anonymous]

I just purchased a replacement battery pack from a vendor on Amazon and I don't need any more storage media, so once I can find an appropriate driver for Windows 10, I'll be good to go.

I've started thinking about an upgrade if I can't find a solution to this problem and I'm not sure Canon will be the brand because of their poor legacy product support. 

Cameras typically have a 10+ year life time before the hardware develops issues.  Mine is 21 years old and still functions as well as it did on day 1.

If Canon won't support the software beyond the warranty period (their stated policy), then a camera's useful life time will be limited to 1 or 2 years, or whenever Microsoft issues a new OS that the old drivers won't work on.

I can understand not supporting the hardware.  Parts can become difficult to find after production has ended for that particular product.  But software can be generated at any time and is not dependent on the production schedule.  Usually, the previous driver code can be easily modified to work in the new OS environment, so it's not like they have to start from zero to build a new driver.

This type of product life time support is a common method to drive sales.  It's called planned obsolescence.  It appears that Canon spends a lot of resources advancing the "technology" side of the hardware, but not so much on the software side.  That's fine for the professional photography crowd, they don't mind dropping $1000 for a new device because it's a business expense. 

But for us photography "enthusiasts", the cost of keeping up with the latest technological wonder is not an option.  We're going to keep our hardware going as long as possible.  Plus, I searched a lot of products before selecting this one to spend my hard earned cash on, so I really like this camera and don't want to switch to something else.

Surely, there's a TWAIN driver out there that will allow me to connect my camera to a Win10 computer.  I just need to find that file and get back to taking photos.

Thanks again for all your comments and time.  😀

[Anonymous]

"If Canon won't support the software beyond the warranty period (their stated policy), then a camera's useful life time will be limited to 1 or 2 years, or whenever Microsoft issues a new OS that the old drivers won't work on."

I don't believe that to be the case. Canon supports the software until end-of-life of the product and many times beyond.

If the operating system is upgraded, most hardware manufacturers, including Canon, only support the software for so long. It is not a Canon thing. You have a couple of choices: use your older computer with Windows XP on it (I have a couple that I use to run older software) or remove the memory card from the camera and use a card reader to transfer pictures to your computer. It may be time to upgrade the camera if these solutions do not appeal to you. If you go to another camera maker, you will eventually encounter the same problem.

I personally remove the memory card to transfer files to my computer. It is faster to transfer this way as a bonus. I hope that this is of some help to you.

 Edit: I found a link to Canon's Image Browser that you could try as a last resort. I understand that this program replaced Zoombrowser. 

https://hk.canon/en/support/0200390902 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the link to Canon Hong Kong.  Initially, I thought that getting a copy of ImageBrowser EX would be a solution (they usually include the drivers with the installation), but I didn't see any place to download the app.  After visiting the linked download page, there's a description of the software and a list of Windows OS's it was built for.  Unfortunately, Windows 10 was not a listed OS for that app.

Canon's latest software for connecting via USB is "Camera Window DC", which I downloaded and installed with no problems.  Unfortunately, when I start the app, the first thing it does is look for a connected camera and comes up with a message saying "Can't connect to camera".  I'm sure the driver is the missing link to this puzzle.

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@Anonymous wrote:

"If Canon won't support the software beyond the warranty period (their stated policy), then a camera's useful life time will be limited to 1 or 2 years, or whenever Microsoft issues a new OS that the old drivers won't work on."

I don't believe that to be the case. Canon supports the software until end-of-life of the product and many times beyond.

I'm not sure why you think that Canon supports their software until the camera's end-of-life.  My camera has not reached it's end-of-life (still 100% functional) and yet there is no software support to allow communication with modern computer systems.

You might be thinking about the end of the production cycle instead of the end-of-life of the camera.  If Canon equates the end of the production cycle with the end-of-life of the camera, then that would make sense, but their cameras often last much longer (decades) than the production cycles.

I called some local camera shops to see if they could offer any software support, but again, they recommended removing the storage media and reading it somewhere else.  I'm sorry, but that is not a 21st century solution to such a simple task.

They also agreed that Canon's long term support for it's products was lacking and felt that other manufacturers would have a similar support stance.

I'm slowly running out of options for a USB connection solution for this camera.  ☹️ 

Is this camera destined for the recycle bin?  I hope not.  Especially because of such a simple solution (a generic TWAIN driver) for a common task associated with digital cameras.

If planned obsolescence is the sales strategy for Canon and other brands, then I'll probably use my iPhone instead of a DSLR.  The smartphone cameras are good enough these days to take decent images.  I can use Photoshop to process the images in order to bring out desired characteristics.  Moving data from my iPhone to my computer is as easy as plugging the USB data transfer cable into any USB port and opening Windows Exploder before dragging and dropping.

That's the way we do it in 2023.  Removing the storage media to transfer data is an ancient technique in today's connected environment.  An even better solution is WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity (if you can afford it).

Based on my recent experience with this issue, I'm thinking that DSLR's are for the professional market and not us hobbyists or photography "enthusiasts" anymore.

Thanks again for all your thoughtful comments and time.

[Anonymous]

Why not try the download that I referenced. It can't hurt. Also, the manufacturer determines end of life for support, not how long the camera continues to function. Microsoft determines end of life for their software also. All manufacturers and OS providers are like this. It is not unique to Canon.

[normadel]

Wow, Photogeek1. When do you envision ANY product manufacturer reaching a point of ending support? Who do you know that provides support to your long-term liking? Car makers have a point beyond which they do not assure parts availability. Electronics makers the same. Everyone has limits.

What did your camera cost 21 years ago? Divide that by 21. You have gotten your money's worth many times over.

Face the music. Move your memory card back & forth, or give it up and get a new(er) camera, for goodness sake!

[Anonymous]

The product description for ImageBrowser EX specifically states which OS's it was built for.  The most current OS being Windows Vista.  That was many versions of Windows back in time.  It's unlikely any incorporated camera drivers with that app will work with Win10.  As a last resort, I might try installing ImageBrowser EX just to make sure I've exhausted all my options.

I think we're all familiar with how long Microsoft will support their OS's after the release date.  I've been able to jump 3 or 4 versions of Windows at a time when I upgrade (about every 10 years).  My previous computer was a Vista machine.  It was fine until I needed a new app that wouldn't run on Vista.  After that I moved into Win10 and have resisted Win11 because of backward compatibility issues with our hardware.

I suppose the legacy product support issue (planned obsolescence) is not unique to Canon based on discussions with local photography shop folks and yourself.  It's too bad because the cost of the new, comparable hardware is out of range for many hobbyists.  I can't justify buying a new camera every few years just because of software connectivity issues.  The iPhone doesn't have these kinds of issues.

Again, I feel like these Canon DSLR products are for professionals.  Not the hobbyist crowd who wants to make their hardware usable for decades.  Some film cameras are 30+ years old and still function at near specification levels, but the digital cameras don't survive the test of time (unless the software is routinely updated).

C'mon Canon!  Can't you manufacture a high quality digital SLR that's usable and supported for decades.  I can't get behind a company that purposely produces high cost ($$$$) products with planned obsolescence in mind.  I can find less expensive options for photography as a hobby.

BTW, I was under the impression that this forum is watched by Canon's Technical Support group, but so far nobody from Canon has chimed in on our discussions.  I think I'll post a new discussion to see if anybody at Canon is listening.

Thanks again for your time and comments.

[Anonymous]

My last post here. You asked for a link to Image Browser in your original post. I gave you a link and you won't try it. It says Windows 8.1 as supported. That is not far from Windows 10. It may work. Your Zoombrowser was supported by Windows 95,98, 2000, XP?.

Do what you like, but you are being unreasonable in your expectations concerning very old camera support.

[Anonymous]

I expect a product to be supported, in all aspects, until I can no longer get parts to repair it. I can still buy parts for my 25 year old Nissan truck.  They're still supporting their legacy products.

In this case, the software is a "part" that can no longer be obtained, therefore, the product has reached it's end-of-life (without resorting to removing the storage media).  I'm just surprised that a small piece of software code can't be easily created and distributed to keep the hardware in optimal operating condition.  I would even be inclined to purchase an updated driver for this camera if that's their issue, but it looks like it doesn't even exist.

I understand products not being supported on the hardware side.  Manufactured parts for the hardware are not easily replaced, unless parts are warehoused for later use after the production cycle has ended. 

But not the software side.  It's not like they have to build a new driver from scratch.  It's such a simple thing to provide.  I don't need a whole new app.  In fact, I don't use their apps anyway.  Windows device drivers are not complex or difficult to code.  Just take the last version and update it for the new OS.  This is not computer rocket science.  Yes, it takes time and money to create an updated version.  That's OK, just charge a reasonable price for the updated software and move on.

When I "face the music", my instinct is to not get dead ended again.  Yes, I got my money's worth ($725 in 2002 plus $$$ for accessories), but that doesn't mean I should throw the camera away and start the process all over again.  Only to get dead ended again in a few years when a new OS shows up.

I'm sorry that the Canon Community forum can't provide any better solutions to, what must be, a common problem for older Canon digital cameras, than "give it up" or spend more money.  I have a old Canon Elan IIe film camera that's in perfect condition and will be quite usable as long as film is available.

I could have probably written my own Windows camera driver in the time I've spent looking for a Canon solution.  I've got a couple more angles to try before giving up, but I think I've exhausted the options this forum discussion can offer.  It's become very clear that a simple solution for my issue is not available.

Thanks for your comments.

[Anonymous]

OK.  Per your suggestion, I'll try installing ImageBrowser EX just in case the included drivers will work for this camera.  This appears to be my last resort in attempting to resolve this issue.

You're correct about Windows 8 not being that far back in time.  Windows 8.1 stopped being supported by Microsoft in January of this year.  When I looked at the download page, I scanned for Windows 10 and after not seeing it listed with the other OS's, it made me think it would not work.  As you've mentioned, it's probably worth trying just in case I get lucky.

I'm not trying to be unreasonable with a solution for this issue. I don't think supporting hardware that lasts for 20+ years with updated software is unreasonable.  Especially for something as trivial as a Windows driver. 

I'm sorry to keep on with this topic, but I expected to find a simple solution at Canon's website when first confronted with this problem.  I also expected someone from the Canon Technical Support group to provide a definitive answer to my question. 

Does a Win10 driver for this camera exist or not?

If it doesn't exist, then I will move on.  Currently, it appears that it doesn't exist, but I was looking for a definitive answer from Canon's Technical Support group.  I was under the impression that those folks monitored this forum, but apparently not.

I'll get back to you after I download, install, and try ImageBrowser EX.

Thanks for your patience and comments.