Replacing Canon EOS20D and HDR software

[motheye]

My Canon EOS 20D has died and I'm not interested in spending money to fix it.  Any recmmendations on a replacement body?  I'm getting back into photography but am not a professional.  I have interest in taking and editing HDR images.  I also want to still use my lenses from the EOS 20D.  I would prefer to buy a used camera to get more for my money.  If I am able to rekindle my interest, I'll be looking to upgrade all my equipment but for now just want to shoot and edit good pictures.

Also, I need to get imaging software that is Mac compatible.  I am proficient with Pixelmator but I don't think it is very good for editing HDR images.   I am looking at Adobe Photoshop Elements.  Any other ideas?

Thanks for any help!

[Waddizzle]

"I have no trouble editing RAW files from my 50D (and from my wife's T2i) with Digital Photo Professional Version 4 on a Windows 10 computer. (With Version 3 I can even edit files from our old XTi's.) I might be more concerned about finding batteries for a 40D than about incompatibility of the software."

Oh, I am sure that you can no doubt run DPP4 on Windows 10, without significant issues. But, a camera like a 40D doesn't come with DPP4.  It uses EOSU 2.x, and DPP 3.x.  I don't think you can download DPP4, or EOSU3, with a 40D serial number.  The last time I tried that with a serial number from an old body was before Canon redesigned their support web site.  It didn't work back then.

The original packages for the EOS 40D were originally designed to run under Windows XP, which still supported DOS and unmanaged code.  Most software of the day that interacted with hardware used unmanaged DLLs, which XP supported, and most of which cannot directly run under Windows 10. 

Installing the 40D on a fresh Windows 10 machine will require an intial install, plus one or more updates.  Even then Wndows would have to run the packages in a compatibility mode, support for which is not going to last very long.  Because of security issues, the way software interacts with external hardware devices has dramatically changed since Windows XP was first introduced.

[EDIT]  This is what you can download for Windows 10. 

Not a good place to start.

[motheye]

Are we talking abou tthe image processing software that came with the camera?  Can't I just process the RAW files in Photoshop or Lightroom?  Not sure I understand.  I know I have no interest in old PC software!

[Waddizzle]

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@motheye wrote:

Are we talking abou tthe image processing software that came with the camera?  Can't I just process the RAW files in Photoshop or Lightroom?  Not sure I understand.  I know I have no interest in old PC software!

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Yes, you can.  I could not assume that you were using those packages.

[motheye]

Sorry, all the answers are coming at me faster than I am ready for.  Thank you all!  It looks like Lightroom for Mac is $149 which I am OK with, and look forward to learning about and using.

[ebiggs1]

The above post is exactly spot on and why trading an obsolete camera for another obsolete camera isn't a good idea.  The only advantage a 40D has is the initial cost.  It is penny wise and pound foolish.

Will it work?  Can it work?  Sure but is it the best answer?  No it is not, IMHO.

"Can't I just process the RAW files in Photoshop or Lightroom?"

Yes you can and this is preferable.  BTW, there is no 'classic' 7D.  There is a 7D and a 7D Mk II.  So if you shop look for just a 7D.

[ebiggs1]

"...Lightroom for Mac is $149 which I am OK with, and look forward to learning about and using."

LR is great and I love it. I couldn't function wiht out it.  I use it every day.  It is not a true editor just like DPP from Canon is not.  Both will do some things, perhaps most things you are interested in.  But both pale in comparison to Photoshop Elements or the full blown Photshop (which I also use every day).

LR is a companion editor.  Like DPP is.  PSE and PS are the real deal and will do almost anything you will ever need.

[ebiggs1]

Oh, PSE duplicates everything LR does.  Plus gives you a more in depth editor.

[TTMartin]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

 BTW, there is no 'classic' 7D.  There is a 7D and a 7D Mk II. 

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The word 'classic' in lower case proceeding the 7D is used as an adjective, not a noun, and is not part of the name.

[TTMartin]

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@motheye wrote:

Are we talking abou tthe image processing software that came with the camera?  Can't I just process the RAW files in Photoshop or Lightroom?  Not sure I understand.  I know I have no interest in old PC software!

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Yes, you can use Lightroom.

The whole processing software 'issue' is a strawman argument. 

[ebiggs1]

"...and is not part of the name."

Neither is it accurate nor even necessary.  There is a 7D and there is a 7D Mk II.