DPP wishlist

[ron_purdy]

While we're at it, this should be near the top of the list:

It would be nice if DPP chould create the on-screen previews during tethered shooting in a faster way. There are some medium format backs which have much larger file sizes and they are able to show previews faster, while at the same time using less CPU resources.

(One last semi-related thing: it would also be nice if that wireless file transfer thing was easier to configure.)

Thanks.

[Greg_De_Stefano]

I just tried a test shoot with that check box unchecked. It was certainly faster than before, but it is still pokey. Leaf 8.4 beats the pants of off it and the files are twice the size with the Leaf. At least it is a bit more standable now. Oh, and it helps to make sure that DPP is in thumbnail mode so that it isn't trying to do more than it should.

Course, my request is almost the opposite of yours Ron =) You want faster previews, which it should be able to do, and I want them gone all together =)

Greg De Stefano

[Glenn_Darryl]

I would like to see DPP given the option of over-writeing existing files or be able to modify a file name during batching.

I really find it madding when the Batching process stops because there is an existing file by the same name.

Also, after a long series of testing I find DPP very slow to retrieve files from a SATA 1 hard drive.

Glenn

[Ron_Scheffler]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, after a long series of testing I find DPP very slow to retrieve files from a SATA 1 hard drive.

[/ QUOTE ]

All of my drives are Seagate 7200.8 SATA hard drives and I have not noticed any problem with DPP opening a contact sheet from any of these drives. Maybe there is something else going on?

By "long series of testing" do you mean many separate uses of DPP (quitting DPP between uses) or use of DPP to examine many different image folders in one sitting? If it's the latter, then you could be experiencing the same virtual memory problem I complained about above. If you are using a Mac, open Activity Monitor and keep an eye on the amount of virtual memory allocated to DPP. Once it gets over 1.5GB I find DPP starts to bog down. Slow downs include full screen previews, slower conversion times as well as slower building of thumbnails for new contact sheets, etc.

[Glenn_Darryl]

I have found that DPP retrieves files from my SATA hard drive much slower then Adobe Bridge, Capture One, Windows Explorer or Breeze Browser. Using a directory with 470 jpeg files, Bridge took 15 seconds to load the files while DPP took 85 seconds for the same files.

I compared the speed of my SATA drive with two 133 ATA IDE drives and found the SATA tested 27.3 MB/s where the two IDE drives tested at 15.1 MB/s and 14.1 MB/s, almost twice as fast. The SATA drive is used only for image file storage and has been defragmented regularly.

I copied the same test directory to an IDE drive and DPP loaded them in 15 seconds so DPP only has a problem with the SATA drive.

From these results I have concluded that the software is responsible for the problem.

I wrote Canon and they replied that they have no answer at this time but have forwarded the information for further investigation. I doubt I'll hear anymore from them.

Do you have any suggestions for improving the drive's performance?

Glenn

[Michael_Britt]

I would like to be able to change the shoot folder on the fly without having to restart the software. We load each different set up into it's own folder throughout the day and it is a real pain to change shoot folders in the preferences. The only sure way to make it stick is to close DPP and reopen it using the new preferences. It should be easier to change on the fly. Try capturing 2800 1Ds2 files into one folder and watch it choke your system.

[ QUOTE ]
I believe if you remove the check mark from the Edit Image Window Enabled at Capture box on Prefs>General Settings tab, you'll be all set.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks Ron. That helped alot. I am pretty sure we tested all the check boxes on the last version of DPP and it didn't seem to make that big of a difference. On this latest version of DPP it did speed things up considerably. I actually decided to capture tethered into a laptop for an annual report job where we had to "run and gun" all day. I was able to use the 17" powerbook with no problems. Of course I still brought the G5 tower and 23" monitor but I was able to leave them in the car. I have always felt that the laptops are just a backup system to only use if there is a problem with the main system. I still think that the client experience is greater with the whole setup but shooting to laptop does have it's place. Now if Photoshop was ready in a Universal Binary format.....

[Don_Shreve]

To add to everything mentioned above-
-The ability to sort & move(drag & drop) pictures within the browser window.
-The ability to select images within the browser window & specify moving them to another folder.
-The ability to also do these steps within the "quick view (edit?)" window. And why can't we "quick Edit" within DPP, that is, why is another set of windows opened up for this?
-Why do we have to select a group of photos for the quick edit function to work? If you just use the click edit, there is no opetion to scroll to the previous or next unless you have a gruop of images selected. Why can't you assume that the quick edit will take in all the photos active within DPP at the time?
-Why do we need a seperate application for EOS Capture? Why can't that be a part of DPP?
-Why do we need a seperate application for EOS Viewer Uitlity? Why can't those features be part of DPP? ESPECIALLY, the function of changing the custom functions of the camera.
-Why can't we save a tone curve directly from DPP & apply it to the camera's custom tone curves? (Another reason to integrate the EOPS Viewer Utility.)

I'm sure there are more. I need to take notes whenever I make an apology to a client about the "wiggy camera software".

BUT....DPP certainly makes a very nice RAW conversion. That was obviously the focus of the developers, more than developing the functions of a true file browser & camera utility function.