S30 - USB/WIA Drivers for WinMe

Well, I did it. Just came home with a new PowerShot S30. Some "pre-installation" questions:

• The Canon software & instructions are a bit daunting. The manual talks about special USB/WIA drivers for Windows Me. Will installing these drivers create any problems with my Visioneer scanner? (Or, should I just install & find out?).

• What can y'all tell me about ArcSoft & ZoomBrowser EX? Worth installing? Don't bother?

• I understand that Photoshop is the #1 choice for "post-processing." But I don't have US$500 to spend (if I did, I'd have bought the G2 or a digital SLR). I've heard some good things about Microsoft Picture It. Would love feedback from dpreview visitors.

• My model needs the firmware update. According to Canon's website, the tweaks are not related to the day-to-day operation of the camera. Should I bother with the update (and its associated risks)?

Thanks!

--Roger in Pennsylvania

RogerBaum said:

• I understand that Photoshop is the #1 choice for

"post-processing." But I don't have US$500 to spend

Click to expand...

You can get CorelDraw V. 8 or V. 9 for less than $40 bucks from e-bay/the web.. This software has "PhotoPaint" which has the features you need. The current software is V 10, so my suggestuion will not give you the state of the art...still...good software for cheap.

I bought my S30 in December and found good advice on this site concerning software. I've become quite comfortable with BreezeBrowser and PhotoShop Elements (much cheaper than the full version, but powerful enough for me). BreezeBrowser is great for managing photos and converting canon raw format files. Plus I use BreezeBrowser for creating my website photo albums and creating index prints.

I never use the Canon supplied software. I also have PictureIt! Publishing Platinum but rarely use it. I used it last weekend to make some party invites, but I've never liked it for day to day managing and editing of photos (plus it can't read canon raw format).

I suggest you download several free trials of different packages and play for awhile. Everyone has their own preferences and you might like something different. Search on this forum and the PC Tools forum for other ideas.

Jay

RogerBaum said:

Well, I did it. Just came home with a new PowerShot S30. Some
"pre-installation" questions:

• The Canon software & instructions are a bit daunting. The manual

talks about special USB/WIA drivers for Windows Me. Will installing
these drivers create any problems with my Visioneer scanner? (Or,
should I just install & find out?).

• What can y'all tell me about ArcSoft & ZoomBrowser EX? Worth

installing? Don't bother?

• I understand that Photoshop is the #1 choice for

"post-processing." But I don't have US$500 to spend (if I did, I'd
have bought the G2 or a digital SLR). I've heard some good things
about Microsoft Picture It. Would love feedback from dpreview
visitors.

• My model needs the firmware update. According to Canon's website,

the tweaks are not related to the day-to-day operation of the
camera. Should I bother with the update (and its associated risks)?

Thanks!

--Roger in Pennsylvania

Click to expand...

I have just purchased this camera too, and I think it requires the Zoom Browser software to download the images. I don't thiink there is any WIA software to allow downloading of images directly through windows explorer for win 2000, is this correct or not?

RogerBaum said:

Well, I did it. Just came home with a new PowerShot S30. Some
"pre-installation" questions:

• The Canon software & instructions are a bit daunting. The manual

talks about special USB/WIA drivers for Windows Me. Will installing
these drivers create any problems with my Visioneer scanner? (Or,
should I just install & find out?).

• What can y'all tell me about ArcSoft & ZoomBrowser EX? Worth

installing? Don't bother?

• I understand that Photoshop is the #1 choice for

"post-processing." But I don't have US$500 to spend (if I did, I'd
have bought the G2 or a digital SLR). I've heard some good things
about Microsoft Picture It. Would love feedback from dpreview
visitors.

• My model needs the firmware update. According to Canon's website,

the tweaks are not related to the day-to-day operation of the
camera. Should I bother with the update (and its associated risks)?

Thanks!

--Roger in Pennsylvania

Click to expand...