Free image downloader

[Chris Breeze]

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw images I've written a free download utility for downloading images from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames. This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor using the TWAIN driver.

The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.

The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[William22616]

Thanks Chris, Will try it out with my PRO90 as soon as I unpack it, hopefully in two days. I will then also find out if your remote works with PRO90

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[Forbidden Fruit]

Chris - This is great - now I can use RAW without it being a real pain in the neck. I can truely take advantage of the G1 to a greater extent.

Do you intend to keep improving the software ? i can already think of several enahncements - never satisfied !!

Maybe you should sell this to Canon !!. Although I suspect they do not realise what an inconvenience their awful software is to their customers. The G1 is a great camera marred by poor software. Luckily we have smart people like yourself to solve the problems for us. Ever considered trying to hack the G1 and change the firmware (e.g. noise reduction under 1.3 seconds - pekka !!). I know someone will do this sometime (just don't experiment with my G1!)

See my pics at

http://www.fototime.com/inv/53EB6047FC1891A

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[sarbos]

Thanks Chris!

I will shoot again in RAW mode! I quit using it since using Zoombrowser was such a pain in the...er...

Now we need some one able to uncompress the RAW with all the info and be able to save it to a 16bit tiff instead of a 8b... (wonder why canon didn't offer this option...)

Thankyou very much!

 

[Chris Breeze]

Paul,

Yes I do intend to develop the software further. What enhancements would you like?

Here's one I'm considering: use the time the photo was taken to determine which year/month/day subdirectory it should go in.

Chris

Do you intend to keep improving the software ? i can already think
of several enahncements - never satisfied !!

Maybe you should sell this to Canon !!. Although I suspect they do
not realise what an inconvenience their awful software is to their
customers. The G1 is a great camera marred by poor software.
Luckily we have smart people like yourself to solve the problems
for us. Ever considered trying to hack the G1 and change the
firmware (e.g. noise reduction under 1.3 seconds - pekka !!). I
know someone will do this sometime (just don't experiment with my
G1!)

See my pics at

http://www.fototime.com/inv/53EB6047FC1891A

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[Pasha]

will try the software as soon as i get home... as far as improvements, here's one general one:

my casio used to save files with filenames like 0101180007... where the first 2 digits are year, second 2 are month, third 2 are day and the last 4 are image #... it worked great for cataloging images... so as an improvement, i would reccomend a batch rename function as an option when transferring files... getting image names in this format would be very useful...

thanks,
pasha....

 

[samath]

Chris / Sarbos,

Does mean that once downloaded RAW images can you convert them to jpg or tiff inside your utility. Can we do Other settings such as contrast / White bal etc. fast with out the use of the Slow-Zoom-Browser

Thanks,

• Samath

Thanks Chris!

I will shoot again in RAW mode! I quit using it since using
Zoombrowser was such a pain in the...er...

Now we need some one able to uncompress the RAW with all the info
and be able to save it to a 16bit tiff instead of a 8b... (wonder
why canon didn't offer this option...)

Thankyou very much!

 

[Chris Breeze]

Samath,

No, all my utility does is download the images from the camera and preserves the filenames. It's really no different from using a card reader. One of the problems with ZoomBrowser is that it hides the .thm file somewhere in its database and renames the .crw file and this means that the TWAIN driver can't be used to convert the raw files.

Chris

Does mean that once downloaded RAW images can you convert them to
jpg or tiff inside your utility. Can we do Other settings such as
contrast / White bal etc. fast with out the use of the
Slow-Zoom-Browser

Thanks,

• Samath

Thanks Chris!

I will shoot again in RAW mode! I quit using it since using
Zoombrowser was such a pain in the...er...

Now we need some one able to uncompress the RAW with all the info
and be able to save it to a 16bit tiff instead of a 8b... (wonder
why canon didn't offer this option...)

Thankyou very much!

 

[Chris Breeze]

Pasha,

Unfortunately the naming scheme you suggest defeats the object which is to keep the filenames as they are stored on the camera. If you rename the files the TWAIN driver won't be able to convert the raw files.

The utility does have the option to store images in a separate directory for year/month/day which should help with cataloging.

Chris

will try the software as soon as i get home... as far as
improvements, here's one general one:

my casio used to save files with filenames like 0101180007... where
the first 2 digits are year, second 2 are month, third 2 are day
and the last 4 are image #... it worked great for cataloging
images... so as an improvement, i would reccomend a batch rename
function as an option when transferring files... getting image
names in this format would be very useful...

thanks,
pasha....

 

[nahau]

Hi Chris,

I had just had a rather lengthy discussion with Mike Siesel on this topic in another thread. I know that this topic has been discussed in other threads as well. I was hoping that someone would develop software that could remedy the shortcomings of zoombrowser and actually I somehow had a feeling it was going to be you! I am currently at work and have downloaded your utility and am anxious to go home and try it out. Thank you for getting "frustrated" enough to take the time to develop the utility. I am sure many here will benefit from it.

One question...does this utility also require the .thm file to be present before it can utilize the twain module to open the raw data file (digital negative)? I ask this because, if so, then it means that backing up of the Raw image file to say, CDRs, must also include backing up of the associated .thm file.
regards..nahau

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[dougmick]

Thanks for the great utility, Chris. I can't see any reason for using Zoombrowser again!

A couple of points:

1. I noticed that once I set Raw parameters and hit OK, I still had to hit ACQUIRE whereas in Zoombrowser hitting OK automatically ACQUIREd the image. No big deal, just wondered why the difference.

2. When I connect my camera via USB, is there any way to get your Download utility to appear as one of the application options in the "event on device" window? I'm running Windows 2000.

Thanks again,

Doug

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[Forbidden Fruit]

The program IRFANVIEW performs this function very well

will try the software as soon as i get home... as far as
improvements, here's one general one:

my casio used to save files with filenames like 0101180007... where
the first 2 digits are year, second 2 are month, third 2 are day
and the last 4 are image #... it worked great for cataloging
images... so as an improvement, i would reccomend a batch rename
function as an option when transferring files... getting image
names in this format would be very useful...

thanks,
pasha....

 

[Forbidden Fruit]

The subdirectory function does not interest me - I use a single physical directory and then categorize in the Canto Cumlus tool.

Here is my dream. We able to download RAW and then sharpen (etc) and resize and save to JPG (or TIFF) and retain the Zoombrowser format name (e.g 112-0012.jpg) in batch mode. Really the combination of your program and the IRFANVIEW utility.

Also the ability to automatically call you program from other applications like Canto Cumulus (when you doubleclick on the thumbnail), convert the RAW to JPG, save file, then open the editor of choice (e.g. Photoshop). Probaably etting this to work would need coordination with these two other packages (or maybe something like a macro that wraps around this whole process ?

IRFANVIEW in general has lots of great features that might be good to emulate

May all be too much too soon - but you asked

Yes I do intend to develop the software further. What enhancements
would you like?
Here's one I'm considering: use the time the photo was taken to
determine which year/month/day subdirectory it should go in.

Chris

Do you intend to keep improving the software ? i can already think
of several enahncements - never satisfied !!

Maybe you should sell this to Canon !!. Although I suspect they do
not realise what an inconvenience their awful software is to their
customers. The G1 is a great camera marred by poor software.
Luckily we have smart people like yourself to solve the problems
for us. Ever considered trying to hack the G1 and change the
firmware (e.g. noise reduction under 1.3 seconds - pekka !!). I
know someone will do this sometime (just don't experiment with my
G1!)

See my pics at

http://www.fototime.com/inv/53EB6047FC1891A

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[Samath38885]

Chris,

So how you convert the RAW images to tiff or jpg when using this utility.

Thanks,

• Sam

No, all my utility does is download the images from the camera and
preserves the filenames. It's really no different from using a card
reader. One of the problems with ZoomBrowser is that it hides the
.thm file somewhere in its database and renames the .crw file and
this means that the TWAIN driver can't be used to convert the raw
files.

Chris

Does mean that once downloaded RAW images can you convert them to
jpg or tiff inside your utility. Can we do Other settings such as
contrast / White bal etc. fast with out the use of the
Slow-Zoom-Browser

Thanks,

• Samath

Thanks Chris!

I will shoot again in RAW mode! I quit using it since using
Zoombrowser was such a pain in the...er...

Now we need some one able to uncompress the RAW with all the info
and be able to save it to a 16bit tiff instead of a 8b... (wonder
why canon didn't offer this option...)

Thankyou very much!

 

[EJN]

Sam -

Only just downloaded this and not even installed yet but I presume that it loads your pics from camera to a directory of your choice on the hard-drive. So just open up PS or PSPro or similar, choose Menu/File/Acquire/Twain 32 and from the Acquire screen choose My Computer then go to the directory you downloaded to - it should pick up from there the RAW files for converstion ??

EJN

Chris,

So how you convert the RAW images to tiff or jpg when using this
utility.

Thanks,

 

[nahau]

Hi again Chris,

I just loaded the utility on my home computer and it works just great!! I also answered my own question by removing the .thm file and then attempting to open the Raw data file. As expected, a question mark (?) thumbnail was generated because of the missing .thm file. This utility will solve many peoples back up problems since you so generously included the dating capabilities. Thanks again for all the work you did...it is greatly appreciated!!
nahau

nahau wrote:
Hi Chris,
I had just had a rather lengthy discussion with Mike Siesel on this
topic in another thread. I know that this topic has been discussed
in other threads as well. I was hoping that someone would develop
software that could remedy the shortcomings of zoombrowser and
actually I somehow had a feeling it was going to be you! I am
currently at work and have downloaded your utility and am anxious
to go home and try it out. Thank you for getting "frustrated"
enough to take the time to develop the utility. I am sure many
here will benefit from it.
One question...does this utility also require the .thm file to be
present before it can utilize the twain module to open the raw data
file (digital negative)? I ask this because, if so, then it means
that backing up of the Raw image file to say, CDRs, must also
include backing up of the associated .thm file.
regards..nahau

 

[bob g]

Paul,

Yes I do intend to develop the software further. What enhancements
would you like?
Here's one I'm considering: use the time the photo was taken to
determine which year/month/day subdirectory it should go in.

Hello Chris,

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Your utility does exactly what you say it should. I will be removing DoomBrowser from my sytem, didn't use it much anyway. Canon should be paying you for providing this software. Again, Thank You!

The only suggestion I have is if you could add the abilty to remove (delete) the picture files from the camera after downloading, without having to do it through the camera controls.

Best regards,

Bob Ghysels

 

[Bart van Elderen]

Many, many thanks for your great little utility. I think Canon could (should!)learn a lot from you: the pure functionality of your downloader software makes it a great piece of software while Canon's Zoombrowser is lame because of many useless interface bells and whistles nobody needs (at least I don't .

One question though: I've used your software for the first time yesterday evening and everything went fine. But if I recall correctly everytime I choose to download files, all files will be downloaded? I tried to select a number of files (the new ones obviously) but the selection didn't matter, still alle files were downloaded? Could you change the software so that only selected files are downloaded? You could also add a button 'Select all' for people who want to download all files every time... Just a thought, again, I think your a sure candidate for the 'Canon talk Hall of Fame' where you will reside next to Pekka

Bart

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris

 

[Richard35285]

Chris,

Filing the photos based on their date/time stamp would be an excellent addition, since some of us will go for days or even weeks before uploading the photos to a computer. I personally don't care to bring my laptop on vacation with me; touching my computer is the LAST thing I want to do when taking a break for brain decompression.

I have just downloaded your software and tried it our, and I'm very impressed! Thanks a million for taking the time to put this together and share this with everyone! Next I'll try your your remote capture software; I don't really need it, but I'm interested in checking it out now...

A question-- Can you direct me to some instructions on installing the 3.50 Twain driver for the G1? I downloaded it some time ago and never got around to installing it, but since I now have much better control over the RAW files I guess I'd better get it going so that I can acquire them.

Thanks again--
--rhb

Yes I do intend to develop the software further. What enhancements
would you like?
Here's one I'm considering: use the time the photo was taken to
determine which year/month/day subdirectory it should go in.

Chris

Do you intend to keep improving the software ? i can already think
of several enahncements - never satisfied !!

Maybe you should sell this to Canon !!. Although I suspect they do
not realise what an inconvenience their awful software is to their
customers. The G1 is a great camera marred by poor software.
Luckily we have smart people like yourself to solve the problems
for us. Ever considered trying to hack the G1 and change the
firmware (e.g. noise reduction under 1.3 seconds - pekka !!). I
know someone will do this sometime (just don't experiment with my
G1!)

See my pics at

http://www.fototime.com/inv/53EB6047FC1891A

Out of frustration with Zoombrowser's bad habit of mangling CCD Raw
images I've written a free download utility for downloading images
from the G1 via the USB cable. Unlike Zoombrowser it downloads all
image files including .thm files and it preserves the filenames.
This means that the files can be acquired into you image editor
using the TWAIN driver.
The download speed is about 0.5 Mb/sec which is probably a lot
slower than a card reader but it does avoid the wear and tear of
constantly having to remove the CF card. It also has the option to
extract the EXIF data from the image and store it in a text file.
The software has been tested with the G1 but it should work with
all Canon digital cameras provided you have v3.4 or later of
Canon's TWAIN driver. Please let me know if it works with other
cameras.
You can download it for free from:
http://www.breezesys.com

Chris