So it turns out that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 can’t handle the RAW files from my new Canon EOS 70D. There is no update for LR 3 that will correct this either.
This leaves me with three options. I could write off Lightroom and just use Canon’s bundled software. I don’t really see this as an option having the rest of my photos in Lightroom and being so comfortable with what Lightroom can do, I see it as pretty much a necessity in my photography workflow these days.
I could use Canon’s bundled software to import the RAW files and then export them as DNG, which LR would then be able to read. While this is not too ridiculously complicated it does add a lengthy step to my workflow which I’m not very keen on.
So the answer was to bite the bullet and spend the $85 dollars on upgrading Lightroom. Not ideal with the Rand Dollar exchange rate heading the wrong direction! However, to be honest I’m not actually upset about the “forced” update, I’m looking forward to seeing what’s new in LR5 and I enjoy my gadgets and new technology so no problem there. Until I tried to install LR5 that is…
I should have read the system requirements before jumping in and buying the Lightroom update but, you guessed it… I didn’t and LR5 needs Mac OS X 10.7 or later to run. I’m currently running OS X 10.6.8 Snow Leopard and a mild panic set in knowing what the usual going rate for operating systems can be.
Fortunately an update to OS X Mavericks from Snow Leopard is free and is currently downloading, phew….
The moral of the story is do your homework! When it comes to new technology, make sure whatever setup you have is compatible with whatever you are getting. I think I’ve been pretty lucky in that I was considering upgrading my LR anyway and mac’s OS X Mavericks is free. Unless of course there are some more hidden gremlins, Fingers crossed that’s not the case, I’m soon going to have a whole lot of new software to go along with the new camera!
BarryTanner 