Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP) - Almost no one uses it?

[Henry Domke]

How many people use Canon's DPP to do their RAW processing?
What are the pros and cons of DPP compared to Lightroom?

I tried to find a book on DPP on Amazon and found none.
In contrast there are 214 books on version 5 of Lightroom on Amazon.
My guess is that most people don't use DPP even though it is included for free with every Canon DSLR.

Why?

[Doug West]

I use it. Not only is it free, but its simple to use and gets the job done.

Plus I figured why not use the software from the same company that's
behind the science that created my raw files?

Also Artie/Arash wrote a fantastic guide for $15 to get the most out
of DPP.

Doug

[David N Smith]

I have just started using it after using LR 3 - 5 for several years. It is easier than LR although I don't feel is as powerful but if you are going to PS anyway you can do anything there that you can do in LR. I bought the e-boo by Artie and Arash and the e-book by Arash and they both helped a lot.

David

[David Stephens]

I've used it, but prefer DxO Optics Pro, which I think has a more natural UI.

[Barry Ekstrand]

I use DPP and LR both. I think both are good. I believe the argument that DPP IS the best Canon RAW conversion engine but generally find the difference to be negligible in the final image. I think LR has more flexibility in tweaking before actual conversion, which I like, so I tend to use LR more.

I'll add a second vote for Arash's DPP guide, if you are going to use it his guide is a big help. As is his Noise Reduction guide as well.

Barry

[BobbyPerkins]

The DPP User's Manual itself is a big help too.
You don't see alot of books on RAW convertors, you might see alot of books at Amazon for Lightroom & even more for Photoshop, but you don't see books for Adobe Camera Raw only.
Also, I'm suprised at how many folks do use DPP, not how many don't.
Also agree with all that Peter Kes stated.


Another vote here too for Arash's Guide.

[Don Lacy]

but you don't see books for Adobe Camera Raw only.
Here is one of the best even though its for CS5 most of it is still relevant.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321713095/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GTFJN5E6GFG3CKWTZDN&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846
Personally I hate using DPP while it does do a better job on some images I find the interface and lack of fine control to be a major pain in the butt. Its big advantage is with high ISO images but since I rarely shoot above ISO 400 I use ACR for 99% of my images.

[Diane Miller]

Don, no link... (We must have the same secretary.)

An excellent e-book (for $15) for using the Develop module in LR5 is by Michael Frye: http://www.michaelfrye.com/books/books.html

ACR for CS6 and later is the same engine and capabilities as LR4 or later, but a somewhat different interface. The ACR version in CS5 is out of date for the Shadows and Highlights capabilities. Getting Lightroom 5 for $120 solves that problem and lets you keep working in CS5. Frye is mostly talking about the Basic tab, which is very similar in ACR and covers 90% of what you need to do.

I have tried DPP many times, using the extensive notes I've made from Arash and Artie's ebooks. I never shoot above ISO 1600 and, frankly, for that amount of noise, I find I can get much better tonal results with LR/ACR. (When I have noise problems, from lightened shadows or the like, using NR software later matches the lower noise I get from DPP. DPP is very basic and for some images I'm sure it's fine, but I wouldn't give up the increased tonal capabilities in ACR/LR.

[arash_hazeghi]

Hi Henry,

Of course far fewer people use DPP than LR because DPP works only with Canon DLSRs and mostly applies to folks who value image quality more than anything else. LR works with all cameras on the market and thus more guides/books have been written for it.

DPP workflow is not as advanced as LR when it comes to cataloging etc. but on the plus side it doesn't waste disk space and slow down your system. DPP does provide a good workflow and superior image quality, but you have to sit down and learn how to use it. It's a matter of getting used to. For me DPP is an integral part of creating the images I post here. I have tried all versions of ACR/LR and thus far none has met my expectation in terms of image quality.

If you have specific questions you can always PM me

best

[Quazi Ahmed Hussain]

The latest version of DPP doesn't support some older Canon DSLRs like 50D, 60D or 550D. But many enthusiast photographers are still happily using those models with around 50% of the shutter life remaining. They don't need to replace those with new models. BTW, I have been using DPP version 3.13.51.1 with full satisfaction since long. It supports all three models I'm using at present namely EOS 450D, 50D and 6D.

As per my knowledge the latest version is the only application that accommodates current models exclusively.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.