Compatibility with Adobe software

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Level 1

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Compatibility with Adobe software

I've been using Photoshop and Canon EOS cameras for years. Moved over to iMac about 5 years ago. So I'm reasonably conversant with the first two areas but by no means am I the world's expert on using Macs - I use it mainly for Photoshop and internet.

My question is more about how backward compatible these combinations are. I realise this is an Apple forum but it's hard to know who to approach on my problem and I'm going round in circles at present.

I have an iMac desktop running 10.6.8. with 2.8 Ghz processor and 4GB Ram - I know it's not the very latest but it does what I want it to and after all it's only just over 3 years old. I run Photoshop CS6 on it (i.e. not the cloud version). I also use a Macbook Air when going on photography trips, more as a hard drive for storage of RAW files. This runs on 10.7.5. and I have Photoshop CS5 on there (the difference is only because I haven't bothered to load the upgrade to CS6 yet). My cameras are EOS 1D Mk4 and newly acquired 7D Mk2. I like to shoot everything in RAW.

My EOS 1D works fine and I can open RAW images on both computers using Adobe Camera Raw. The 7D Mk 2 is the problem. Maybe Adobe hasn't issued the Adobe Camera Raw update yet but other forums seem to indicate it has (I believe it's 8.7.1) and clicking on the update tab in CS6 I'm told there are none to be downloaded.

A workaround is to use a DNG convertor but when I load the latest update for that (again 8.7.1) on to my iMac running 10.6.8. it says I need to have an operating system that's 10.7 or later. So my first question is - Does Apple not make these back compatible beyond a certain number of OS's - surely 10.6.8 isn't that ancient? I'm reluctant to upgrade to later versions like Mavericks or Yosemite simply because of all the bits of hardware (2 photo printers) and software. Also I've seen some scary stories on how Photoshop has been affected by these but maybe those issues have been resolved by now.

Tried to load the latest DNG update on to my Macbook Air which is 10.7 but that won't work either. The issue there might be because I haven't upgraded Photoshop CS5 to CS6 yet but I can do that. My second question is - before I upgrade the Photoshop software will the DNG convertor work and will Adobe Camera Raw work and open my EOS camera images using a 10.7 OS?

Bob

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Dec 31, 2014 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

Ralph9430

Level 7

21,762 points

Dec 31, 2014 10:26 AM in response to supuu

Adobe Camera RAW 8.7.1 does support the Canon 7D MKII according to the Adobe Camera Raw information sheet.

http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/camera-raw.html

Adobe also indicates that Photoshop CS 6 will run on versions of OS X from 10.6.8 through 10.9 (Mavericks). No mention of Yosemite though (10.10).

It is Adobe's responsibility to ensure their software is compatible with the OS X operating system.

If you are having problems converting RAW files from your Canon 7D MKII I suggest using Canon's Digital Photo Professional to convert the RAW images to tiff files and use those files in Photoshop. Many photographers feel Canon's own software does a superior job of converting RAW files over ACR.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,895 points

Dec 31, 2014 10:47 AM in response to supuu

The Canon EOS 7D Mark II requires an upgrade to Yosemite for support. Support was added with the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility 6.01 updater last November.

So if you want native support of that camera you'll need to upgrade to Yosemite if your Macs will support Yosemite. The following is from this Apple doucment: How to install OS X Yosemite on your Mac - Apple Support

Before you install Yosemite, make sure you have one of these Macs:

iMac (Mid-2007 or newer)

MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)

MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)

MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)

Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)

Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)

Xserve (Early 2009)

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Answer 3

supuu Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 1, 2015 9:37 AM in response to Ralph9430

Thanks for the replies Ralph & Old Toad. I was eventually able to download the ACR update 8.7.1. to my Macbook because that uses OS 10.7. I had CS5 on that but loaded CS6 today. Even then I still couldn't download it using the usual update facility under Photoshop Help - which has always worked for me before. I used a separate link instead.

Tried several times to download on to my desktop (which is 10.6.8) using the separate link but it seems OS 10.6 isn't supported by Apple any more which had passed me by. The message came up saying I need at least 10.7. for the download and it won't let me passed that. I see your comment about CS6 working on 10.6.8 which I can verify as I've been using it for a while - the issue is that it just won't download any further ACR updates.

Happy new year to all.

Bob

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