Digital camera software

new disk drive. Newer operating systems, such as Windows XP may do this automatically, older operating systems, particularly Windows 98 and ME, will require that you install drivers from the included disk.

After you plug the cable into the computer, leave it there. Don’t carry it around with you. It is difficult and expensive to replace.

If you need to access the pictures on the road, use a “card reader.” These will allow you to read the pictures off the card directly without the special cable and without powering up the camera. These are available as a single card reader of the type you need or a “multi-card” reader that will accept most common cards. They plug right into your computer and you read the card just like another disk drive. You don’t need to add any software from the camera’s disk, as you do to use most cameras’ USB port (again with the exception of Windows 98 and ME).

When you buy a digital camera it will come with some software. This software is broken into three categories:

•Drivers so your camera will interface properly with your computer

•Simple album and editing software to organize your photos, make galleries and slide shows. This software usually provides the ability to crop and adjust color. It is usually limited to only simple editing tasks.

•Optional stitching software to make panorama with the “stitch assist” shooting mode of the camera

Once you get the pictures into the computer and begin editing you will quickly outgrow the software that came with the camera. There are some great photo editing suites on the market:

Adobe Photoshop, $600: The undisputed industry standard for professionals. It has so many features that non-professionals may find most options inaccessible. It is simply too much for most people.

Adobe Photoshop Elements: $99: The new “light” version of Photoshop. Extensive built-in documentation means you should never need the manual. You can do almost anything with this software. It has a “quick-fix” function to quickly fix photos and an “email” function to automatically reduce file size and send via internet. For the money, this is a phenomenal value.

Corel Photopaint, $99: Competitor to Photoshop. Very capable. Almost as powerful as Photoshop and some people think it is easier to use than Photoshop. Not as good built in documentation.

Jasc Paint Shop Pro, $99: A highly rated editor, with many similarities to Photopaint. Well regarded as a very capable package.