birdman12 Loc: Pinopolis, SC

Even though I have several photo programs, including Paint Shop Pro 8, that I use, is "Photos" a "good enough" program for simple picture adjustments such as brightness, contrast, color, sharpness, tilt, etc. for general bird, family and church photography? It is much simpler and quicker to use than programs such as PSP. After using a Canon Rebel SXi for years, I am now using (and trying to learn) a Canon 7D Mark ll. What would be the problems or disadvantages with using this program with respect to the more sophisticated programs? Thanks for your help.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

No experience here with "photos".
I would try it out and compare the programs.
Pat

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

You would be much better off using Canon's own program called Digital Photo Professional 4.x.x , or DPP for short. A copy of the program should have come on a CD with your camera. Photo is just too basic and too limiting.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

And updates can be downloaded. Way better than Microsoft's photo software if you are serious about the quality of your results.

I don't like the intrusiveness of MS Photos, and it is bad with Windows 10, difficult to turn things off. If you are are happy with Photos then use it for simple stuff like social media sharing. If you have an image you want to get the best out of your images, shoot raw - or raw + JPEG at highest quality - and use DPP for the good ones. I'd slso use DPP first even if I'm using PS or PSP for later parts of the workflow.

twr25 Loc: New Jersey

Photoshop is now available as a monthly rental ... $10.00/mo. Updates are automatic. It might be overkill but you don't have to use all the features. There are many free programs avail in your windows store online that will fill basic editing needs.

birdman12 Loc: Pinopolis, SC

Thanks for all of your suggestions and help. I do use Paint Shop Pro for all serious work, such as cloning, etc. I can not see the difference in the quality of the reworked pictures, however, whether I use PSP or MS's Photos. Perhaps my problem is my monitor. I am still using an HP w2207h monitor. Perhaps it does not have a sufficient resolution. I am also using an HP 500-164 computer. I notice that when I zoom in on pictures - they often get sharper. I also have limited vision - about 20/40 corrected - in only one eye.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

If you now have a Canon 7d Mark II, then, it appears you're becoming serious about photography, so you might want to consider shooting in RAW format - highly recommended. There are numerous threads on this forum about the advantages of shooting in RAW (and many people who outspokenly disagree - I don't want to reopen that debate). A search will reveal those threads. If you want to begin shooting in RAW, I suspect Photos won't be of any use. Then, you'll need a software product capable of opening the RAW files. There are numerous options out there, including Paintshop Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, and several free programs. I personally tend to recommend LR through the Adobe $10/mo Photography offering (and, you'll get Photoshop as well). Lightroom is moderately easy to learn, but Photoshop definitely requires a far larger effort to master. If, on the other hand, you want to shoot JPG's and only do basic edits, maybe Photos is your program, but then, why buy a 7d MII?

pithydoug Loc: Catskill Mountains, NY

Nice summary! Even if you only shoot jpg today you may want to take your game up a notch and shoot raw down the line. Once you make that step you have 14 bits of data to fondle rather than 8. You can even ease the transition by shooting raw+jpg until such time you are comfortable with a more sophisticated editor to get the best from a high end FF camera. t's a little like buying a high performance 8 cyl engine and putting in regular octane gas. :) :)

I also recommend LR/PS CC. Now there is nothing stopping you from creating the best picture you want to create.

Good luck

Papa Joe Loc: Midwest U.S.

If Photos is giving you all the adjustments you require and you're happy with the resulting photo... I see no reason to switch, unless you just want to 'check out' the other side of the grass. Happy New Year!

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Use whatever works for you. Keep in mind, you are using a program that is so basic, but you are using a camera that is so sophisticated, they just don't seem to mix. I really hope you aren't using that beautiful camera in Auto mode. The camera is so much more capable and you are so much more capable if you learn to use it and more sophisticated software along with it.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Absolutely agree. If you're shooting Canon, try shooting raw and use DPP as suggested. Download here (you'll need the serial number off the bottom of your camera): http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/product/canon_software/inside_dpp_4_0_software.do

A free tool that provides the best raw conversion for Canon that I've found. If you need further pixel editing beyond the capabilities of DPP, then you can export into something like Photoshop elements, or Photoshop CC, or you can export into various file formats such as TIFF, JPEG, etc.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

In fact, any valid Canon camera serial number will do....