Canon EOS Utility

Update.--I found Adobe Bridge does the same as the EOS Utility to download images from the camera with two exceptions.

One, you have to use a card reader instead of direct from the camera. This is important because when you plug the camera into the Mac, it tries to run the newest version of the EOS Utility which doesn't work and everytime you quit the app, it restarts itself. Sucks. Two, you have to rename the folder name. Adobe Bridge will not format the Canon's folder name correctly, but close enough you can simply fix it manually.

Original Post.--I have a Canon 5D (the original, not the Mark II) with a number of lenses and equipment, and have used Canon's EOS Utility to connect to the camera and download images into the specified folders with the right filename set in the preferences settings. And then I updated to Lion (OS-X 10.7.X) and the application quit working. And Canon's response?

Well, it took Canon a few months to release and updated EOS Utility 2.10.4 compatible with Lion, except they made the decision to only make it work with newer Canon EOS cameras, meaning the 5D Mark II and not the original 5D. So after some wandering on the Internet and testing I reverted to EOS Utility 2.8, but it only works once after each reboot, after which it stops working, meaning I get one shot to download the images from the camera.

So the alternative is to find another application, except there aren't any. They all start with newer Canon's cameras. All the older Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras (DSLR's) are out of luck. The second alternative is to use the card and card reader, which works anytime, but it doesn't work with any application to load into the right folder with the right (sequential) filenames (Canon removed that option). So the download has to be done manually.

So, while I like Canon's camera and equipment, I can't say they provide the support to all customers, just new ones. The lesson is that they want to keep selling you new stuff and if you don't, then you're out of luck for support, and don't hold your breath waiting for help.

If anyone knows of a download application for Lion for older Canon cameras, I'll give it a try. It's certainly cheaper than buying a new Canon EOS camera. See update about using Adobe Bridge.