[jbleisure]

I am looking into getting my first digital SLR Camera. Whilst browsing today I saw that the Canon's were being sold as Mac compatible - while there was no mention of MAc compatablility or otherwise for the other brands (Notable Nikon - which is the other make I am considering)

Can anyone tell me if the Nikon SLRs 'just work' with Macs.

[mr. burns]

they might be talking about the software that comes with the camera. you know, the stuff nobody uses. you never plug the camera into the computer so campatibility isn't an issue. you take the pictures, then put the memory card into a card reader to import the images to the computer. the camera and the mac never communicate directly.

[WOPR]

My Canon 350D works fine with iPhoto, and the software supplied with it is not bad - the browser isn't needed but the Stitcher app works well. You can either connect the camera directly or use a card reader. You get RAW software too, I believe Nikon charge extra for this.

[Goldfinger]

Every single camera is Mac compatible.

[OreoCookie]

Many forum members here own Nikon or Canon dslrs, they just work. Ditto for any other manufacturer. Some companies include small apps similar to iView, iPhoto or Aperture (depending on the camera) -- and this software might be Windows-only.

[jbleisure]

Thank you.

Yes on reflection they were probably refering to whether the software was installable on a Mac.

[iRye]

Pretty Muchanything just works with a macintosh. No drivers to be installed either.

[iMacfan]

My Pentax k10D came with fully Mac compatible, up to date and Universal binary software. It also supports Adobe's DNG raw format, so that shouldn't be a problem either.

I'd give Pentax a good look, they have just woken up and I defy you to think that they are poor value. Canon and Nikon at the moment seem to be using their names and market share to cripple and overprice their budget and prosumer offerings.

David.

[sray]

Nikon and Canon (as well as all the other major DSLR players) are all mac compatible. Nikon and Canon explicitly give/sell Mac compatible software.

You should note that with few exceptions, software from most major DSLR companies suck. (This is particularly true at the Pro level). Therefore, this should not be a purchasing criteria. I'm a pro photographer and I've used most of the vendor provided software.

It goes without saying that Photoshop can open all RAW images from major DSLR vendors and even iPhoto has decent support for RAW images (technically speaking, that support is built into the Tiger OS).

Good luck with your purchase.

[Back up 15 and punt]

If you are concerned about compatibility then you need to visit the following page.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303554

[OreoCookie]

That just tells you whether OS X can read the native RAW format out of the box. So even if your favorite dslr isn't listed yet (e. g. Nikon's D80 or Canon's 400D), that doesn't mean, it won't work. Ditto for the Pentax K10D. It takes a while until new models are added and listed.

If you want to shoot JPGs anyway, this isn't an issue at all.

[Back up 15 and punt]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

That just tells you whether OS X can read the native RAW format out of the box. So even if your favorite dslr isn't listed yet (e. g. Nikon's D80 or Canon's 400D), that doesn't mean, it won't work. Ditto for the Pentax K10D. It takes a while until new models are added and listed.

If you want to shoot JPGs anyway, this isn't an issue at all.

Most people don't hook their camera up directly to their Mac's. They simply remove the card and plug it into a card reader. If you are going to buy a DSLR then it is likely that you are going to have a real need to shoot raw. If you don't then the camera is probably over kill.

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by Back up 15 and punt 

If you don't then the camera is probably over kill.

That's not true. For as long as I've had a dslr, I've never seen the need to shoot RAW, but I've definitely had a need to use an slr (I use slrs for almost 10 years now). You need to shoot RAW only if you need exceptional quality. In some environments, shooting RAW might be/might have been impossible (e. g. in sports photography, shooting jpgs allows you to shoot faster since more pictures fit into the camera's buffer).

[sknapp351]

Unfortunately with jpegs you get noticable compression when printing larger. Most of my photos are printed 24 x 36 or larger, and I could point out the jpegs easily. My D80 seems to slow Aperture down quite a bit when it is generating previews for the raw files.
SAm