Is it necessary to install the software that comes with a digital camera?

I just purchased a Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera that came with 2 software CDs. One is listed as the EOS Digital Solution Disc and it has applications such as Zoom BrowserEX 5.7 and EOS Utility 1.1 on it.

The other is EOS Digital Software Instruction Manual

I've already connected the camera to a friends computer and the Windows XP recoginzed the new hardware. The pictures transfred over fine without insalling any additional software.

Are the 2 discs that came with the camera necessary to install?

i think u have to install the software comes with ur camera if u want to use the timelapse recording feature.
i believe the rebel xti has this feature in which u can programme ur camera after connecting it to the pc to shoot a several frames over a period of time or with a certain time intervals between frames.
u have to read the manual to understand this feature.
other than that i don't think u need to install anything else .....
good luck

if you want to use the dig cam how its supposed to be used, then yes you have to install everything or else you cant use the dig cam on computer

no but they may come in handy for image editing

If you get all the functions you want without, then you don't need to install anything else. You may have some editing software on the discs you may find helpful though.

probably not. Most digital cameras are recognized by your computers OS and can be treated like an external drive. The software is probably their junky image processing stuff.

no, esp. if you are using Windows XP that recognizes the camera right away. they are just made available for those who use other OS, or those who want an easier way to view their photos (instead of using Fax and Photo Viewer of Windows)

Depending on your computer, probably not. Most newer computers have "smart card" slots for different kinds camera memory cards. The software is probably "photoshop" type software for retouching your digital photos. Certainly if you have a firewire interface, your Windows O/S already knows what to do with that and will recognize your camera's files as a removable drive.

So, no, it probably isn't necessary to install the software.

It's usually a good idea to install the manufactures software. It usually includes several utility's to make the picture transferring/organizing/editing much, much, easier.

But to answer your question, NO, usually it's not necessary to install the software.

Not if you were able to remove the pictures without them, it is usually just stuff to recognize the camera and a photo editing program. so unless you don't like the one XP has then I'd keep them just in case you get a new computer, but i wouldn't intall them and waste memory space.

if u want image editing, u shud install a software for image editing. most likely they use photosho pro.

You should use the EOS Utility program - that's the one that downloads your pictures, and will download images shot in RAW mode...I don't think windows will do that. The rest you don't really need...Zoombrowser is just organization, and the others are editing programs...Photostitch is kinda cool, lets you blend pics together to create a panorama

I have not installed any manufacturer-specific software for years. I use Photoshop Elements for my editting and I use a card reader. If you get a card reader, no additional software is necessary. This is not only faster, but it saves your camera batteries. Your computer or printer may even have a card reader built into it. I have enough USB ports that I just leave it plugged in all the time.

First of all, be sure there are some pictures on the card. Plug the card reader into an open USB port. Plug the card into the appropriate slot on your card reader. I use Photoshop Elements and as soon as I plug my card into the reader, it starts its own card reader and displays a thumbnail of every picture on the card.

If this does not happen automatically, open your photo editing software. Do whatever you usually do to open a file, but click on the selector where you can change drives. Your card reader will be assigned a new drive name that will be one letter higher than you ever saw before, such as "Drive G:" or such. Then, just double click on the name of the file you want to open and it will appear in your photo editor.