Debbie wrote:.

I have been shooting digital for 4 years now and currently usingNikon D200, iMAC, iPhoto, and Photoshop Elements 4. I'm wanting tostart shooting in RAW. I know I can use Photoshop Elements 4 but I'mwanting to learn more indepth things. I need to know what softwareto buy and a good info book. I don't need a book of behind themechanics of RAW but more of the beginning neat things you can dowith RAW. Then I would like a more advanced book..

Thanks so much..

Adobe provides all the information you are asking for. Here are just three of many links..

Go to Adobe and type in RAW in the search box, and you will be presented with numerous papers on the subect..

Http://www.adobe.com/...ts/photoshop/pdfs/understanding_digitalrawcapture.pdf.

Http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/dialogbox/why_shoot_raw_08.html.

Http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/pdfs/phscs2ip_hilight.pdf.

Hope this helps.

Dave..

First I'd suggest looking online for hints, tips and tutorials on processing RAW. There's a lot of stuff out there. In a practical sense it's not very different than processing JPEGs ( or TIFFs ). The primary differences are :.

(1) More detailed tonal info ( say 1024 or more levels per component vs. 256 ).

(2) You can recover shadow detail more often.

(3) You can sometimes get back some highlights ( less reliable ).

(4) You must do noise reduction in post processing ( e.g., I use NeatImage ).

(5) Ideally you need to use 16-bit TIFFs as temporary files, and these are prettybig. Always remember to delete the temporary files after you're finished.NEVER throw away the RAW file - it's the digital negative..

Mostly you batch process the raw files and then hand process a few ( if needed ). Do not try and hand process them all - this way lies madness..

I'd suggest you investigate LightZone ( which I use ). Some people swear by SilkyPix, which I have not used, and Adobe, which I'm loath to use, as I think it's expensive bloatware ( albeit highly professional ) which most people will not use..

With any package check your camera is supported before you buy. I'd be surprised if the D200 was not supported by a package, but you never know..

For some free software consider UFRaw and Cinepaint, which you can easily Google for..

Noise reduction - try NeatImage Pro ( batch and 16-bit on the Pro version ) and NoiseNinja ( popular and respected, although I don't use it myself )..

StephenG.

Pentax K100DFuji S5200Fuji E900PCLinuxOS..

Doesn't Nikon offer some premium priced ($200????) RAW conversion software?.

BAK..

BAK wrote:.

Doesn't Nikon offer some premium priced ($200????) RAW conversionsoftware?.

BAK.

Yes they do. Some people like it a lot. I've tried it, and prefer Photoshop..

But all those who've tried it agree on one thing. It's slow as mollases... .

Dave..

For the great info. I've been using Photoshop Elements for so long I guess I just felt the next progression was to the professional Photoshop..

I haven't been able to read all the info on the three sites suggested in the first reply yet but hope to do so tonight. I will also visit Adobe and see what I can find..

Are there any great books with examples of what to do with photos when I get that far?..

I just bought a d80. I am new to digital but in the 60's and 70's I really did a lot of film work. I am pretty computer capable and need some digatal editing software. something professional, I was wondering if anyone can help me out with some photo editing software suggestions?.

Thanks a bunch..

Jpulice wrote:.

I just bought a d80. I am new to digital but in the 60's and 70's ireally did a lot of film work. I am pretty computer capable and needsome digatal editing software. something professional, I waswondering if anyone can help me out with some photo editing softwaresuggestions?.

Thanks a bunch.

If all you want to do is crop, adjust contrast, color etc,etc, any decent image prossessing program will do the trick. Elements I've heard is a good program..

I own Photoshop and I know how to use it. But for a typical work session I don't do more than the above..

Dave..

Thanks, I will check them out. I see some companies offer free trial downloads..

Jp..

I have a lot of information on Raw and Raw workflow on my website on this page:.

Http://digitalphotographyclass.net/page/photoshop_links.htm Even though it's mainly for using Photoshop most of it applies to Elements as well because the raw conversion is the same process. I have heard that you can download the latest Adobe Camera Raw 4/4.1 from adobe.com and it will work with 4 as well as 5. It's got a lot of nice new features! I use Photoshop but I have Elements also for teaching purposes..

I mainly use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for processing my raw images, it's a lot faster if you have a large volume to process.Judy HowleSouthern Exposures Photographyhttp://southern-exposures.net.

Digital Photo Class - Tips, techinques, Photoshop tutorialshttp://digitalphotographyclass.net..