Back to Basics: RAW

Reading the magazine, you might get the impression that if you're not shooting RAW files, you might as well not be shooting at all. Often enough, that's true. But what if you're new to DSLRs, or if you're not quite ready to commit to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom or Photoshop CS4? You should just stick with JPEGs at first, right?

Wrong. RAW is much easier to work with than you think, and because the files contain so much information, they're actually easier (and thus more satisfying) to tweak and edit.

RAW files need to be converted before they can be printed, so it's more than likely that your PC doesn't recognize them as image files. The result: Windows won't automatically download them, and you need special software to convert them into JPEGs or TIFFs for sharing or printing. Sometimes it's more of a headache than it's worth to try to use the software that came with your camera or to download the right operating system updates to get your machine to work with them.

But there's an easy solution: Adobe Photoshop Elements. Get version 7.0 for Windows, and you'll be reaping the benefits of RAW in no time-no matter which DSLR you use. Check out the gallery for a step-by-step guide.