I only shoot RAW, and for me it works really well. I have a lot of students however that do not shoot RAW. In my workshops I talk about the common file formats, their benefits, advantages, and dis-advantages. For me RAW works best. One of the primary reasons I advocate people not use RAW is because it os not a format you can use right out of your camera. RAW requires you to spend time learning how to make corrections to your images, and this requires a time commitment and software. Software that can be expensive like Photoshop. I recently came across a free RAW converter program however.

RAWshooter Essentials is a Freeware program available for download at no cost. Now I’ll admit I have not fully explored the program and don’t have that much experience using it. But so far based on my initial playing around with it I like it. I think it is a good resource for those that would like to begin learning how to work with RAW files, but are not yet committed enough to throw down the money for a program like Photoshop.

So if you think you want to start shooting in RAW, and I highly recommend you do if you want to be serious about your photography, download the FREE RAWshooter Essentials and give it a try. Let me know what you think of this program in the comments below.

Another useful RAW tool if you are on a PC running Windows XP is the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP. Download it from the Microsoft site here. 

And from Adobe Labs get the free DNG Codec  for  Windows Vista. The DNG Codec provides a method for Windows Vista users to view DNG files in the Windows Explorer and Photo Gallery.