JayB Loc: Northeast US

Do I understand this at all? When I dump my RAW images from my card into Lightroom I get CR files (I guess CR stands for "camera raw"?). And although Lightroom supplies tools to alter the CR files, most people convert them to TIFF files using a RAW File Converter (like Breezebrowser for Canon) and after converting, load them into Photoshop to do post processing? Do people generally work on RAW files before converting?

I have Canon ImageBrowser EX that came with the camera (7D) but as far as I've been able to discover, you can't edit RAW files in that software, only JPGs. I'd appreciate any guidance. Thanks!

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

You cannot change a raw file. You can change the image and save it as another file type, but if you try to save it as the original raw file, your changes will be lost.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Export Them as Jpeg Or tiff.
Utube Will Show You As Will Adobe TV

Wahawk Loc: NE IA

You should have also gotten the DPP software from Canon which is their software for making the initial adjustments to their RAW files before 'converting' them to JPG or other format.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

As an aside, the OP should also have the DNG Converter program available so he can convert any non-transferable images to digital negatives which can serve as acceptable substitutes for raw files.

Macromad Loc: New Zealand

I have a 6ooD and do most of my work in RAW the if I need to touch up CS5. Raw was on the CD. that came with the camera, if this is not the case you may need to download the version suitable from canon.

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

Canon builds a new camera.
Canon sells the camera with limited software.
Adobe obtains the source code and adds raw conversion to its to-do list.
Adobe writes the software and makes it available for download.
Canon gets the software and incorporates it into its latest library
Canon sells new cameras with updated software.
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-
-
Canon builds a new camera............

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

The raw files from your camera (I'd say you have a Canon, since the files are CR) are just that . . . raw image data. There have been no adjustments to them.

Having that raw file available in Lightroom allows you to use Lightroom to edit the file as you see fit. Once you are happy with the results of your edits, you are done. If you left it as a CR file (instead of converting it to a DNG during import), be sure to look for your XMP sidecar file (the file containing your edits) if you plan on using another Adobe product to work on the image. Converting to DNG allows you to keep all edits in one file (the DNG) with the image.

If you need to edit that photo in some other piece of software, you may want to export it as a TIFF file for that purpose. Or, if you want to send the image to someone, you might export it as a JPG.

My simple point is that once you have edited your image, there is no inherent reason to export it to any other format. Leave it as a raw file. You might want to edit it again at some point, and if possible, ALL edits should be done to the raw file. It is your digital negative.

JayB Loc: Northeast US

In other words, Lightroom itself contains a RAW file converter. Since the files I've loaded into Lightroom so far show up as CR files, they're still like exposed but unprocessed "film" in a way - and I could have told LR to import them as DNG files so they would be ready for edits when they hit LR. However, LR can convert them to DNG files later on, which then become the equivalent of processed film negatives, and which I would want to always keep a copy of unless I'm darn sure of what I'm doing? When I edit the DNG file, will LR save the edits in a copy of the original DNG file? And how does this sidecar thing work? Is it in a format that allows you to take a copy of the edited DNG file to another product (Photoshop) make further edits and when you're finished, the new edits are somehow incorporated into the DNG file still sitting in Lightroom? Thanks. Sorry for the confusion.

JayB Loc: Northeast US

Yes, I do have that. So I would run all of my RAW files through this Canon DPP. Then I would import them into Lightroom coverting them (if I wanted) to DNG (Adobe format) during the import process? Thanks.

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

You can convert to DNG while downloading into LR, and most other software will read the DNG. RAW files differ in structure from maker to maker, so they an cause you some compatibility or interoperabililty problems.

gmcase Loc: Galt's Gulch

There is a huge debate over the converting to DNG. Google it and you will see.

When your import CR or other raw files into the LR catalog you can edit them as needed. With CR raw files, a sidecar XMP file is generated when you edit it. That sidecar is a small file that is a record of the changes you made. You can always get back to ground zero in LR by simply hitting reset which will remove all the changes you made. The CR file is never changed but the sidecar is like a tattle tale reporting n changes made to the raw file. If you delete the XMP file you lose the changes you made but the raw file remains just as it was originally. LR does non destructive editing on all file types which means you can get back to ground zero by hitting reset.

Once you have edited as you desire you can export the raw file as jog, tiff, etc for whatever purpose you want. If you make changes in PS it will create a copy of the original file so you can retain any layers etc. that you create n PS.

LR is an amazing professional product that scares some away at first but once you get past the initial confusion you will not turn back. Invest the time to learn and you will never regret it.

JayB Loc: Northeast US

Excellent! Thanks so much.

wildconc2001 Loc: Chicagoland

Most folks I know convert their raw files to psd (Photoshop files) files in order to work on them, and then save those files with layers they created as master files. They then convert those to the various sizes as the need arises.
To simplify for easier understanding, the raw file is an electronic image that remains that way until it is opened into a file in Lightroom or Photoshop at which time the newly opened image is now a pixel bearing image. Your raw file remains as raw for you to modify any time you like.

brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky

Yes, LR has a raw file converter, but I perceive the raw file as my negative, and I will always maintain the negative, so I don't necessarily want to "convert the raw image". That said, I do convert the Nikon NEF raw image to a DNG raw image so I can use the file in Adobe products the way I want, but I catalog and maintain that DNG file from now on.

Your understanding is very close. DNG, CR2, NEF (and others) are all raw file formats. The thing that makes the DNG format different is that it was created by Adobe instead of a camera manufacturer. They created it for a very specific reason. First, and foremost, it keeps your image contained in a raw format, but it is structured to hold lots of additional data about the image contained in that file. The additional data it holds is specific to the edits that have been performed on the image by Adobe products. As soon as you make a change to the image (in LR, for instance), that change is recorded in the DNG file (not a copy of the DNG file) and when LR renders it to your monitor, it reads in all of the edits and renders the photo in its edited state.

Because the structure of CR2 and NEF files (and others) do not support storage of edits (made by LR) within the file, if you decide to keep the file in its original format (CR2, NEF, etc.), LR has to have someplace to record those edits. It does so by writing them to a sidecar file. Then, when you call up an image to your monitor for viewing, LR has to go read that sidecar file to see what edits have been applied to the image so that it renders it properly. Same as it was with a DNG file, except that it has to read those edits from another file instead of directly from the DNG. Personally, I didn't want this (keeping up with 2 files for each image), so I opted to use the DNG format for all my images. Yes, it requires me to be committed to the Adobe products, but I have to have something and no one approaches this technology quite like Adobe, so I'm good with it.

Hope I'm making some sense for you. I have worked in technology (as a software developer) since the 80s, and I believe it's a surprise to most folks who decide to buy a DSLR just how much knowledge of computers is required. Even the camera is a miniature computer!!