Wallbanger Loc: Madison, WI

Manual:
http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/8/0300004038/01/dpp39-w-en.pdf

Start on page 38. Looks like the call cropping trimming.

blackest Loc: Ireland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYXbSIAQ1U8 that should help

sueyeisert Loc: New Jersey

The program that professional photographers recommend-best raw processor is Capture One.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The most affordable program is the Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom subscription. Many may try to steer you away from this for a variety of reasons - too long a learning curve, too expensive (by those who are bad at math), don't want to be held hostage by Big Bad Adobe, etc. None of these naysayers have tried it.

But one fact remains - no one who has tried the subscription has posted that they didn't like it and went back to PSE, CS6 etc etc etc.

Yes, there is a learning curve. But you can learn what you need to do what you want to do now, and still have lots of capability for future expansion.

I suggest you start with Lightroom simply because it has the shortest learning curve. The only thing that most have issues with is the catalog system, which I can explain to you in about 15 minutes. Once you "get it" it will make sense. The editor is the same found in Photoshop, but the user interface is easier and faster to use. If you did a wedding, as I do on occasion, you will be amazed how quickly you can make proofs from 1100 images just using Lighroom - on average, it takes me a little over 2 hours, plus another 30 mins to upload to the client side of my website. The results are consistent, even illumination, and provided I did not overexpose any images, nice highlights and shadow detail.

Another excellent alternative is Capture One from PhaseOne - if I were primarily a portrait and human subject shooter, this would be my go to software, together with PS. Colors and skin tones are its primary strengths.

DXO Optics Pro 10 - another excellent raw converter. The best noise reduction, sharpening and lens profiles in the industry. And it can do something no other program can do - repair volume anamorphosis - the elongation and distortion that occurs when you use an ultrawideangle lens and you have subjects near the edges that become stretched and weird looking.

paccmps

There are many - - my long time go to is photoshop. Have a happy and prosperous new year !!

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

I'm sure that you have some good advice above. However, there is a free Raw and edit prog called Stepok. It is very learner friendly - and there is no cost involved - has to be worth trying - you could be up and running ten minutes after reading this! To try it google the following:
www.stepok.net/RawImporter.htm
Hope you enjoy and have fun :-) Del - and a Happy New Year.

danrob

Picasa will work with RAW files. It doesn't provide the levels of control as Lightroom, DPP, Elements and/or other programs, but it will allow you to process a RAW file. If you shoot RAW + JPG, you can see the two images side by side before/after you've done your editing. Any edits will be saved as JPG.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

But does this software provide editing capability, or does it just access the embedded jpeg preview and produce a jpeg version of the raw file?

I think the OP is looking for a program to edit, not just merely convert.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

RAW files require as you know by now special software. JPEG are universal files easily read by the majority of programs out there.
You are going to need good editing knowledge to process the RAW file. JPEGs are processed in camera and are readily available upon downloading. It is very difficult to see the difference between both files and for printing in a professional lab the RAW file will need conversion to JPEG.
Picasa is a very limited program to edit files being the standard Photoshop or Lightroom. Both are full of features and require learning.
I shoot both files with a preference for JPEG. Modern JPEG files are excellent in quality. They have a smaller dynamic range than RAW but with Nikon cameras activating D-lighting works very well to correct that.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

It is an editing program - ideally suited to new PPers. A friend of mine recommended it as working better and more easily than his Fuji version of silkypix.

Delderby Loc: Derby UK

It is an editing program - ideally suited to new PPers. A friend of mine recommended it as working better and more easily than his Fuji version of silkypix.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

Adobe Lightroom / Photoshop for $9.99 per month is probably the best deal around... You have a 1 year commitment after a 30 day free trial but after the 1 year you can quit with no additional charge. Having said that, if you decide to quit, you still have all of your edited raw photos on your computer and you still have access to LR on your computer, it is just that the edit function is turned off, you can still access your previously edited images and print them in their edited version. If you quit you just cant do more edits in LR /Photoshop. And Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop are the gold standard of photography and the programs that everyone else compares themselves to. And most of the comparisons are unfounded. I have most of the other software on my computers and almost never use them, but I use LR everyday and would use Photoshop more but I really need to learn it. I am taking some free courses given locally by user groups and getting better but just scratching the surface with it.

pecohen Loc: Central Maine

Raw Therapee is a free download and it has a lot of capabilities. The user interface is a bit intimidating at first but there's a decent manual to refer to.

Jgh Loc: On the Road

Aperture. By Apple. Cheap and easy to use and pretty comprehensive. There are a few add-ons but the only one I found interesting is the tilt-shift.

ralphc4176 Loc: Conyers, GA

Depending on how old your camera is, there should have been a disc with software to help you edit RAW files. If you have misplaced the disc, the software should be available as a free download from the camera manufacturer's Web site. For more flexibility in editing, you should consider Adobe Photoshop Elements 13. Not simple software, but you should be able to use some of its features right out of the box.