elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

I am looking for a copy of PS CS6, to purchase. I purchased CS5, been using it for years. But I can't load Lumix TZ-80 RAW files. I'm told that CS6 will read them. So if you have a NEW copy, with code number/letters to upload to Adobe, please let me know, and thanks.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Bad news...

I just checked the camera RAW compatibility list at the Adobe website and they show TZ80 requires Adobe Camera Raw 9.4 or higher. The highest and last version of ACR that works in CS6 is 9.1.1.461. Your camera's RAWs are not supported in CS6.

The good news is that Lightroom 6, if you can find a copy of it, goes as high as ACR 10.1. So it will work fine with your camera's RAW files. You can use LR6 to convert the RAW to 16 bit TIFF and hand them off to CS5 for any add'l work you want to do, beyond what's possible in LR6 itself. LR and PS are designed to work together, so this is pretty easy. LR6 will probably be easier to find and likely cost a lot less than a copy of CS6, too. LR6 "upgrade" was avail. for under $100 when I bought it a couple years ago, direct from Adobe... I don't know if they still offer that. It was hard to find... Adobe did a good job hiding the upgrade option in a little pull down menu in the checkout process. That was the first and only time I recall them ever offering an upgrade for LR. I'd always had to buy full versions previously (but even those were a lot cheaper than PS).

Another alternative would be to convert your RAW to DNG files. Maybe you are already aware, Adobe offers a free DNG converter. The DNG files would then be workable in CS5. (But keep your original RAW files.... some people who have later switched to other non-Adobe software have had issues with DNG... you can find more info if you search online for "DNG problems".)

Or, of course, you could subscribe to the $10 a month (actually $120 a year prepaid) PS CC and LR CC combo. Those would both be able to directly handle your camera's RAWs.

If you still want to try to update to CS6, look for a cheaper upgrade version. You qualify, since you already have a licensed copy of CS5. There's actually no difference between the full and upgrade versions other than the much higher price for the full version... and the fact that the upgrade version won't install unless you have a licensed copy of a prior version installed... CS5 or CS4, in this case.

elliott937 Loc: St. Louis

Alan, Thank you very much, for you have not only saved me time in further search, but also the money I might have spent on CS6.

This also tells me that my hunch, about a year ago, was to purchase Affinity, for I learned (before our Baltic cruise) that Affinity -would- open a RAW file from a TZ80. I tested at a friends house who had already purchased Affinity. So, I 'shot away' in the Baltic, returned home, purchase my copy of Affinity, and was pleased to see it open TZ80 RAW. I would quickly export it from Affinity over to CS5.

(For anyone reading this, you might be wondering why I didn't take my Canon 5DII camera to the Baltic, as I have on every vacation before then. Answer: Our Secretary of Homeland Security announced his plans to ban all electronics larger than a cell phone from the interior of any aircraft arriving at a US airport from outside the USA, and was thinking of applying the same ban on departing flights. It was you, my fellow UHH members, that told me NOT to permit my camera from being tossed along with the luggage. Hence, Lumix TZ80, ordered through Amazon.uk.co and shipped to Copenhagen. )

So, my friend, I thank you for the valued information.

Bill