Photography - RAW image handling software?

**speckytecky** · 24th January 2009, 04:18 PM

Does anyone have a recommendation for Freeware RAW image handling software please?

**webman** · 24th January 2009, 04:31 PM

This will depend a lot on the camera used - different manufacturers use different RAW formats. Usually, software is supplied with the camera - albeit not always the most feature-full. Which camera is it you have?

Another thing to consider is what you actually want to do to the RAW image. For example, the latest version of Google Picasa will quite easily open sevaral RAW formats, but it lacks the ability to process things like white/colour balance, exposure and noise reduction etc.

**kmount** · 24th January 2009, 04:34 PM

Might be worth trying irfanview as it opens certainly the Canon ones.

**Ric_** · 24th January 2009, 04:45 PM

My favourite is GIMP (see GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program ) with the UFRaw (see UFRaw - Home ) plugin. Cross platform and open source!

I'm a Canon-fanboy so I also use Zoombrowser EX and Digital Photo Professional which are Canon utils.

**antoeknee** · 24th January 2009, 05:25 PM

Your camera software should include a RAW handling software.

Its when you come to doing something with the image that there is, as others have said, some need to make sure that you have the right sotware as not all formats are the same.

Don't know if its still available but Rawshooter was good free program.

Silkypix was also an alternative though IIRC this is shareware.

Of cousre if you have fairly recent version of Photoshop there should be an add-in.

**SYNACK** · 24th January 2009, 06:33 PM

There is a whole bunch of stuff from Microsoft that may be useful, free and really easy to deploy:

Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP -provides the ability to view, organize, and print photos captured in RAW image formats from supported Canon and Nikon digital cameras
Microsoft Professional Photography: Codecs
Microsoft Professional Photography: RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP

Edit/manipulate:
Microsoft Professional Photography: Microsoft Pro Photo Tools 2
Photo Gallery - Windows Live - uses codecs from above list

**adamf** · 24th January 2009, 08:14 PM

Raw Therapee - http://www.rawtherapee.com

Thats what I use

**dhicks** · 25th January 2009, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by Ric_

My favourite is GIMP

I thought there was an issue with GIMP and the numbers of colours it could handle from a RAW file?

--
David Hicks

**ICT_GUY** · 25th January 2009, 10:09 PM

picasa, once again google FTW! I use ver 3 almost exclusively for my photo handling. Raw is supported though its not as good as canon pro by a long way, it works and its free.

**plexer** · 26th January 2009, 09:06 AM

The provisional advantage is that this way we circumvent the current 8-bit limitation of the Gimp, as UFRaw does all manipulations in 16-bits.

Taken from the UFRaw homepage.

Ben

**danrhodes** · 26th January 2009, 09:07 AM

I use Photoshop CS3 and the program that comes with that. I find it very good!

D

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