RAW conversion question

I have recently upgraded to a Canon Rebel Xti from a Canon G3 and have always shot in RAW. My conundrum is that now when I convert my RAW files, they seem dark, hazy and those pesky "boxes" all over the place and not as clear as what I see posted on NPN. I use Paint Shop Pro (my computer is too old to use Photoshop) to convert the RAW files. The camera came with an EOS Digital Professional program which I haven't quite figured out how to use yet. I have also read many of the posts throughout the forums and I am even more confused. So, I guess what I am trying to ask is, should I continue with the converting of RAW files with Paint Shop Pro or figure out how to use the EOS Digital Professional program?

I have 500 shots that I took from my recent trip to Kaua'i that I am trying to work on and get up and I am not pleased with them, so far.

Sharon, it's worth a try to use the program that came with your camera. It's really not that difficult once you get the hang of it, although it might seem somewhat confusing at first. As long as you save the converted image as a Tiff file, you'll still have the original RAW image to go back to, if you don't like the result.

Also, if you like the way the RAW file looks in the EOS program, it's not necessary to make any changes...just save as Tiff and then open the image file in PSP to do your editing.

My opinion would be to learn the new program. It's really not that bad, I haven't used Paint Shop Pro before but I don't think it would be too much different. At least it would let you know if it's the camera, the program, or something else giving you the unwanted results. Just my $0.02.

Sharon,,,,,check out the following link for tutorials on the DPP software.

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=1228&fromTips=1


David

Another vote for DPP if you can't use ACR.
Canon's software is designed to replicate the in-camera JPEG rendering, so it's undoubtedly better than PSP for RAW conversion. I don't use it any longer, but it does a good job (albeit rather slowly).

my experience is that RAW files always look muddy until I process them. even after the conversion. Generally all it takes is a little contrast enhancement to make them pop. Think of your raw files as the digital equivalent of a negative. neg's look pretty bad until you print them

If it were me, I'd stick with the software I already know and try changing my process. if that doesn't get the desired results, then learn the canon software, and see what you get.

BTW: If your computer can't handle Photoshop, I'm surprised it'll handle the larger CR2 files from your new camera. I have a hunch you're soon going to run into problems processing those files on that machine.

Thank you. This is great info and it helped me quite a bit. I am hoping to upgrade the computer in the future.