resolved
I've just taken a call. The question was:
My digital camera takes pictures and saves them as RAW image files. My computer cannot do anything with these files. I don't know if I have lost all my pictures. What can I do?
This is one of those stupid things technology manufacturers do from time to time. They make a camera which takes RAW images. They make it too easy to get the settings wrong and then fail to provide you with software to handle the format. I have dubbed these people 'Techwits' or 'T-wits'
But not to worry...
First of all, just about all cameras will take pictures in JPEG format. Make sure you have the camera's settings correctly set. If you cannot work out how (it can be very fiddly on digital cameras) give me a call on 07017 343434 and I can come over and sort it out.
However, some cameras will also take images in RAW format. A RAW image file is a very high quality file and professional photographers and designers will often prefer them. However, not all non-professional software can handle them.
The answer is to get some software that will handle RAW files. For both PC or a Mac most versions of PhotoShop will manage the RAW format. Otherwise, Google's free software Picasa http://picasa.google.com/ will open and allow you to convert RAW files to JPEGS.
Mac users should also be able to convert from RAW within the pre-installed iPhoto application. Press the Ctrl and Click on the image when in iPhoto and it will give you the option of changing its format.
