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I shot RAW for the very first time at a hockey game last weekend just to experiment with it. Whn  downloaded my shots into my computer to edit, it seemed all the pixels were all jumbled up. I tried to edit it in Photoshop Elements 8 and I couldn't do any thing with it. Did I do something wrong? ???

You have to have software that is capable of reading the RAW file that is generated by your camera.  Most digital cameras that are capable of shooting in RAW also come with software that will read and edit it.  There is other software out that will read it but it has to have the corresponding RAW pattern extension/plug-in/add-on for the camera manufacturer.  IE - Photoshop must have the plug-in that will allow it to read an Olympus RAW file (.orf)

Make sure you have the latest software update installed to use with your camera. You should be fine editing in RAW using that. The pictures are going to be a lot bigger so don't view them at full size. Make sure you aren't looking at them at some 300% view or something crazy, they'll look completely out of whack. Editing in RAW is the best. You have so much more information to work with. Remember any changes you make won't be saved on the image itself, but on a sidecar file. So if you see a XMP file by your RAW file, know that is what it is.

Quote from: bhdc on February 24, 2011, 04:03:35 PM
I shot RAW for the very first time at a hockey game last weekend just to experiment with it. Whn  downloaded my shots into my computer to edit, it seemed all the pixels were all jumbled up. I tried to edit it in Photoshop Elements 8 and I couldn't do any thing with it. Did I do something wrong? ???

PSE8 should have no problem with your raw files. Check to be sure you are opening the file as a camera raw filetype, or even better set the defalt to "all filetypes". You should also check your screen resolution as the software requires a min of 768 pix high to allow it to display properly. I forget the standard but it's something like 1260x768. Either of these would give the results you are experiencing.